MISSION: To engage the minds, encourage the souls and equip christian believers in their Christian walk and service.
ENGAGE – ENCOURAGE – EQUIP
“Encquip’ is a word made up from three concepts that guide this site. ENCQUIP is about engaging minds, encouraging souls and equipping believers for Christian service.
Thought Leaders
Within the Christian community, there seems to be a lack of thought. Very often people to spout scripture verses which come across as as spiritual sound-bites; they repeat ideas they have heard before and use jargon common to the faith, ‘christianese’ in a manner of speaking. But do they really understand what they are saying? “God said it, I believe it and that settles it” is not really a thoughtful answer. It may fly among believers but if we are to convince the skeptics and detractors, we may need a bit more. We must be ready to live out the creeds of our faith or as the Apostle Peter tells us, we should have a ready answer, to anyone who asks of us, the reason for the hope that is within.So let us engage the minds that God has so wonderfully given to us.
We must also encourage one another because we are one body. The world sees a fragmented church because of our divisions, our “isms and schisms.” The enemy has effectively isolated us so that we can become discouraged and disheartened. If soldiers believe they are alone in fighting the war, they will soon give up. Through an encouraging word, an uplifted hand, a shoulder to lean on, we show the world that we are one.
Finally we must equip ourselves and each other for the tasks at hand. When we consider the scope of knowledge available to the church today; knowledge that is under used, it makes me sad. I thank God for leaders of old who have graciously left their works for us to study and absorb to make us better able to do our work. We should not be afraid to share that which God has given to us. Pastors and leaders should not let their sermons, teachings and exhortations – that God has graciously given to them – go down in the dust bins of history.
It is my desire to see people to grow in the “grace and knowledge of our Lord,” especially those who are called to lead. I believe that good leadership is integral to the body of Christ but I am careful not to be presumptuous about who should or should not be leaders in God’s kingdom. According to John Maxwell, leadership is influence, and even the least among us, has the ability to influence others. In this respect all believers are called to be leaders in some way or the other. To illustrate look at the Old Testament account of the the prophet Samuel who was tasked with anointing the future King of Israel. He approached the home of Jesse, a man with some fine sons – seemingly ideal candidates for the throne. When Eliab, Jesses’s oldest son and the first to stand before Samuel, the prophet immediately assumed that he was the chosen one. But God checked him:
“Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The Lord does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart” (1 Samuel 16:7).
One by one the sons of Jesse presented themselves before the prophet while Samuel waited for the cue to anoint one of them as king but each in turn was rejected. When it seemed that everyone was being passed over, Samuel asked if Jesse had more sons. Well, there is David – no need to worry about him – he’s taking care of the sheep. Send for him then, Samuel commanded! When David arrived, God told Samuel to anoint him, for he is the one.When
God rejected the seven seemingly qualified sons of Jesse. Samuel may have been confused but God’s criteria is is somewhat different from Samuel’s and from ours. This story clearly illustrates the fact that God has a different perspective than ours when it comes to leadership. It is not about outward appearance, it is about about the heart!
Finally, I believe that leaders should engage, encourage and equip each other. The apostle Paul told his young protegé, Timothy:
“You then, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. And the things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable people who will also be qualified to teach others” (2 Timothy 2:1-2)