HIS POWER MADE PERFECT

Leadership is probably one of the biggest and most daunting words I have ever come across. It’s only 3 syllables and 10 letters long yet the questions and expectations it raises are numerous. What exactly is leadership? Who is a leader? Do only men lead? What does it entail? What is good leadership? What is bad leadership? How does anyone know how to lead?

It makes sense that leadership requires vision and a courageous determination to bring people to the fulfilment and realisation of that vision. However, when I think about all the big leaders of the world I don’t understand how I could ever match up to their courageous determination, drive, and vision.

Ghandi, Mother Theresa, King David, Martin Luther King Jr., Winston Churchill, Barack Obama, William Wilberforce, Nelson Mandela, Moses... they all seem to have one thing in common which I can’t help but associate with the vision and courage of leadership which we talk about... STRENGTH.

When I think about leadership in the context of an SCA and I try and link that with the perception of the great leaders gone before, a perception which says we must be strong in a “have-it-all-together” kind of way, it’s so easy to see my pit falls. To see the many places where I don’t necessarily measure up to the high bar set through the simple phrase – leadership. You see for me, and I’m sure for most, the word WEAK just doesn’t feature as being a valued characteristic of anybody with good leadership.

But what about Christ?

In Isaiah 53 we read about a leader who was potentially the greatest leader of all time but a leader who none the less was “led like a lamb to the slaughter” who “was despised and rejected by men... and we esteemed him not”. Jesus was not portrayed as the strong charismatic leader we would hope or expect Him to be. Don’t get me wrong, Jesus had amazing vision and courageous determination but what we fail to remember is that in all His glory as God, Jesus was also fully human. Although as God he was strong, stronger than any leader we could imagine, it was in His weakness as a man that His strength becomes most evident. For as Jesus knelt in the garden of Gethsemane and prayed in anguish “Father... take this cup from me” (Luke 22:42) He did not pretend to be anything more than the man He was. Jesus acknowledged His humanity. He acknowledged His weakness and inadequacy and He gave it to God, coming before God just as He was. It was in this place that God’s strength shone through.

As leaders of SCA or CF there is often an assumption that you have to “have-it-all-together” that as the Christian leaders in your school you have to be strong, courageous and determined – that you have to assume a higher level of holiness. Whilst for the most part it is good to be steadfast as you move towards the vision of God it is equally important that you acknowledge your weakness. Acknowledge that at times you don’t have the answer, that you are tired, that you feel inadequate... then present these things to God, together as a committee (Phil 4:6). There is strength in your vulnerability and in your unity.

Leadership may involve strength and courage but it also requires a genuineness and realness about our humanity. Don’t be afraid to be vulnerable, to feel you don’t have it all together because God’s “power is made perfect in weakness” (2 Corinthians 12:8). 

Jane Hoffe

SUSS Volunteer 

Community is the fruit of love

In running a SCA there are many things to consider: how do we make SCA a place that people want to join? How do we get new people to try it? How do we make it relatable to everyone?

In my school I was on a task team that dealt with the chapel and Christian influences in the school but it was up to me and my friend to run SCA.  SCA had only run for two years or so and our focus seemed always to be “How do we make this cool so people will join?” We did manage to grow the SCA a little that year but it was not until I left that I realised our big weakness; why we couldn’t get people to commit and become a community.

We had been so focused on looking at the rest of the school and wanting to get them to join that we neglected to look after and disciple those who were already with us. Our motives were good and we genuinely wanted to bring people to know Christ but we forgot to disciple the people who already had the desire to know Him.

When we look at the early church we see that community and sharing was the base. In Acts 2:42-44 we read “They joined with the other believers and devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and fellowship, sharing in the Lord’s Supper and in prayer. . . . And all the believers met together constantly and shared everything they had.”

It is good to look outwards to spread the word to those who do not know it, but it is vital to grow a community within the SCA. From the quietest grade 8 to the most energetic and outgoing matric, everyone should feel welcome and part of the group. For many SCA can be the place of refuge in an environment where following your beliefs can be incredibly difficult. SCA can be a place of love and grace - don’t neglect the power of a loving community to bring change in people’s lives.

There is a song called “If we are the Body” that sums it up pretty well:

“It's crowded in worship today 
As she slips in 
Trying to fade into the faces The girls' teasing laughter is carrying farther than they know
...
Jesus paid much too high a price 
For us to pick and choose who should come”

If your focus is love, the fruits will be community and a place where people feel accepted. SCA doesn’t have to be restricted to the 20min at lunch- “...the believers met together constantly...”. Whatever it means for your school, be a place of love and grace, and maybe you will see God working in new ways.

Lauren Hunt

UCT Student (Head of SCA 2009)

Vision casting – Finding Macedonia

Acts 16 talks about how Paul – a well known Christian evangelist in the New Testament – is on his way to Asia, to preach the gospel, when he is stopped by the Holy Spirit. In fact the Bible even goes so far as to say that he was forbidden by the Spirit to go and preach in Asia. Why? It doesn’t seem to make sense that the Holy Spirit would stop Paul and his team from preaching God’s word to people who desperately need to hear it. It’s not even like Paul had “hidden motives” – like the reason he was really trying to get to Asia was because there was this pot of gold that he wanted to get his hands on. As far as we know, he genuinely wanted to preach God’s word; to open people’s eyes to Jesus Christ the Son of God. A noble quest...surely?

Acts 16:9-10....(Timothy writes): “During the night Paul had a vision of a man of Macedonia standing and begging him, ‘Come over to Macedonia and help us.’ After Paul had seen the vision, we got ready at once to leave for Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel to them.”

Paul’s plans for Asia were not ungodly – what Paul wanted to do in Asia was exactly what Christ had commissioned His early disciples to do (“go out and make disciples of all nations”). But God didn’t want Paul in Asia. He wanted him in Macedonia.

Most SCA committees have a vision for their SCA. A vision for the year, and how SCA will be run, and what will be taught, and how it will be taught. And most of these visions are godly visions – we pray about them, ask for God’s leading, and ask for God to be a part of our vision for SCA. But what if it isn’t so much about God being a part of our vision for our SCA’s in our schools, as it is about us being a part of God’s vision for His SCA’s in His schools.

Because God does have a vision. And He does have a plan. And He’s longing to show it to us – but if we’re insisting on going to Asia, how can God lead us – and our SCA’s - to Macedonia?

So maybe this means that as a committee, it’s time to sit down and reassess how much of your vision is God’s and how much is yours. Or maybe you truly believe that you are following God’s vision, and you simply need to spend time, as a committee, getting back to that vision. Maybe you need to sit down and actually ask God for a vision – because so far you don’t really have one. Whatever the case, take time as a committee to seek God, to ask His guidance. And spend time waiting on Him – waiting for Him to show you your own Macedonia.

Because God is just waiting to show you what He has planned for His SCA’s. And I promise it’ll be better than what we can imagine ourselves. You thought Asia was cool? Wait till you see Macedonia...

Amy

SUIS Trendsetter (St Anne's SCA Committee 2010)

YOU ARE NOT ALONE

Every week, of every month, of every year during the school term, there are thousands of Student Christian Groups meeting around South Africa.  Some groups meet for a short time during a break and others meet for hours in the evening.  For some the meetings are for a few and for others, hundreds gather.  Worship varies.  From full teams of drums, electric guitars and keyboards to the moving sound of acappela singing.  Venues are different.  From beautiful stained glass chapels to cold classrooms.  In all the languages of our country God’s word is taught amidst the ordinary school day.  Voices are raised, the Gospel is proclaimed, and prayers are uttered.

I’m not sure what your SCA is like (or what name you give your student Christian gathering) but know you are not alone.  Weekly there are other SCA’s meeting.  SCA’s who face similar challenges and she equal joys.  SCA’s who are filled with young people who have a passion for Jesus and a desire for those in their school to be transformed by the love and grace of Jesus Christ.  Just as God called the Nation of Israel to be a Holy nation, set apart to be an example to the surrounding nations of His covenant relationship with them, so too is an SCA set apart to bear witness in their school.

“But you are not like that, for you are a chosen people.  You are royal priests, a holy nation, God’s very own possession.  As a result, you can show others the goodness of God, for he called you out of the darkness into his wonderful light.”  (1 Peter 2:9 NLT)

SCA’s have the amazing privilege of bringing hope to a school, which is filled with brokenness.  For those who mourn, there is comfort.  For those who are hurting, there is healing.  For those who are confused, there is direction.  For those who have rejected God, there is grace.  For those who follow other idols, there is conviction.  For those who are rejected, there is acceptance.  For those who lead, there is anointing.  For those who are anxious, there is peace.  For those who have questions, there is guidance.

Whilst Jesus went to the Synagogue, much of His time was spent amongst the ordinary people in everyday situations, speaking parables of the kingdom of God.  Through SCA’s, Jesus again walks into the everydayness of our lives.  He sits in classrooms and walk down corridors.  He declares again, Immanuel, God is with us.

I’m not sure of the state of your SCA.  If it’s thriving or struggling.  I’m not sure what role you have in your SCA.  If you’re on the committee or one who attends every now and then.  I’m not sure what your week has been like.

However, what I am sure of is that you are not alone.  Keep meeting.

Xavier

Director of Scripture Union Independent Schools