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Introduction:
These are the words Ruth spoke to Naomi: “Entreat
me not to leave you, or to turn back from following after you; for
wherever you go, I will go; and wherever you lodge, I will lodge;
your people shall be my people, and your God, my God.
Where you die, I will die, and there will I be buried.
The LORD do so to me, and more also, if anything but death
parts you and me.” Ruth
1:16-17
This notable statement
from a Moabite woman is one that is revered the world over because
it expresses remarkable loyalty.
In this lesson we will particularly look at women who were
leaders. Why do you
think Ruth wanted to follow Naomi? ______________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________ Discussion: I.
Leadership In The Most Unlikely Places? A.
The
Story of Lourie Suits.
She was loved by everyone at the Emerson Avenue church in
Indianapolis. Our
family first met Sister Suits in the fall of 1969 when she was
about 75 years old. She
had been blind since age 13 when an unfortunate incident took her
sight away. As she
aged, Lourie was confined to a wheelchair by an illness that
consumed her body. She
had been recently diagnosed with cancer.
Her chemotherapy caused her to sleep about 18 hours a day.
In the spring of 1970 the Emerson Avenue church had a
gospel meeting with James Cope.
Though it was very difficult, Lourie attended every night
of the gospel meeting. We might think someone in such a condition could not be a leader. How wrong we would be! Sister Suits was looked up to – respected – by every member of the congregation. Both young and old would go to her for advice. Preachers and elders sought her counsel. She was respected because of her love, kindness, wisdom and example of graceful aging. Sister Suits held no formal position of leadership in the church but was a leader, nonetheless. In spite of her poor health and need for special care, she had the respect of everyone in the Emerson Avenue church. She was a woman of influence. That made her a leader. B.
Can you give two examples of women in your acquaintance who
have such respect as leaders? 1. ________________________________________________________ 2. ________________________________________________________ C.
What
qualities do you find in those women? ___________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________ D.
Returning
to the story of Ruth and Naomi, can you find anything in Naomi
that would have caused Ruth to have respect for her?
Read Ruth
1:8-15. ___________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________ E.
Find
Out What It Means To Me.
Write a short statement about what causes you personally to
have respect for other people.
What qualities in them engender respect? ___________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________ II.
Qualities That Engender Respect … And Those That Don’t A.
Contrasting
Cases. One of the great female
leaders of all time is Deborah, a judge in Israel. She was used by God to help save the Israelites from the army
of King Jabin of Hazor. She
stands out in stark contrast to some of the other judges in
Israel. Not all of the judges had her capability, character and care.
A prime example is seen in the sons of Samuel: Joel and
Abijah. Like Deborah,
they were made judges over Israel – they had positions of
leadership – but the similarity ends there. Read Judges 4:1-9 and see the opening of the story of Deborah. Read 1 Samuel 8:1-5 for the story of Joel and Abijah. Note the following contrasts in these judges. It is obvious why one was a respected leader. DEBORAH JOEL and ABIJAH 1.
Served others
Served themselves 2.
Possessed wisdom
Lacked wisdom 3.
Confidence of the people
No confidence from the people 4.
Possessed integrity
Lacked integrity 5.
Held firm convictions Had no convictions 6.
Reminded others of duty Cared nothing for duty 7.
Contributed to others’ success
Contributed to others’ failure 8.
Exceeded expectations Failed expectations 9.
Gave credit to others Did nothing to have credit for 10.
Gave credit to God for victory Brought shame upon Israel 10 Leadership Scoreboard
0 B.
Is
it hard to understand? It is clear from this stark
contrast why Deborah commanded such respect.
Some folks might regard her as an unlikely leader, but when
you see these qualities in her, it is not difficult to figure out
why she was a leader and why Joel and Abijah were not! 1.
What do we learn about the value of “positional
leadership” from these two cases? ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ 2.
Which of Deborah’s qualities were also seen in the story
of Lourie Suits? (Place
check marks on the list above.)
Do you need to improve in any of these qualities?
If so, which? ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ C.
What
about Barak? 1.
Even though Barak was a leader in Israel, he chose to
follow Deborah’s leadership.
In fact, he would not go without her.
Is there anything in particular that we can learn from
this? ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ Conclusion:
Leadership in the Kingdom of God is one of the great needs
today. Many churches
don’t have elders. Some
churches that used to have elders no longer have elders, and
that’s tragic. And
some churches simply have no prospects of elders.
When we think of leaders, typically that’s the first
thing we think of in the church – elders, deacons, and maybe
preachers. But
leadership is something far, far larger than that.
A person can be a leader in the Kingdom of God without
being a preacher, a deacon, or an elder. You may not hold a formal position of leadership in the local church, but you can be a leader nonetheless. Anyone with the ability to influence others for good can provide leadership in the Kingdom of God.
Glory
to God in the church by Christ Jesus
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