Most of your nominees are lacking in background, education,
and vocational aptitude for the type of enterprise you are undertaking
TO : Jesus, Son of Joseph FROM : Jordan Management Consultants
Wood crafters Carpenter Shop Jerusalem 26544
Nazareth 25922
Dear Sir: Thank you for submitting the resumes of the twelve men you have picked for management positions in your new organization. All of them have now taken our battery of tests, and we have not only run the results through our computer, but also arranged personal interviews for each of them with our psychologist and vocational aptitude consultant. The profiles of all tests are enclosed. You will want to study each of them carefully. As part of our service and for your guidance, we make some general comments These are given as a result of staff consultation and come without any additional fee.
It is the staff opinion that most of your nominees are lacking in background, education, and vocational aptitude for the type of enterprise you are undertaking. They do not have the team concept. We would recommend that you continue your search for persons of experience in managerial ability and proven capability.
Simon Peter is emotionally unstable and given to fits of temper. Andrew has absolutely no qualities of leadership. The two brothers, James and John, the sons of Zebedee, place personal interest above company loyalty. Thomas demonstrates a questioning attitude that would tend to undermine morale. We feel that it is our duty to tell you that Matthew has been blacklisted by the Greater Jerusalem Better Business Bureau. James, the son of Alphaeue, and Thaddaeus definitely have radical leanings, and they both registered a high score on the manic-depressive scale. One of the candidates, however, shows great potential. He is a man of ability and resourcefulness, meets people well, has a keen business mind and has contacts in high places. He is highly motivated, ambitious and responsible. We recommend Judas Iscariot as your controller and right-hand man. We wish you every success in your new venture. Sincerely your, Jordan Management Consultants.●
COMMENTS
in relation to AN OPEN LETTER ON LEADERSHIP
Akina yeptho (PIS student) says:
PACE is a community-focused organization that empowers individuals to make a positive impact by fostering a sense of connection and shared responsibility.
Through their work, small acts of kindness create a ripple effect, where one good deed inspires another, spreading generosity and compassion throughout the community.
PACE brings people together, encouraging them to take action and contribute to making the world a better place. At the core of PACE’s mission are values like compassion, empathy, and mutual support. They believe that everyone has something valuable to offer, and by providing a platform for people to share their time, skills, and resources, they strengthen the bonds between individuals.
This creates an environment where people can connect and work together to bring about meaningful change in their communities. PACE offers various opportunities for people to get involved, including volunteer programs, events, and initiatives that promote collective action. They also focus on developing future leaders by providing training and support to help individuals build their skills and confidence.
Through these efforts, PACE fosters an inclusive and welcoming community, where everyone is valued and empowered to make a difference. In the Parable of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:25-37), Jesus teaches us to love our neighbours as ourselves, showing kindness and generosity regardless of background.
Similarly, PACE encourages people to help others, promoting compassion and responsibility within the community. Acts 2:42-47 further illustrates this, where early Christians shared everything they had and supported one another, reflecting PACE; goal of building a united community where people come together to make a positive impact.
The Bible also highlights the importance of service and leadership through Jesus; example in John 13:12-17, where He washes the feet of His disciples, teaching that true leadership is grounded in serving others.
PACE embodies this by offering opportunities for individuals to lead with kindness and humility, focusing on service to their communities. Through these examples, PACE reflects biblical values by fostering a compassionate and supportive environment where individuals are empowered to make a difference.♥
Byeong, Melvin University, says:
There is another story similar to this, once there was a heavenly meeting where the angels asked Jesus, “Can you handle the great mission of world evangelization with people who have no ability, why don’t you change them?” Jesus’ answer: “But I will continue to work with them.”
The above two stories boils down to the question: should we continue to work with people who are not capable? We all have this question sometimes. I’ve personally experienced this, but in [Built to Last] and other books, it’s clear that building up and working with people from within is the only way to have a long-term, successful ministry. I’ve wondered many times if I should replace them with new people. But I read books that said to continue with people from within, so I decided to continue with the original members, and I’m still with them today. In time, new people naturally joined the team, and we were able to accomplish what we wanted to do and get the results we expected. Looking back now, what if we had changed people from the beginning? It’s a horrible thought, but it would have been an obvious failure.
I have found meaning of this ministry like this:
First, every believer is a minister. This is derived from the meaning of Ephesians 4:11-12, the main scripture and also core concept of the Lay Pastors Ministry. In 1970s, Lutheran theological Oscar Feucht has written the book, “Everyone A Minster” which was shocked to the people, especially to pastors because people, both pastors and laypeople, had been thought that only Pastors are ministers. But Oscar thought those who has Christ in mind, they are all minsters and he made new terminology, MINISTERIUM which is originally means monthly gathering of Pastors.
Second, the concept of Partners in Ministry. Dr. James Garlow was the pastor of Skyline Methodist Church at San Diego has written the book, “Partners in Ministry.’ This book came from his Ph.D dissertation at Drew University. He stressed in the book that we, pastors and laypeople should be partners in ministry. One church at Kangnam, downtown in Seoul had been focused on the ‘discipleship-making.’ This ministry paradigm was famous in Korean churches and also to the Asian churches. But now they have been upgraded and changed to the ‘church of partners in ministry.’ Because this is more proper long-term direction of their church.
Third,the pastor grows and also laypeople grow. Of course they have been growing. However, without the proper paradigm and ministry direction their growth was minimal. But through Lay Pastors Ministry, the both laypeople and pastors have been growing.
Fourth, the church’s health. This is directly related to the church culture. If the church is good, the church will grow. Because of a good culture accommodates everything. Lay Pastors Ministry is pursuing a health and good church-oriented. Culture is related to the commitment. Finally, team ministry. Team ministry here is not referring to pastors and pastoral staffs, but laypeople and laypeople, people to people. They have to have the team spirit, and so partners in ministry with their senior pastor and team concept among laypeople. That is not only YOU and ME, but ‘WE’ concept has to be there.
I have read one book, “Me to We,” because of the title that attracted my attention, so I bought, read, and also translated into Korean. The content was that the dialogue between old pastor and young pastor. Young pastor has struggled about his church ministry, so old pastor; I guess experienced pastor advised him from Ephesians, to equip the saints for the work of ministry. ■
ADDITIONAL COMMENT
by BYEONG
THE NECESSITY of MELVIN UNIVERSITY: For a while ago, I went to the students’ home. It can be seen as a kind of home visit. I wanted to see how our students lived and how they lived. I went to a student’s house, and it was a little far away from school for almost 30 minutes.
When I went there, there were parents, and it was a typical African life. I met his father and he told me, “Thank you very much for building a university.” It meant thanks to me for establishing a university in such a poor and underdeveloped place.
Our Melvin University has settled in a really underdeveloped countryside. This is because Pastor Ogilla, the current vice president, donated 6 hectares of land inherited from his father to the Melvin University Incorporated. Personally, I hated this place at first because it was too rural and underdeveloped. Rather than saying no, it was too inconvenient to live, so I had to. However, I think I changed my mind a little after hearing the words of the student’s father, “Thank you for setting up a university in such an underdeveloped countryside.” I told myself, yeah, this is a place like this, so they need a university even more.
In fact, it is true that universities in Kenya are almost in cities. First, there are many students in the city and money in the city, so that’s right in terms of strategy. And everyone accepts that as a valid reason.
However, Oyugis, where our university is located, is an underdeveloped area, so we realize that the number of students is not as high as the city and is limited.
However, on the one hand, should the number of students be large? After thinking like this, I talked to the whole students, professors and university staffs during the chapel. They explained that the reason why the number of students should be large is that tuition fees are high in the end, which is inevitable for the development of schools. The simple reason why there needs to be a lot of money was that the building should be built and the professor’s salary should be paid. In any case, Melvin University emphasized that we should think their careers after graduation and a fruitful education with the right number of students rather than many students.
Another is the reality of present pastors. I have heard several times that most of them do not studied theology, but are ordained and pastored. Since our region does not have a seminary, and they cannot afford to go to seminary financial difficulties, they are “ordained and pastorated” with prayer and church passion.
Fortunately, the Kenyan government has known this since the end of last year and announced that pastors without degrees must enter accredited seminaries or universities to qualify as preachers, so many such pastors seem to be preparing to enter Melvin University, raising the need for weekend classes and night classes.
Anyway, Melvin University is grateful for providing hope to underdeveloped young people and opportunities to study again for many pastors with no degree, and best for these two roles.