Diversity is evident in the world, and this is a good thing. Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra’s novel El ingenioso hidalgo don Quijote de la Mancha (commonly known as Don Quixote) has this proverb: “De todos ha de haber en el mundo,” which translated means: “There must be all sorts in the world.” I believe it takes all sorts of people to reach all sorts of people with the gospel of Jesus Christ. In our diversity, God intended each of us to be unique and to provide a unique contribution in the world.
My father was an influential person in his country; however, due to political persecution, he was forced to take his young bride and their 2-year-old daughter and seek refuge in the United States. Two years later, I was born.
The culture outside my home was very different from what I experienced at home. It was as if I were living in two different worlds simultaneously. At the time, I did not know that God planned for me to serve Him in a unique way among a diverse people. By bringing my family to the U.S., the Lord created a way to further diversify His leadership team in this nation.
The book of Daniel records how Daniel and his friends were forced to leave their country, and how God positioned them for leadership:
In the third year of the reign of Jehoiakim king of Judah, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came to Jerusalem and besieged it. And the Lord delivered Jehoiakim king of Judah into his hand, along with some of the articles from the temple of God. … Then the king ordered Ashpenaz, chief of his court officials, to bring into the king’s service some of the Israelites from the royal family and the nobility (Dan. 1:1-3, NIV).
God diversified Nebuchadnezzar’s leadership team by adding these young Israeli men.
There are four strategic takeaways from this passage to help us develop our leadership teams:
- Recruitment: We need to intentionally recruit all different kinds of people for leadership. The more diverse we are in leadership, the greater the impact we will have in reaching the nations for Christ.
- Qualifications: Nebuchadnezzar knew exactly what kind of persons he was looking for, and so must we. We need to establish clear criteria for those we seek to lead in our organization.
- Training: Nebuchadnezzar developed a process by which to train the young men he wanted to serve in his court; the process included training in the language and literature of the Babylonians. Leaders need to be trained according to their assignments.
- Time Commitment: The training Nebuchadnezzar implemented would take three years to complete. We also must be willing to invest the time necessary to develop our leadership.
Let us continue to pray for uniquely diverse people to be brought alongside us into the service of the King of Kings.
How You Can Pray
Ask God to reveal people of varied backgrounds and cultures who can be developed as disciples and leaders in our churches. Also, pray and consider if you might be that person and how you can train and serve.
Praying with us? Include what you are praying for in a comment below.
