Cheon Seong Gyeong Ⅱ - 455. The mindset of a church leader
34 A witnessing leader or pastor is like the high priest of his or her region. A church leader prays for the people, even losing sleep. As the high priest makes offerings in order to save the people, the church leader must toil and offer full devotion. To find the necessary answers, the church leader must become one with God. He or she does so by becoming a sacrificial offering. Church members are not the sacrificial offerings; the pastor is. From now on your leadership should be comprehensive, not just intellectual. Members are the flesh and pastors are the bones. The flesh should cover the bones well so they will not be exposed. (9-080, 1960.04.12)
35 After working hard for a public purpose, I fall asleep without realizing how tired I am. Then in the morning I wake up totally refreshed. From this experience I realize, “Ah, this is the principled way to live a life for Heaven!” If I were to think, “I slept only three and a half hours last night when I should have slept at least six hours,” my entire body would feel as if it weighed a thousand or even ten thousand pounds and would feel pains all over. That is why I tell you not to have such thoughts. (044-161, 1971.05.06)
36 When I stand before a person who is totally devoted, I am at a loss for words. As the leader of the Unification Church, when I am considering which of two people is better, I do not consider which of them is better-looking, but rather which has a better inner orientation. I examine whether their mind is public or personal. If you walk the path of public life embracing this principle, you will never perish. Therefore be mindful of how you manage things, how you treat people, and how you attend Heaven. (31-261, 1970.06.04)
37 When you take your first step in the morning, you should consider whether or not it is for a public purpose. And when you go to bed after finishing your daily work, you should reflect on whether the day was spent for a public purpose or a personal one. Furthermore, at the end of the year you should look back at your past year, or at your entire life up to that point, and reflect on whether you led a public life or lived just for yourself. It is based on this criterion that life and death are weighed on the scale of judgment. Keep this principle in mind, so that at each step on your journey you will exercise good judgment and keep to the public path. (039-076, 1971.01.09)
38 Once you take up a responsibility, the next thing is to fight and struggle. You must persevere in that struggle even to the death, saying, “I am willing to give up my life.” In your lifetime, you should lay the foundation to bring at least three people who oppose you to natural submission, and in this battle you may not use any means or methods that are not acceptable to God. Also, in the service of God’s Will you should not lead the life of a taker. Rather, you stand in the position to give. (14-013, 1964.04.19)
39 When you become a leader, you have to stand truly in the position of a doctor who tries to cure a patient’s illness. If an ill person’s spiritual situation begins to deteriorate, you have to make an effort to cure the person’s heart, shedding tears day or night, oblivious to time. That is a spiritual leader. How many nights have you stayed up trying to save lives? How busy have you been trying to save lives? When you go to the spirit world, such deeds will become the objects of commendation. The barometer of character will reflect them. (69-165, 1973.10.31)
40 Even if a member falls away, you must never be discouraged. A very interesting phenomenon occurs when a member falls away; someone else who resembles that person joins the church. He or she has a similar personality, similar speech and even a similar way of walking. From every angle, the new person who joins bears an amazing resemblance to the person who fell away, and yet is much better. When you see such a phenomenon, you can understand that sincere investment of devotion is never lost. This is absolutely true. When you become acquainted with someone, you must not think the relationship ends at simple acquaintance. Especially if you met that person based on Heaven’s guidance, you should never forget him or her. If the person stops coming to the church, you must not cut off or malign him or her. Even if the person falls away, never abandon that person. (42-163, 1971.03.04)
41 Before you speak or teach, first you must feel God’s heart. Do not just talk. Instead, put God’s heart first before your words. You should always be humble. When you give a sermon on Sunday you should do so with the intense feeling and focus of woman in labor. You need to direct all your attention to it. Standing behind the podium, you need to feel like a pregnant woman on her way to the delivery room. If you reach that level of heart, you need no other preparation. The issue is not the content of your sermon or how well you speak. The issue is whether your heart has reached that level. (96-168, 1978.01.03)
42 During the sermon, a boundary line is drawn that determines whether someone is bound for heaven or hell. Suppose a person comes to our church thinking, “I’ve always wondered about the Unification Church. Let’s see how it is!” But if the sermon is disappointing, he or she may think, “What kind of sermon was that?” The sermon has, in effect, cut that person’s lifeline. Therefore you should regard giving the sermon as a momentous matter, even more so than a judge rendering a verdict in court. You have to understand that as a preacher you are in a fateful position that can make many dozens or hundreds of people stand or fall. If you are a leader with a certain responsibility, you should not neglect it and thereby cause your subordinates to disrespect you. You have to invest your efforts so this never becomes the case. That is why it is difficult to be the person in charge. It is an extremely daunting position in which everything about your identity is exposed and revealed. (96-169, 1978.01.03) |