Just this month my husband and I have started an exciting new ministry called Awaken Leadership. It is an online platform which includes articles that we have written and information surrounding my new book Promise Keeper.
In recent times my husband and I have been talking a lot about leadership. As we have learnt that leadership is not only a licence to think but a great responsibility. The responsibility that you have been entrusted to as a leader is huge. At times it can be heavy to bear but it is a great privilege. Awaken Leadership exists to love and lead people to Jesus.
In Luke chapter 7, verses 11-17 we see the account of the funeral in Nain. It is a prophetic warning sound for the Body of Christ so preoccupied with its ceremony that it could miss being interrupted by God.
Firstly, the son was dead, and he did not know it. When a person is dead, they do not know it. The bible says in Ephesians chapter 2, verse 1 that we too were once dead in our transgressions and sin. We were blissfully unaware of our own state and the smell of death that reeked from our very condition. We offered no resistance because we were already laid comfortably in our coffin and being carried along for the ride.
Secondly, he was being carried by his culture, well past the place of influence. This son was the only child of his mother. He would have been the survivor of his parents and the leader of his family. He should have been the one to sit at the place of influence and authority at the city gates; the place where civic decisions and commerce took place. He should have been counted among the leaders and influences of Nain. Instead he was being carried by his culture and his friends right past the place of influence in his society.
Thirdly, Jesus grabbed a hold of the open coffin. The funeral is nearing completion when Jesus arrives to interrupt the procession; much to the dismay and disgust of the funeral guests. But Jesus did not care for the ceremony, rather he cared for the son and his mother. Jesus impolitely brought life to a funeral procession that was preoccupied with death.
Fourthly, the son sat up and spoke up. The very first thing the son did was sit up and speak up. The life that Jesus brings causes us to sit up, pay attention and become keenly aware of the places that our culture has carrying us. It also causes us to speak up.
Finally, the miracle that Jesus performs brings the fear of God and causes all present to glorify God. This is always the outcome when the reality of God is brought to bear. We must give up our vain pursuits and become keenly aware of the power and the presence of God (Psalm chapter 24, verse 7).
The vision of Awaken Leadership is hidden in this story. Awakenleadership.online exists to love and lead people to Jesus – the one who brings life where there is death.
Elise Pappas is a Pastor and together with her husband pastor a church on the Sunshine Coast in Queensland, Australia. They have a son, Jonathan and a daughter, Sophie. Elise is a former clinical drug trial research coordinator and business owner. She writes about life and ministry experiences.