The Art of Leadership
A Leader Actively Deals with the Hidden Agenda That Is Not the Goal of His Followers
In pursuing any goals, people inevitably develop their own agenda, which is different from the original vision. A leader must be aware of this! The leader must rid his followers of the hidden and unspoken agenda that destroys their goals by addressing them openly.
Joshua, the great Israeli general, had one thing in mind – to conquer Jericho and enter the Promised Land. Achan was one of Joshua’s soldiers but he had a hidden agenda to get wealthy through the war. He admitted later that when he saw a beautiful robe from Babylonia, two hundred shekels of silver, a gold bar that weighed fifty shekels among the things they had taken from the war, he wanted them. So what Achan did was that he took these items and hid them in the ground inside his tent.
This hidden agenda of Achan caused a curse to descend on God’s people. The children of Israel were defeated in the war because of one person’s private agenda to be rich. This is what is happening in the church today. The hidden agenda that we nurture in our hearts is different from God’s agenda to win the whole world and preach the gospel to every creature.
And Achan answered Joshua, and said, Indeed I have sinned against the Lord God of Israel, and thus and thus have I done: WHEN I SAW AMONG THE SPOILS A GOODLY BABYLONISH GARMENT, AND TWO HUNDRED SHEKELS OF SILVER, AND A WEDGE OF GOLD OF FIFTY SHEKELS WEIGHT, THEN I COVETED THEM, and took them; and, behold, they are hid in the earth in the midst of my tent, and the silver under it.
And Joshua said, Why hast thou troubled us? the Lord shall trouble thee this day.
And all Israel stoned him with stones, and burned them with fire, after they had stoned them with stones.
Joshua 7:20-21, 25
Some soldiers may have a mind to become rich through the war. Others may have a hidden agenda to escape at the next possible opportunity. Other soldiers may have no intention of fighting at all.
The main mission of the church of Jesus Christ is the Great Commission to ‘go into all the world and preach the gospel’ to every man on this earth. Today, there are many other reasons why the church exists. Some churches exist to provide humanitarian care. Some churches exist to provide a centre for funerals. Other churches exist for political and social activities.
Alexander and His Troops
Alexander the Great set out to invade Persia and extend the authority of his father’s kingdom into the East. He sought to reach the ends of the world and the great outer sea. He invaded India in 326BC and wanted to continue expanding into the rest of Asia.
However, after ten years of fighting, his soldiers developed another agenda different from the original agenda of going “to the ends of the world”. At the Hyphasis River, Alexander’s men mutinied and refused to march any further east. Alexander tried to persuade his soldiers to march further but his general, Coenus, pleaded with him to change his mind.
He explained, “The men long to see their parents, their wives, their children and their homeland.” Alexander the Great eventually agreed to turn back to Greece and give up his campaign. Notice how the private agenda of these soldiers to see their wives and children brought an end to Alexander the Great’s vision of going to the “ends of the world”.
This is exactly how the personal, domestic and financial vision that we have can quench God’s vision and God’s work. This is why Jesus said, “If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple” (Luke 14:26). Looking after your wife, children and family are important but it is not the same as building the church and doing the work of God. Some people are surprised that a verse like Luke 14:26 can be found in the Bible.
A leader must attack the hidden agenda of the people who live and work around him. He must ensure that everyone has the same agenda and the same reason for being around. It is time to root out all those with a hidden agenda that is different from the original agenda. It is time to be sure you all have the aim prescribed by Jesus Christ.
Culled from “The Art of Leadership”
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By Dag Heward-Mills