READ: Genesis 17:19-27
“And Abraham took Ishmael his son, and … were bought with his money, every male among the men of Abraham’s house; and circumcised the flesh of their foreskin in the selfsame day, as God had said unto him.” – Genesis 17:23
Abraham had great faith and therefore was a great leader. He summoned the entire camp and described to them how their penises would need to be modified in order to please God. You can imagine how shocked the people were when Abraham unfolded his new vision to them. Only a strong leader could do this. I am sure some people may have died from infections and accidents during the circumcision. A strong man of faith will press on and do what he has been asked to do by the Lord. A strong man of faith is a strong leader!
I have known pastors who felt that their churches should be a part of our denomination. Indeed, they felt that it was the will of God to belong to a family of churches rather than to be a single stand alone congregation. Some of these pastors led their churches to join the family and were happily integrated. I was amazed when they changed their minds midstream and pulled their churches out of the fellowship. I realized that they had come under pressure from their leaders and other prominent opinion leaders in their churches.
Perhaps the opinion leaders in these churches said, “Why should you join that denomination? We have our own vision! We also have a mandate from God! Every calling is different! We cannot be under that man! Our name must not disappear! They are trying to swallow us! Who do they think they are?” Perhaps the wives of these pastors also joined in to murmur against the decision of the senior pastor.
It is your faith in what God is telling you to do that enables you to lead people through painful or tortuous routes. It takes faith to lead people to new places.