* MOLDING POTENTIAL LEADERS THROUGH FAITH AND ACTION*1

(2 Timothy 1:5-7)
Introduction:
I have a question for you: ARE LEADERS BORN OR MADE? Is leadership in-born or
acquired? The theme of CD-CYF Summer Youth Camp, “Molding Potential Leaders through
Faith and Action” which you have taken up in the past three days clearly points to the fact that
leaders are molded and so they are made. In reality, many people are involved and a long
process is done to form or mold a leader. The task of finding and molding potential leaders is
not easy. Let us pray…
John Maxwell says, “Everything rises and falls on leadership.” Chuck Swindoll says,
“Christian leaders with character continue to be in demand.” They are simply saying that
leadership development should be given priority in our churches. I congratulate our youth for
this is what you are doing.
But you might ask, “Am I qualified to be a leader?” Let’s take a quick look at the people of
the Bible:
• Moses, as a little baby floated on a basket in a river to escape death. Forty years he
lived as a prince, forty years in the desert as a Shepherd. Then God called him to rescue
the Israelites from Egypt and led them for forty years;
• Deborah, a woman prophetess, led Israel as a judge;
• David, an ordinary shepherd boy, became one of the greatest kings of Israel;
• Peter, a fisherman and impulsive disciple, became the leader of the church and died as
a martyr in an inverted cross;
• Thomas, the doubter, became a missionary to India and also died as a martyr; and
many others.
These people are just like us. Ordinary, simple, not influential and have limitations.
What made them great leaders? Faith in God and the willingness to face the challenging task
given to them.

1
Ptr. Jun Hernani, CD-CYF Summer Youth Camp. April 29, 2009. UCCP CRC Toril

1
 But this morning, let me invite you to learn about a young man who became a leader of
a church in Ephesus, a big Roman city. He is just like most of you. Young and shy but has
leadership potentials. 2 Timothy is Paul’s farewell letter. He was in dungeon and about to die
when he wrote to Timothy. This must be a very important letter! In this text, we can discover
three things:
First, in molding potential leaders, faith is essential. Paul says in v.5, “I have
been reminded of your sincere faith, which first lived in your grandmother Lois and in your
mother Eunice and I am persuaded, now lives in you also.” Timothy has a godly heritage. His
grandmother and mother are converts to Christianity. He also became a Christian when Paul
visited Iconium and Lystra during his missionary journeys.
FAITH, like a coin, has two sides. In one side, we see faith as God’s gift. Ephesians 2:8-
9 says, “For it is by grace you have been saved through faith and this is not from yourselves, it
is a gift of God so that no one can boast.” Faith, as a gift, makes us see our sinfulness and
leads us to the saving knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. On the other side, Faith is our
response to what God has done. And so James says, “…faith by itself, ,if it is not accompanied
by action is dead.”(James 2:17) The writer of Hebrews describes faith as “…being sure of what
we hope for and certain of what we do not see.”(Hebrews 11:1) And so we read in Hebrews
11, “By faith Abel offered a better sacrifice…”(v.4), “By faith Noah built an Ark…”(v.7), “By
faith Abraham obeyed and went…”(v.8), “By faith the walls of Jericho fell…”(v.30) Faith, then,
is not just belief but action. In molding potential leaders, faith and action go together.
Second, in molding potential leaders, gifts should be used and developed.
Paul says to Timothy in v.6, ”For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God,
which is in you through the laying on of my hands.” A New Testament scholar says, “Timothy
did not need new revelations or new gifts; he needed only to “fan” the gift of leadership he
already had received, as well as to have courage and self-discipline for holding on to the truth
in the days to come.” 2 Like Timothy, each of us has been given different gifts. What we need
to do is to use and develop those gifts. Do you know your gifts? We cannot lead in our

2
From “Life Application Commentary”

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churches if we do not know our gifts. If you have gifts in music, teaching, leading, serving,
healing, etc. use it now for God’s glory.
Third, in molding potential leaders, we should allow the Holy Spirit to shape
us. Paul says in v.7, “For God did not give us a spirit of timidity but a spirit of power, of love
and of self-discipline.” Great leadership in the church does not primarily depend on our skills
and abilities though these are important. Great leaders of our churches, first and foremost,
should be dependent on the power of the Holy Spirit. The qualities that Timothy needed in
pastoring the church in Ephesus are power, love and self-discipline. This is character
development. Again, John Maxwell says, “The development of character is at the heart of our
development not just as leaders, but as human beings.” 3 Leaders, he says, are effective
because of who they are on the inside.4 Great leaders are like bamboo trees. They grow very
little for the first 4 years. But then, suddenly in the 5th year, they grow 80-90 feet tall! The
Bamboo tree devotes most of its energy to develop the rhizome system of roots in the initial
years. Roots which are invisible to the eye are very important to hold the bamboo trees that
grow to its full height. Like bamboo trees, we cannot short cut the development of our
character. The shaping process is oftentimes long and difficult.
As Christian leaders, our characters are refined as we submit to the control and leading
of the Holy Spirit. Many leaders of our churches have fallen because they did not allow the
Holy Spirit to shape their character. Remember, to face the challenging tasks we need power,
to face oppositions we need love and to endure and finish our tasks we need self-discipline.
Let me tell you, whatever your age or status you are able to influence somebody. That
means you are a potential leader because leadership is about influence. But, in becoming a
great Christian leader, remember these three things: Faith is essential, gifts should be used
and developed and we should let the Holy Spirit shape our character.
In conclusion, let me share this Chinese proverb: IF YOU THINK YOU ARE LEADING
AND WHEN YOU LOOK BACK NOBODY IS FOLLOWING YOU, THEN, YOU ARE JUST TAKING A
WALK. I hope and pray that we will not just be taking a walk but we will truly be leaders in our
respective churches and communities. Amen.

3
John Maxwell, The 21 Indispensable Qualities of a Leader, p.4.
4
Ibid.