Leaders Are LOSErs

I have the awesome opportunity to teach three Bible classes at Granville Christian Academy everyday. These students have been a tremendous blessing to me. Together we are learning what it means to "lose" our lives for the sake of Christ. We are challenging each other to Love God and others above self, to Obey God and His word not our selfish desires, to Serve God and others in a sacrificial way, and we are Experiencing God working in our school and in our families. That is what we mean by being a LOSEr. Love God, Obey God, Serve God, and Experience God. On the school emblem there is a purpose statement. I was around when we chose this statement many years ago and now I am helping to accomplish it. "Preparing Leaders for Christ" is a lofty goal. We at GCA are not trying to grow pastors or future missionaries. We are not trying to make everyone believe exactly what we believe about every issue in the Bible. The vision is graduating students who will own their faith and make a difference in any community they live in.

The idea of leaders as losers is not new. Jesus told his disciples if you want to be the greatest then be the servant of all. Leaders are not people with titles or offices, or big desks. Leaders are not people who have the latest tech toys, or who travel by business class. Leaders, even in secular settings, are often people who give up personal rights or comforts for the greater good. In a spiritual setting we know that leaders are to be servants, which means they willingly lay down their rights, desires, and comforts to bless others. We know that children by nature are self centered. Many times this attitude is one that sticks. Young men or women in their twenties, thirties, or even forties find themselves still living with an adolescent attitude of self focus. Advertising thrives on this, they play on this with consumers. Burger King says "Have it your way", Many commercials tell us that we deserve the new dress or the luxury car. It does not take long of this kind of living to find out that it is hollow. Many people have dreams of doing something really significant with their lives, and those dreams do not usually center on self appeasement or gratification.

Each of our classes discussed Halloween this week and if it is right or good for Christians to participate in this holiday. The discussions went better than I could have planned. With the help of the Apostle Paul's writings (Romans 14 and 1 Cor. 10) we settled on the idea that whatever you do or don't do should be done in faith for the glory of God and with the concern of others in mind. In other words the decision is not really about me and what I want to do. It was great to see kids 11 to 14 get the point that their sweet tooth should not be the determining factor in this decision. We had kids who served at Fall Festivals, some had parties at their houses for neighbors who are unchurched or lost spiritually. The best lesson I learned this week is that Leaders are LOSErs! When we lose, we really gain true life; a pretty sweet deal. If you are a member of the GCA community thanks for "preparing Leaders for Christ."

Learning to LOSE,
Coley Mull