Encouraging my leaders is love

Being a leader is a high calling. God holds leaders to a higher level of accountability, and will hold them responsible for how they lead and shepherd His people. So, I thought I would send my leaders @ Alpha an encouraging email to root them on in their leadership:

"Hi leaders!

Thanks for your time and dedication in directing people to Jesus! I was doing my devos last night, and came upon this passage that I hope will be an encouragement to you (and us), as we continue to point people to Christ:

"The ministry of the Gospel of Jesus Christ involves a spiritual battle in which the evangelist is nothing more than an ambassador. Whether a person responds negatively to the "glorious gospel of Christ," or whether he believes and is given new life, the battle is fought on a spiritual plane outside the control of the messenger.

Why do some people reject the gospel? Satan has blinded their minds so they cannot see. Why do other people accept the gospel? "God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in their hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ." (2 Cor 4:6) For this reason, "we faint not." (2 Cor 4:1,16) Paul faced persistent opposition and rejection throughout his ministry. He stayed in the battle, refusing to quit, because he knew that in the final analysis the struggle did not involve him personally.

You can easily misunderstand your task as a witness for Christ and take it personally when people reject His message. Conversely, you think too highly of yourself if you take pride in your ability to win others to Christ. In either case, you fail to grasp that you are limited to merely sharing the good news. Beyond that point, it becomes a spiritual struggle over which you have no control. Once you assimilate the significance of this, you will not be timid in sharing the gospel nor lose heart when people reject the message.

You do not preach for temporal gain. In sales, you only get credit for what you sell. With the gospel, you only get credit for proclaiming the gospel, irrespective of the response. For these reasons, "we faint not.""

- quoted from "Thoughts from the Diary of a Desperate Man" by Walter A. Henrichsen

Let us not lose heart, but continue to gently show love to those who have yet to experience God's grace and love! And may God fill you with wisdom, as you pray and lead Team 10 in discovering the glories of Calvary!"