The Art of Leadership
By Dag Heward-Mills
Technology is the wisdom of witty inventions. A mobile phone, an iPad, a computer, an air conditioner, a television, a satellite and a video player, are all witty inventions. To wage a good warfare, you must deploy every single witty invention that exists. Do not think that you do not need witty inventions to do well. Have you ever heard of the arms race? The arms race is a race for witty inventions.
I wisdom dwell with prudence, and find out knowledge of witty inventions
Proverbs 8:12
The Great Mistake
The great mistake, when it comes to technology, is the assumption that it will come to you naturally and that you will find yourself using it anyway.
The great mistake is to sit and wait for technology to come to you.
The great mistake is to assume that technology will find a way of finding you.
The great mistake is to think that you will not have to intentionally learn how to use technology.
All nations that have used technology to fight and to win wars did so intentionally. Whilst they used their current technology, they assigned people to invent things in the hope that they would lay hands on something better than what they already had. It is time to do just that.
You must ask yourself, “What technologies exist that I do not use in my ministry?” Whilst everyone is using a tablet or an iPad you may still be using the printed page. You must decide to move ahead and actively acquire new technologies in your life so that you are not bereft of new inventions.
One day, whilst in Israel, I noticed certain hi-tech gadgets that were being used commonly. The Holy Spirit impressed on me that that technology could be used in the church. I could not figure out what such a gadget could do in the house of God. I intentionally and consciously decided that this gadget should exist somewhere in my ministry. Today, it is one of the key instruments that we use in the ministry and has brought about many great improvements.
The Technology of Uzziah
Uzziah was the king who used technology in his warfare. In the day he lived, he used engines invented by cunning men. Every invention you use will help you war a good warfare. Think about the internet. The Bible is supportive of your use of technology to fight a good fight of faith. Notice the technology of king Uzziah.
Moreover Uzziah had an host of fighting men, that went out to war by bands, according to the number of their account by the hand of Jeiel the scribe and Maaseiah the ruler, under the hand of Hananiah, one of the king’s captains.
The whole number of the chiefs of the fathers of the mighty men of valour were two thousand and six hundred.
And under their hand was an army, three hundred thousand and seven thousand and five hundred, that made war with mighty power, to help the king against the enemy.
And Uzziah prepared for them throughout all the host shields, and spears, and helmets, and habergeons, and bows, and slings to cast stones. And HE MADE IN JERUSALEM ENGINES, INVENTED BY CUNNING MEN, to be on the towers and upon the bulwarks, to shoot arrows and great stones withal. And his name spread far abroad; for he was marvellously helped, till he was strong.
2 Chronicles 26:11-15
There was a time when military men felt that wars could be won by having more men fighting. In fact, by the end of the First World War, it was believed that you should outnumber your enemy by a ratio of three to one. The Germans realised that their defeat in the First World War had come about due to new inventions like the tank and aeroplanes. The Germans, therefore, invested heavily in developing these ideas.
By 1939, the Germans had developed tanks (panzers) and had large armoured divisions of tanks whereas the British did not have even one armoured division. The Germans also introduced newer, faster military aircrafts.
When the Second World War started, Germany invaded Poland who were completely bereft of technology. Poland had a sizeable army of one million men, with which they hoped to withstand Germany. Poland was still using a horseback cavalry! When the Germans came out with their tanks, the Poles charged on them with their horses. This was to be the last time horses would be used to fight a war in our modern world. The Polish army were quickly defeated by the modern mechanized German army of tanks and planes. Within a few days, Poland was completely subject to the highly developed technological force of Germany.
Dear Christian friend, perhaps you are just like the Polish army in 1939. You believe strongly in your old ways. You are fighting the war of ministry with horses whilst others are fighting with tanks and planes. Where is technology in your life? How aggressively do you acquire new technologies? Do you want to be Robin Hood in a modern world? Do you want to fight with manpower when no one does that anymore? Fight with technology!
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