If It's Worth Doing, It's Worth Improving!
- Willliam Vogel
- Sep 20, 2019
- 3 min read
A leader is always looking forward, looking to improve the business, the ministry or really anything that is worth leading. What every great leader is focused on is “bettering” – How do I make things better?!
Beth and I have always seen that there are different levels of cooperation, intensity and leadership in any organization, business or ministry. We have always defined and delineated leadership under our leadership, all with the idea of separating and establishing a core of “Sprit De Corp” with the team. These are the people you identify as they poke their heads above the crowded field of the everyday followers and say “give me more.” These are the people that need to mentored at different levels and be involved in leadership training. Builders at heart, they see the importance of building people and the people will build the ministry or business. They understand the deeper core beliefs to leadership.
The unity of the team depends on this, as well as the constant refreshment of the vision and dream.
Leadership is Everything! We have the opportunity to teach the children the lives of different missionaries that have impacted History – One we teach about is the famous Hudson Taylor, a missionary to China. Talk about lasting impact!! He knew that if something is worth doing, it is worth improving. Today, we are seeing the results of great leadership as we watch the current uprising and demonstrations in Hong Kong.
In a recent article, Chuck Colson (former Presidential adviser and leader of Prison fellowship) pointed out eight years ago that the connection between Christianity and the success of the West has created a conundrum for Beijing. As he put it back then, Communist Party officials know that “the industriousness and creativity of the West was born out of the Christian worldview, which sees every individual created in the image of God, desiring freedom, creative in nature, motivated by civic duty and love of neighbor.”
At the same time, China’s actions in Hong Kong and Mainland China reveal that the Communist Party sees all religions, and Christianity in particular, as dangerous rivals. If Jesus is Lord, then Xi Jinping is not.
As Chuck Colson also said, if Beijing “truly opened its doors to Christianity and unleashed the creative and spiritual potential of its people”, the result would be even greater prosperity and “growing global and economic clout.” But that prosperity and clout would come “at great cost to the power of the Communist dictatorship.”
Hudson Taylor said that "China is not to be won for Christ by quiet, ease loving men or women… The stamp of men and women we need is such as will put Jesus, China, souls first and foremost in everything and at every time- even life itself must be secondary.”
The missionary effort that God called him to start to this day has fanned out across the land. His influence, along with so many other missionaries has improved and challenged the wiles of the devil in the largest population in the world today. His leadership was all about “improving and bettering.”
These are some of the best leadership quotes from Hudson Taylor:
1.Remove obstacles if possible – “Remove stubborn obstacles wherever you can.” Note: not all obstacles are not removable.
2. “Oil the wheels where they stick" – build relationships where ever they have been challenged.
3. “Supplement what is lacking.” Criticizing plans is easier than supplementing where things are lacking.
Grow yourself, then grow those around you; the result will be growth of the business or ministry. Aim your heart. Hudson Taylor was used by God mightily, but did not get along with the mission organization he was called to work alongside because His passion ran very deep. The leadership team you bring up along side you, the leader, will define much of what is worth doing and what influence and improvement the organization will have.
Before Hudson Taylor passed away after ministering for 50 years, he had brought nearly 100 missionaries to China. he trained nearly the same number of nationals and raised over 4,000,000 dollars. He alone baptized over 50,000 people. His most famous saying is, "Depend upon it, Gods work done Gods way will never lack God’s supply." Presently, it is estimated that there are well over 100 million Christians in China.