What We Believe

WHAT WE BELIEVE

The Biblical foundations for the Voice of the Servant’s work of Gospel evangelism and servant leadership training are many.

Our Statement of Faith
GOD
We Believe God is the Creator and Ruler of the universe. He has existed eternally in three persons: the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. These three are co-equal and are one God.
In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.
Genesis 1:1

THE BIBLE
We Believe The Bible is God’s Word to all men. It was written by human authors under the supernatural guidance of the Holy Spirit. It is the ultimate source of truth for Christian beliefs and living.
All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works

 

2 Timothy 3:16-17

SALVATION
We Believe Salvation is God’s gift to you if you’ll accept it. We can never make up for our sin with self-improvement or good works. It is only by trusting in Jesus Christ as God’s offer of forgiveness that you can be saved from sin’s penalty. Eternal life begins the moment you receive Jesus Christ into your life by faith.
Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.
John 14:6

EVANGELISM
We Believe the Biblical foundation for Gospel evangelism is found in the command by The Lord Jesus Christ in Mark when He said to spread the message of Jesus Christ to all of the people of the world.
And He said unto them, ‘Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation.
Mark 16:15

SERVANT LEADERSHIP
We Believe The Biblical basis for the concept of servant leadership is found in both the Old Testament and the New Testament of the Bible. Servant Leadership is spoke of in the Old Testament in 1 Kings in which wise counselors instruct the king on how to act to the people under his authority.
They replied, “If today you will be a servant to these people and serve them and give them a favorable answer, they will always be your servants.”
1 Kings 12:7

and in the Gospels of Matthew and Mark, The Lord Jesus Christ, who Himself exemplified the concept of a servant leader.
Jesus called them together and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant …”
Matthew 20:25-26

“For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
Mark 10:45

VALUES
The Biblical basis for the need for a person to be value-centered in all that they say and do is found throughout scripture.  In fact, all core values have their origin in the Bible which is the infallible, inherent Word of God.  In 2 Corinthians, the Apostle Paul underscored the importance of always doing things in the right way.
“What is more, he was chosen by the churches to accompany us as we carry the offering, which we administer in order to honor the Lord himself and to show our eagerness to help.  We want to avoid any criticism of the way we administer this liberal gift.  For we are taking pains to do what is right, not only in the eyes of the Lord, but also in the eyes of man.”
2 Corinthians 8:19-21

STRATEGIC THINKING
We Believe The Biblical basis for a person to be a strategic thinker is found in many places in the Bible, including in the Gospel of Luke.
“Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Won’t you first sit down and estimate the cost to see if you have enough money to complete it? For if you lay the foundation and are not able to finish it, everyone who sees it will ridicule you …”
Luke 14:28-29

PERFORMANCE
We Believe The Biblical foundation for encouraging and training people to become leaders who diligently pursue the development of caring organizational cultures of performance excellence is found in Romans.
“We have different gifts, according to the grace given to each of us. If your gift is prophesying, then prophesy in accordance with your faith if it is serving, then serve; if it is teaching, then teach; if it is to encourage, then give encouragement; if it is giving, then give generously; if it is to lead, do it diligently; if it is to show mercy, do it cheerfully.”
Romans 12:6-8

EXCELLENCE
We Believe The Biblical foundation for striving for excellence in all human endeavors with the right motive is found in Ecclesiastes and in Corinthians.
“Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might, for in the realm of the dead, where you are going, there is neither working nor planning nor knowledge nor wisdom.”
Ecclesiastes 9:10

“The one who plants and the one who waters have one purpose, and they will each be rewarded according to their own labor.”
1 Corinthians 3:8

“But since you excel in everything – in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in complete earnestness and in the love we have kindled in you – see that you also excel in this grace of giving.”
2 Corinthians 8:7

GIFTS, TALENTS AND PURPOSE
We Believe There is Scriptural linkage between the preaching of the Gospel, the teaching of Servant Leadership as instructed and modeled by The Lord Jesus Christ and the use of our God-given gifts and talents in following God’s plan and purpose for our life. There are at least ten Biblical principles at work in our lives, including God’s love for each person; a person’s need to respond to the preaching of the Gospel; the need for a person to understand God’s purpose and plan for their life; the need for a person to use their God given gifts and talents in furtherance of the preaching of the Gospel and in furtherance of God’s purpose and plan for their life; the empowerment of gifts and talents by the Holy Spirit; and, the need for people who have the God given gifts of service and leadership to help other people to develop the gifts and talents God has given them in order that they may also follow God’s purpose and plan in their life.
Spiritual Principle One

God loves every person. (John 3:16)

Spiritual Principle Two

God does not want anyone to be eternally separated from Him. (2 Peter 3:9)

Spiritual Principle Three

God sent his son, Jesus Christ, to save all people from their sin and from eternal separation from Him. (John 3:16)

Spiritual Principle Four

God, through His Holy Spirit, calls and empowers all believers in Jesus Christ to use their God given gifts and talents to advance God’s Kingdom by helping other people along their way in life and by spreading His Gospel of Salvation to every person in every part of the earth. (2 Corinthians 5:10-11; Mark 16:15-16; Galatians 6:9-10; Acts1:8)

Spiritual Principle Five

A person’s decision to accept God’s free gift of salvation and to be saved from eternal separation from God through repentance of a person’s sin and a personal expression of their belief in the resurrected Jesus Christ, as Lord and Savior of their life, is the individual opportunity and responsibility of every person. (Mark 1:15; Romans10:9)

Spiritual Principle Six

God has a purpose and plan for each person’s life which He desires every person to follow; however, in order to understand God’s purpose for them, to use their gifts and talents in following God’s plan for their life, is solely dependent upon a person having faith and belief in Jesus Christ. (Ephesians 2:10)

Spiritual Principle Seven

God is patient; however, the opportunity to understand God’s purpose for a person’s own life and to have God’s plan for the use of one’s gifts and talents in their life revealed to them, may be unnecessarily delayed, or missed altogether, because of a person’s unbelief in Jesus Christ, or because of their failure as a believer in Christ to earnestly seek The Holy Spirit’s guidance and empowerment through prayer, or because of their all consuming worldly thoughts, words and deeds. (2 Peter 3:9; Hebrews 3:19; Romans 8:28).

Spiritual Principle Eight

Unbelievers are often able to use their gifts and talents in their life and become worldly successful; however, they will be eternally lost unless they believe in The Lord Jesus Christ; and, God’s original purpose and plan for them will remain unrevealed, unfulfilled and unempowered. (Matthew 16:26; Ecclesiastes 5:19

Spiritual Principle Nine

God’s purpose and plan for the believer’s life will include blessing the believer and the believer’s use of their gifts and talents in life; however, the blessing by God may, or may not, include success as measured by the world.  (Matthew 6:19-21; James 5:1-5; 1 Timothy 6:17-19; Luke 12:15; Jeremiah 29:11)

Spiritual Principle Ten

By diligently using their God given gifts of leadership and service, servant leaders help other people to find and follow God’s purpose and plan for the use of their gifts and talents in life. (2 Timothy 3:16; Romans 12:7-8)

SCRIPTURAL FOUNDATIONS

Voice of the Servant’s teaching that a servant leader must be a value-centered, strategically-driven and performance-oriented is found in the miracle of the Lord Jesus Christ feeding the multitude of 5,000.  It is the only miracle, apart from the resurrection, which is present in all four Gospels:  Matthew 14:13-21, Mark 6:31-44, Luke 9:10-17, and John 6:5-15.

When Jesus heard John the Baptist had been killed, he withdrew by boat to a very solitary place.  However, the crowds followed Jesus on foot from the towns.  When Jesus and His disciples landed there was a large crowd assembled.  Jesus had compassion upon them and ministered to them.  As evening approached, the disciples came to Him and said, “This is a remote place, and it is already getting late. Send the crowds away, so they can go to the villages and buy themselves some food.” (Matthew 14:15)

Jesus told His disciples that the people did not need to go away and that the disciples were to give them something to eat.  The disciples said they only had 5 loaves of bread and 2 fish.  Jesus asked them to bring what they had to Him.  Jesus directed the people to sit down in groups of 50 and 100.

Taking the 5 loaves and 2 fish and looking up to Heaven, Jesus gave thanks and broke the loaves.  He then gave them to the disciples and the disciples gave them to the people.  They all ate and were satisfied, and the disciples then picked up 12 baskets full of broken pieces that were left over.  The number who ate were about 5,000 men, besides women and children.

Jesus again modeled His servanthood by putting the needs of the people before Himself.  When He landed and saw there was a great crowd which had followed Him along the shore.  He had planned to go on a retreat, but He instead placed the needs of the people ahead of His own needs.

Jesus further modeled His value-centeredness when He undertook the responsibility to feed the 5,000.  He was not going to allow the people to go away hungry.  It was the right thing to do.

Jesus also was strategic in how He went about feeding the 5,000.  He directed the people to sit down in groups on the grass in groups of 50 and 100.  The need to go about a task in an orderly fashion with a strategy in mind is clearly demonstrated by Jesus’s instruction to organize the people for the administration of the feeding.

Jesus also made sure that the result of the feeding the 5,000 was ample in terms of the performance of the miracle in that all the people ate and were satisfied.  Moreover, the Gospels record that a specific measurement of 12 baskets full of broken pieces of bread and fish were collected for further use.  It is clear that numbers and measurements were important in the Gospel accounts.

The Feeding of the 5,000 is, therefore, a clear example of the servant leader’s need to be value-centered, strategically-driven and performance-oriented in undertaking the leadership of people to accomplish tasks within an organizational structure.

Although based in scripture, the uniqueness of the powerful principles of servant leadership, core values, strategic thinking and performance excellence is that these performed principles can be universally applied to all organizations of people of good will.