North Africa: A Man Worthy of Imitation

I am taking a break from writing about my influences to reflect on my trip to North Africa. God’s workings in my soul while I was there were different from what I expected. I expected to be even more impassioned for the people who are blinded and oppressed by Islam, which did happen, but this was overshadowed by the leader there and the sin in every culture (which I will discuss in two different posts). The first was that God refreshed my faith and humbled me through an authentic friendship with one of the spiritual leaders of the underground church.

Humility
The leader and I instantly clicked and had many great conversations about ministry, leadership and how to best advance the kingship of Jesus to those who have yet to flourish under His reign. I learned so much from this man. God is doing unreal work through his ministry and nobody knows about it; but it has to be this way for the security of the underground believers and this only bothers him because he needs prayer support. He does not care about people knowing how successful God has made his ministry. He wants Jesus worshipped and people freed through the gospel, thats it. I know a lot of people who say that, myself included, but their lives don’t match that. We say we want Jesus exalted above all but we wouldn’t mind being a close second.

Leadership
God also reminded me that true leadership is not found in gifts or titles but is found in a character refined and satisfied in Jesus. When you first meet this man, you think this guy is goofy but then you slowly learn that he is a brilliant MD, leads a huge and impactful ministry, people willingly follow him and his life is on the line everyday; yet he listens to instruction from anyone, few people know the extent of his work with God, he constantly mocks himself and he serves silently. He is one of those guys who people naturally want to follow because his authority comes from his character shaped by God. Like Charles Spurgeon said to his students, “Our characters must be more persuasive than our speech.” His leadership is one that sustains because it depends solely on God and not popularity and status. I am not like this man but God has graciously brought him to this point and in the depths of who I am I know God is calling me to imitate this man’s affection and attitude towards God and His creation.