Monday, September 26, 2016

1 Corinthians, Chapter 14, Verse 32-33

³² Indeed, the spirits of prophets are under the prophets’ control, ³³ since he is not the God of disorder but of peace.

Peace is not maintained in anarchy. Paul is expressing the need for order in church meetings and for rules of order. Paul concludes with specific directives regarding exercise of the gifts in their assemblies and enunciates the basic criterion in the use of any gift: it must contribute to “building up.”

Leaders Organize not Hesitate[1]

He that hesitates is lost. Yet, to act to quickly is also to be rash. Paul wrote to bring order to a church in chaos. Like our modern world churches can be in chaos when there is no leadership. The Corinthian’s were abusing their gifts and calling attention to themselves rather than to Christ. Paul therefore suggests for them to do everything “decently and in order.” John Maxwell submits that there is a leadership lesson that can bring peace to chaos.

1. Identify and pursue your top priorities (v.1).
2. Seek to practice what will benefit the most people (v.2-12).
3. Communicate clearly (v. 7-8).
4. See things through the eyes of an outsider (v. 23-25).
5. Order activities simply for the purpose of adding value to others (v. 26-33).
6. Make sure everything is done in an appropriate manner (v. 40).

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[1] John Maxwell, The Maxwell Leadership Bible.