 Father, we thank you. We thank for the Lord, the power of your word, Lord. Truth, liberating, so alive, powerful. Lord, we thank you that your word is able to penetrate our thoughts. God, your word is able to penetrate the confusion in our minds. And your word is able to clarify, O God, what is of the heart and the intents of the heart and thoughts of the mind. We thank you, Lord, for your word. We thank you even as we soak in your word. We pray, Lord, for clarity. We pray that, Lord, as your word declares that the steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord. Yes, Master, maybe see that ordering, Lord, maybe experience that ordering in our lives, Father God. And also, Lord, your word declares that the path of the righteous grows brighter and brighter as unto the noon day. And so, God, we pray for that clarity for each one of us, God. We thank you, God. We believe and we have declared and we know that we will see the outcome of it, God. We thank you. We come at this time. We come at this day into your mighty hands in Jesus' name. Amen. Okay. You know, we've been looking at organizing and I think last class, you were looking at raising up leaders and also some of the things that will actually enable us to raise up leaders. And we also looked at the different stages of growth or different stages in the development of a leader. So we looked at all that. And we saw that some of the things that can really be act as a catalyst or speed up the entire process of raising up leaders is when we actually... So when we create opportunities for developing leaders, so when we saw that when we make space for developing leaders, maybe create an opportunity which is not there. Of course, it's not like time structuring in the sense, okay, I want this guy to do something. So let me create something to keep him busy. It's not that. We are creating something in line with the vision and in line with whatever opportunities are there or could be there, potential where that could be there. And we create that space. And it's based on the need as well. So when there is a need, when there is a requirement and we didn't see that all these while, but we see that need and we see, okay, here's this person and that person can actually be a good fit and that person can take this up. So we are actually opening up that opportunity for the potential leader or for nurturing the leader. So this actually develops the leader. And it's a hastens the qualities and everything that is required from the leader. So it's a good way to do that. Let me just share the screen with you. Okay, so we create opportunities, create that space and allow the person to step in. And while taking note of all that different stages, just if somebody is just stepping in, it's just a new thing for them. Then we give that time and space and our involvement. Like we said, our involvement is going to be pretty, almost, we're going to be closely involved and not very disengaged because it's the introductory or the initial stage of development. So if it is that stage of preparatory stage, then we will stay engaged, stay involved. Another way to get people to, I mean, for getting leaders to develop, to a development of leaders, what really helps is to enable them to see the leader. We're talking mainly about ministry here. So if it's ministry, if it's ministry opportunities, where the leader or the potential, the leader in development gets to see the leader who is developing that person who's speaking into their life to see actually the life example, to get to see the life example of that person. Like Paul did with Timothy and with, maybe with Titus and the others in the team. So Timothy saw all that happened, all the struggle that he went through, the way he handled the situations, the way he, I'm sure that Paul would have spent time discussing with Timothy and Timothy was also carrying the epistles to the church and churches and so on. So to, especially to Corentin. So Timothy had, Paul had actually given him access or allowed him to see who he was. And he was an example and he said so in as many words. And he said be imitators of God as I imitate Christ. So Timothy had seen him and you know, we see that he had also developed into a fine leader, a fine minister, which he could, Paul could actually commend and recommend to people and so on. So that's one aspect, very important aspect as well. You know, where it's not, necessarily be a formal training session, but the person is actually getting trained by watching, by observing, by seeing the, you know, the good, bad and the ugly, right? Seeing the negative things, seeing the positive things and it's a very enriching lesson. How to do, how not to do as well. So, you know, one, I think early on lesson for us as ministers, you know, in being in the leadership team of the church was to see, you know, and interact with Pastor and Pastor Ashish and when we travel together and to see how he, you know, engaged with other ministers of God, engaged with other people. And the thing is, you know, especially when we are not, let's say when we are not on stage or not in front of the podium, off podium, off stage, you know, the lessons learned to be very valuable, you know, for example, like there's a food line, just stay in line, stand in line with a plate just like anyone else. And so when everybody's like, you know, Pastor, you come, you do this, you know, let me take your plate, let me carry your Bible. You would have none of that, right? Saying, okay, we are just, you know, one of you, and it's just that, well, we've been invited, we have an opportunity to minister, but apart from that, we are not like, you know, superstars or celebrities, so nothing of that height, right? So that was, those were early lessons to be learned, so which stays with you and, you know, and these are things that develop you as you grow. And so you don't want any of that either, right? As you take up a role as a minister and a leader, you don't want any of that. And so when others who watch you, they don't want any of that. So it's an important lesson that is being passed on, a legacy that is passed on, when a leader opens up and gets to display, you know, his life, put on display rather, his life and his way he engages and ministers to the other younger generation, right? Okay, so this develops leaders, so you're not really showing only your best side, right? It's showing how you handle pressure, it's showing how, you know, you're vulnerable to certain things and what mistakes you've made and how you recovered from those mistakes, all that. All that goes on to, you know, develop the leader, right? Okay, now another important intentional thing to develop leaders just like creating opportunities and letting them see your life example is also to provide feedback, encouragement and correction, right? So we take the first one, feedback. So feedback is to feed information back into the system, right? So when we say feedback, it is like going back, you receive something and then you take it back to the source. So maybe the person has said something or done something and you receive that information and you're feeding it back to the person. So it is feedback about their performance, it is feedback about maybe their mistake, but how they did, how they fared, what they did. The feedback always helps, right? So a feedback and also encouragement, right? So and most importantly, correction, right? So when it comes to, you know, developing leaders, if we neglect correction, then we are actually allowing the mistake to, maybe we're doing injustice because we are actually affirming their mistake, right? Or maybe they have a weakness and we are not actually pointing out or calling it out or drawing attention to that. So the problem is this, you know, we need to do it, like speak the truth in love, right? And do it with a gentle spirit and do it in a way that does not break the person, right? Does not in any way rob the dignity of that person, right? Because after all, they are made in God's image and like Peter says that, well, they are God's flock at the end of the day, right? People are God's flock, among whom we have been placed as ministers, right? As shepherds. So they all belong to the chief shepherd. So we need to, you know, keep that in mind as we correct as well. So don't break the person, don't mess with the dignity of the person, but present the fact, I don't hold back the fact. When it comes to correction, normally what happens is, you know, we probably share 80% of what we had in our heart, what we had in our mind, you know, 80% of it. But that last 20% is what really matters. That's the important stuff. But we are unsure, you know, how will this person take it? Or should I not? And we hold back that 20% which is really important, right? So for some sharing or correcting people comes naturally. It's part of their temperament, it's part of their personality and they do it with grace. But for some, you know, some of us we need to learn. We need to learn to confront in a God-honoring manner. We need to confront in a manner that really edifies the person, in an atmosphere of love, encouragement and support. That's very important. So when we do that, then there is development. Something of value has been shared with the person. Now, well, the other person can actually receive it well, not receive it well, you know, that is always there. That risk is always there. The person could probably get offended and so on, get angry, upset. No matter how nicely we share, no matter in whatever encouragement, encouraging manner it is done, there is always that risk of that happening. But that should not, that risk or the risk of that outcome should not stop us as leaders in this whole process of leadership development should not stop us from correcting in the right way, right? So feedback, so many examples that we see of correction is that people are, you know, they just went to their anger, you know, because the thing is, yeah, it has probably made them angry. The mistake that the person has made probably has made them angry. Maybe the mistake was at the result in some, it was a costly mistake, right? It had some very strong consequences. Okay. But at the same time, we need to do it in, we need to do it firmly, we need to do it in this manner, right? And I'm sure that there are, so there will be times when those mistakes are repeated. The mistakes are, you know, it's, people have not learned from the lessons and external measures need to be, external consequences have to be spilt out and carried out when it comes to, you know, when it comes to that. But we're just looking at feedback, encouragement and correction, you know. In developing leaders, okay? So the problem is not an attitude, the problem is not, maybe it was a blind spot and we need to make sure this is done. Okay, feedback really helps, feedback, maybe it was a complete blind spot and you're sharing, okay, this is how it is. So it really helps the person. Encouragement really helps the person, affirms the fact that, okay, I'm on the right path and, you know, what you share really builds a person up and correction as well. So, you know, so feedback and correction, you know, encouragement everybody loves. Feedback and correction, well, nobody likes to get and especially if the feedback is a negative feedback. Nobody likes to just receive that. But even for us as leaders, you know, we receive feedback. If we would, you know, if we would look at it this way, okay, here's some information that's coming my way and even if there is, you know, a small percentage of truth in it, it could come clothed in emotions, it could come, you know, maybe with a lot of assumptions, maybe there's just one per, one percent of truth in it, but the other things are all just assumptions and very subjective things, right, just coming as a feedback. No problem, we will take it for that one percent, you know, because that one percent matters, because one person, we see it as a truth and then we can make changes to that. So it's always, you know, it's always good not to shut down that avenue of feedback, right, because once we shut it down, then we are actually not receiving that valuable feedback and that maybe some good ideas might come and we are actually shutting it off, right. We're saying that, okay, it's not welcome, you know, and then that stops coming, okay. So even if, you know, eight out of 10 feedback that you receive are, you know, you just realize that it's biased, it should be prejudiced, just keep it going, right, and the same way, you know, we're sharing with others also. We pick the time, we pick the right opportunity and then feedback has to be shared, you know, and many times the feedback and correction has to be, it's time bound, right, it's time bound. In a sense, certain things have to be said immediately, have to be done immediately, you cannot wait. Well, certain things which are non-critical can probably, you know, we can wait for the right time, right moment and just share, you know, it's not of critical value, but some things have to be shared immediately and while it is still fresh in memory, it has to be done, right, okay. So the thing is this, that as leaders we need to develop more leaders, we need to build people up so that they have the strength to carry the responsibilities of leadership, the responsibility of building people. You know, when you look at ministry, we see that it is actually about building people, right, and that's why God refers to people as God's building and Paul refers to people as God's field, okay. So both have the picture of, you know, a building has the whole thing of, there's a blueprint and you're, you know, bringing the material and there's a lot of work involved in seeing that to completion. The field also has the same thing, right, where you're sewing and there's a process involved, there's a nurture, there's protection against elements and then there is a process, again, there is time, there is a process and there is development happening, right. So this, all of us, we need to understand that as ministers, we need to understand that and as people who are called to disciple, right, what is discipleship? Teaching people to follow the one who's called us to be disciples, but we do it in community and discipleship is, you know, building people. So there's no escaping the fact that we need to raise up leaders, okay, and this is something which is very important as part of our leadership development as well. Any questions here? Before we go into decision making, any doubts, any questions? Okay. And whatsoever? Okay. Faster. Yeah, yeah. So the feedback we are mentioning right now is as we develop leaders and when it comes to pastoral ministry or leading a church, do we also give feedback to congregation members, especially in the area of character if you hear something wrong? Yeah. So, you know, if it's something that we have observed personally and something that, you know, there's a couple of things, one is people observe and people tell us and the other thing is if we observe it personally, we see it and, you know, we know for sure, okay, this is what it is because people could, it's a one-off thing. Well, we kind of need to ensure that it is not just a one-off thing, it's not just a casual observation, but, you know, it is a pattern before we actually venture in and do that. But yes, you know, we need to do that. Only then there will be change. You know, sometimes it could be a very genuinely, I mean, a blind spot which people think that, okay, it's okay. I can get by. Sometimes it's willingly done, intentionally done. But as we do it in a, again, the intention is not to bring them down. The intention is to, you know, help them in nature and it will be helpful. Yeah. Thanks. Okay, so let's just move on to the next one which is decision-making within the organization. Again, I just wanted to, you know, just make this clear that we will actually have, you know, be looking at all this in church administration in detail. But however, you know, we'll just mention this. So it will be a reiteration when you look at church administration again. So decision-making within the organization. So leadership in a formal structure. First of all, we understand that when you look at ministry, ministry is both, we know it's spiritual and also has its natural side to it in the sense, you know, there are certain things that need to be done. So if you look at, you know, if you look at the book of Acts itself, Acts and then we see that there was some problem with the distribution, daily distribution, right? So what was it? It was actually an administrative issue, right? A logistical need that had to be met, right? So Acts after six, we see that, okay. Somewhere neglected, those were neglected and then the others were actually raised up. Seven were chosen to take care of that. So we need to understand that in ministry, there is the administrative, there is the logistical side of it or the organizational side of it. You know, as much as church is a family, church is, you know, also an organization or it has an organization side to it. If we ignore that, well, it can be, it'll be self-defeating. See, as a leader, if you want to do certain things, if you ignore that part of it, then it's really going to, you know, it's going to have a negative impact on the spiritual side of ministry, okay? Simple things like, okay, you know, place needs to be clean, chairs need to be there, you know, all that requires planning and implementation of the plan. Simple, right? Any meeting, any gathering? Well, there needs to be a place. The place needs to be clean. You have simple infrastructure, right? Maybe mats to, you know, sit on if it's on the floor or chairs to sit on, et cetera, right? Electricity or some kind of light if it's in the evening and maybe washrooms or restrooms or, you know, all these things, right? So there is the organizational side of it, okay? And when it comes to the organizational side of it, there are a lot of decisions to be made. Some decisions are daily, some decisions are, you know, maybe they have a slightly bigger time frame, like weekly, maybe monthly, maybe annually. Certain decisions have to be made for the organizational side of things as well as the spiritual side, okay? So for making these decisions within the organization, we need to base those decisions on certain standards. What is that reference point? And what are the standards based on which we are making these decisions? Because these decisions are important, right? So we need to have clarity on the standards based on which we make these decisions. For example, like maybe it's a decision like, okay, we need to order food for maybe 100 people. There's this meeting, we need to order food. And so certain standards like, okay, the food needs to be tasty, food needs to arrive on time, food needs to be hot. And when the person comes to serve the food, we need to have so many, you know, plates and whatever, you know, serving utensils and so on. So the person who's actually preparing the food and bringing it has to be, you know, capable enough to carry this out, okay? Reliant, consistent, dependable, right? So let's say this is a caterer. So it's a vendor. So within the organization, you make that standard clear that if you're choosing a vendor, the vendor has to have these capabilities, right? So whoever's choosing a vendor and also the pricing, right? Okay, this is, you know, per plate. This is how much they are going to charge, okay? And is it reasonable? Is it affordable? Is it, you know, is it? So all these things. So you, we need to have standards based on, you know, punctuality, cleanliness, the quality of food, et cetera, for a caterer. So like these, like these standards, like these qualities for every decision that is made, it could be decisions of, you know, maybe stationary needs to be purchased. It could be decisions like maybe some computers need to be bought. Or everyday decisions, right? On consumables, perishables, or maybe some assets like land or, you know, decisions there needs to be standard. Like there need to be, we need to have some standards. So these standards have to be clear to everyone in the ministry team, everyone's serving. So the best way to do it is to document it and put it in a place where it's clear for everybody, where it's, where people can refer to it. Like maybe a file, if it's something physical, or maybe it's on a drive, or a Google Drive or on a cloud or something, where people can actually refer to. So whoever joins, whoever joins the team, or whoever has a doubt can refer to the standards of operation. And, you know, many of these things we actually, you know, are shared, you know, if you're working in a secular organization, if you're joining the team, you would get an appointment letter. And along with the appointment letter, your role and responsibilities and, you know, those standards and values and everything are shared. So the same thing can be done, or it has to be done when you're in an organization, in a ministry, in an organization which is involved in industry work. So this helps in effective and efficient ways in which decisions can be made, right? So making standards clear. The standards based on which you're making the decisions, it's very, very important. So we don't, you know, we don't shift away from these standards when it comes to making decisions. Then we also need to have a system in place for the approval of these decisions. So what do we mean by that? So certain decisions would need approval from somebody who is probably carrying a bigger responsibility or somebody who is overseeing the entire ministry, maybe. For example, maybe as an associate pastor, I can approve certain financial decisions, certain buying things. I can approve for, maybe I can just approve certain things for daily use of maybe stationery, maybe consumables. I can approve up to a certain amount of money. Even buying of certain maybe instruments, certain gadgets, certain cables and et cetera. I can approve up to a certain amount of money, maybe 15,000, 20,000. I can approve that. So you'll go ahead. But if it's going to be a major purchase, like the piece of land, maybe, you know, a building or, you know, maybe a gadget which is or an instrument or some equipment which is an asset to the organization and it's worth in, you know, the worth of that, the price of that is running into thousands and maybe a few lakhs. Then someone else needs to approve. So what is that system of approval? Okay. So if that is clear, then I can say that, okay, you know, this I can approve. I can sign off. We can go ahead and buy. But if there's, if it's since this amount, whatever we are considering for purchase, you know, this printer, this laptop that we are purchasing is running into, you know, a few hundreds of thousands. Then we, it's better. You know, I can suggest this to someone else who has the capability to approve or who. So that process. Okay. If not me, then who? So that process has to be clear. And that also if we can, you know, document it. Okay. It can be just buying decisions, maybe spending decisions, maybe hiring, right? All that. So this also even we document it when we keep it. When everybody is clear, then that process happens quickly. It happens, you know, nobody's doubt. You know, nobody's question. Okay. Now who needs to do this? Maybe once you check and you, you see that it's clear, then just go ahead with it. You know, every time we face that situation, or we are in that place of maybe buying, spending, hiring, whatever, it's, we already know that, okay, this is who this is the person who has to approve it. This is the person who has to clear the quality, all that. Right. So that process also needs to be clear. Okay. Okay. So this is, we're looking at decision making within the organization. Okay. Another thing, important thing is to have an open channel for discussion. Okay. So having a, we're going to look at culture and values. So this open channel for discussion, open channel for receiving feedback. So this will actually help us to make good decisions. Right. Because if we have this open channel, some, some good ideas, right. Some good corrections could come. So we could actually, people could share and people could say, okay, before we consider this, you know, why don't we look at this, look at this option also. And then, so if that kind of a culture is not there, if the culture is okay, I better mind my business. You know, I, I know, you know, I've shared so many ideas in the past, none of it has been taken. So I don't want to do that. Right. So, so the thing is the understanding it should be, you know, that if you have ideas, share it, not everything can be implemented, may not be immediately taken care of, but no problem. And it's just that we are thinking of doing a better thing. But, you know, as far as you, you know, as far as options are concerned, if you have any ideas, you know, please go ahead and share it. Right. If that, that kind of a culture is there, then, and also in what way can those ideas be shared? Right. In what forum should it be shared? Then it, then it has a very healthy culture and also saying, you know, as, as leaders, we are open for discussing this. We are open for inputs from, from the team. So this kind of culture has to be actually intentionally developed. Okay. So when we are open, then the decision making process is also, you know, is, is made stronger. Okay. Then the last thing is when it comes to decision making within the organization is that as a leader, we need to take risk or as leaders, we need to take responsibility for the decisions that are made. Right. The final responsibility for the decisions that rest with the leader. Right. So considering all the outcomes, considering all the consequences, pros and cons, you make the decision. So the ultimate responsibility is with you as a leader, which means that the consequence of the decision is also, you know, with us to face the consequence of the decision. If it's a good decision, great. But if it's a, if it's a poor decision or a bad decision, then the consequence or outcome of that decision, also, we need to face as leaders. Okay. So we cannot pass on the blame and say, okay, this person, that person, you know, ultimately we are responsible. So responsible for making the decision. Right. And also for facing the outcome of the decision. Okay. So we need to understand that. So there's no escaping that. There's no shying away from that. Right. So as leaders we are responsible. Okay. Any questions in this section in this topic? Okay. So let's, let's look at, let's look at, let's move on. Let's look at culture and especially kingdom culture. Okay. And some of it is from the, you know, the kingdom of God and also from some of our, you know, what we use in church for our membership class, you know, when we share about the culture and the values of the church and so on. So here, creating and nurturing a kingdom culture. Okay. I'm sure that, you know, those of us who worked in a couple of organizations or, you know, or maybe, you know, just step into a church, you know, there are certain things that, that you notice right away. Okay. With the way things are done. We certain things are done. Certain things are not done. The people and, and, and certain things that you notice are, you know, the culture of it, you know, the customs, the beliefs, things that they esteem highly. Okay. The value. The value. And then these things need not be, you know, written down on paper, but it's, it's understood. And this is how they do it. Like, for example, I remember going to a church where, I mean, this was actually not a church service, but it was their Bible study. It was a midweek Bible study, which we, we used to, you know, go and then before we, you know, started serving here in church. So we used to go to search and then the week Bible study. So what I noticed was that, you know, the, the person who comes the earliest always sat right in front. Okay. So let's say, you know, there's a family of people coming and they are, you know, they are early, they're on time. They would, they would not sit anywhere else, nowhere in the middle, but they would just sit in the right in front. And the ones, maybe that front row is filled and, you know, the next row will be filled and so on. So I found that very interesting. So these are of course regular people. So, you know, we went there as newcomers and we were just thinking, okay, maybe we should just sit in the back and, you know, maybe if the meeting goes on for a long time, maybe we can slip out. But they said, you know, just go ahead. You know, we, you want to keep back rows for those who are coming late. So, so this was a culture. This was a custom. And obviously it must have been people, the leader would have faster whoever else was, you know, would have instructed that initially when they were small, maybe, and they continued that doing that. Okay. It was a custom. It was a culture. So that, you know, that happened. So you notice that, right? It may not be there in their whatever, you know, whatever pamphlet they're giving out. It may not be there in the, you know, information about church on the website. It may not be there. This is how you sit when you come into church. But it's a culture. It's a custom. Right. And also, you know, some things like, okay, in this particular church, well, do you, you walk into certain churches and then you see that people are, you know, dressed very formally. Right. They always have their suit and tie, the Bimna are dressed in, you know, their best and it's like, it's, it's like maybe a wedding, you know, people are dressed up. Right. And you notice that. Okay. So who, well, who instructed them? Right. It is the culture. Right. So, you know, things like this, customs believes certain practices. These are the culture of the gathering of people. Right. Of a church, of an organization. And so the thing is that this is something very powerful, the culture. It can be a positive culture, which can impact everyone positively. Or it can be a negative culture. Right. I remember going for the church meeting and this was in North Karnataka and we actually went for, it was a special meeting. We went, invited to minister. So we went there as a team and well, the meeting was supposed to start at 10. So we were there by nine to, to, you know, set up the things and we had taken some books. So we set it up and we were leading worship. So we were kind of, you know, doing a sound check and all that. And well, we did all that. And then we had a time of prayer and we were good to start 10 o'clock. Well, no one was there. So we were just waiting, you know, 10, 10, 10, 10, 15, 10, 30, half an hour passed. The starting time is when people, just kind of strolled in and by the time we actually, you know, had now this is, we are invited, right? So we can't really start the whole thing. The host has to start the meeting. So we suggested, you know, we can start, They said, no, we'll have to wait, we'll have to wait for people, they'll come. So by the time we started, it was actually 11 a.m., the invitations at 10 a.m., but we started at 11 a.m. and that is when the place, you know, the host decided to start and that is when everybody, you know, kind of... So the thing is here, the culture was that, you know, it's an unhealthy culture, right? It's not really respecting people's time. And also, maybe one thing reinforced the other, right? So maybe people understood that, hey, even if you go late, they will anyway start late. So let me go late. So that thing led to people starting late, the host starting late, and so on, you know, it became a cycle of, I'm starting late because they are coming late, and they are coming late because you are starting late, becomes an unhealthy culture, right? So a culture can be positive, can be negative, but it's something that is valuable and we will look at, you know, kingdom culture. We take a break and then we get back 10 minutes, thank you.