The Art of Leadership BY Dag Heward-Mills
In war, selection of the aim and maintenance of your aim is principle number one! You must select your aim and keep at it. If your aim is to start and grow churches, stick to it! And you must direct your efforts towards your objective!
Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye steadfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.
1 Corinthians 15:58
Selection and maintenance of the aim is regarded as the master principle of war. The British military teaches that a single, unambiguous aim is the keystone of successful military operations. The Russian Armed Forces’ doctrine calls this principle Steadfastness. Subordinate commanders are to carry out the mission in the spirit and the letter of the plan. The American military calls this principle Objective. They are taught to direct every military operation toward a clearly defined, decisive and attainable objective.
Today, the church has largely set aside its one and only aim of winning the lost souls of this world for Jesus Christ. Paul had this one aim: “For I determined not to know anything among you, save Jesus Christ, and him crucified” (1 Corinthians 2:2). Today, very few ministers of the gospel have the aim of only talking about Jesus Christ and Him crucified. Most ministers have new aims and goals that are not the bringing of the lost to Christ.
The aim of the church is to “go ye into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature”. Our aim has been selected by the Lord Jesus. When you shift away from your selected aim, you start to lose the war. Today, most of the church has set aside its original aim.
Because the church has not maintained its aim of soul winning, preaching and evangelizing the world it is gradually losing the battle for the souls and lives of people. The aim “Go ye into all the world and preach the gospel” is a forgotten instruction in many churches today. We must go back to our aim as a church and maintain it!
“Selection and Maintenance of the Aim” and the Invasion of Russia
Adolf Hitler, who caused the death of 50 million people, wrote a book, Mein Kampf. In this book he outlined his vision for the world. He stated his dreams, his anti-Semitic views and in particular, he stated his views on the need for Germany to acquire more land from where he could feed Germany.
He described this as “lebensraum” – living space. This vision of Hitler to acquire more “lebensraum” would be fulfilled if he invaded Soviet territory.
After capturing Ukraine, Adolf Hitler had really achieved his aim of acquiring more “lebensraum” or living space. With Ukraine under his control, he had the agricultural basket that he needed. If he had maintained his aim of just acquiring more living space as he wrote in his book, he would not have sent his armies to Moscow where they were destroyed. Hitler’s demonic hatred for Russians inspired him to press on to his own destruction. It is wise to always remember and maintain your original aims.
In August 1941, the German forces were on the move to take Moscow. They captured the city of Smolensk, an important stronghold on the road to Moscow. The capture of Smolensk took the Germans two months to accomplish.
After the Germans had captured the city of Smolensk, Hitler ordered his forces to attack two key cities to the north and the south. These cities were Leningrad and Kiev. This change of plan greatly affected the Germans’ ability to capture Moscow. This brought about a significant delay in the invasion of Moscow and caused a crisis in the German leadership. By the time the advance on Moscow was resumed in October 1941 German forces had been significantly weakened while the Russians had raised new forces for the defense of the city – changes that would greatly hinder the Russian offensive. Once again, not maintaining the original aim cost Germany the victory.
Most historians would agree that Hitler’s decision to invade Russia was one of the main reasons that Germany lost the war. German forces were tied up in this conflict for years. It drained Germany’s resources, destroyed their morale, and diverted its military presence from Western Europe, ultimately making it possible for British and American forces to invade and rescue Europe from Hitler’s grip.
What aims have you selected for your ministry? Is it church growth? Is it evangelism? Is it to catch the anointing? Is it to build a church building? The aim must be selected and it must be maintained! Throughout history, armies that violated this principle lost the wars. Remember that anyone who chases two rabbits will lose them both!
Culled from “A Good General”
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