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17 September 2014

Importance of Christians in power examined by Council

At today's Evangelical Alliance council meeting, Christian leaders from across the UK will be gathering to talk about the importance of Christians engaging with power in public life and being voices for good in the places God has called them. They will be told more about the Alliance's Public Leadership programme (www.thepublicleader.com) and hear the stories of evangelicals from around the UK who God is using to bring leadership in their spheres of influence. Here are three of the stories that will be shared today:

Manoj Raithatha
Manoj Raithatha"In 2011 I met Bridget Adams who was a priest in the Church of England. With experience in the hi-tech business sector, she had worked up to director level and so was surprised when God called her into ordained ministry in the Church of England. However, after training she discovered that God was not calling her into parish work, but into priesthood in the business world. 

Through Bridget, I realised that God does not compartmentalise His creation. He is interested in everything! His presence fills everywhere and God was interested in my business - our businesses - but are we interested in having Him there?

With Bridget Adams, I would eventually co-write a book entitled Building the Kingdom Through Business, for entrepreneurs seeking to set up Godly businesses as catalysts for transformation. On completing the book, we both felt convicted that God was calling us to set up a new publishing house. Instant Apostle was launched in 2012 to provide a way of getting ideas flowing between Christian writers and those who would like to know more about His Kingdom. We publish books and pamphlets, and as the name implies, these are released quickly either as e-books, printed texts or both.

Through my involvement in Instant Apostle I have come to appreciate the power of business to shape the world for good and for God. Shaping it for good is being able to bring wealth creation in communities and greater justice and relief from poverty for the world's poor, with the dignity of useful labour. Shaping it for God is being able to bring "life in all its fullness", a life reconnected with the One who made us and loves us, bringing hope, meaning and purpose."

For further information on Instant Apostle go to www.instantapostle.com. Manoj Raithatha's experiences in business are being published by Lion Hudson in a book entitled Filthy Rich, the Property Tycoon who struck real gold, out in February 2015 and available to pre-order from Amazon.

Arlene Small
board-arlene-small"Only God in his wisdom would take a girl from a broken family in Hackney, growing up in local authority care, and place her in a position as a barrister to advocate for families. I believe that my history gives me empathy with families that are broken and need direction as to how they can work towards a better future.

I love my work; not just because I get to help people often in dire situations, but also because I genuinely believe families are under attack, and I want to do what I can to support those that are going through the struggle.

My role is very public, as I provide a voice for those that either cannot, or do not know how, to speak. As a leader, I hesitate as I remain in awe of the fact that the right words, spoken at the right time, in the right way, can make such a difference in the lives of those that I represent.

John Langlois 
John Langlois"For 24 years, from 1980 until 2004, I served as an elected Member of the States of Guernsey (the island parliament). For 22 years of that time I held Ministerial appointments and I was on the island Cabinet for 20 years. Leadership is far different from merely serving in public office. The essential elements of public leadership are integrity, clear principles, courage and competence. 

During that period of political office, I practised concurrently at the Guernsey Bar. By God's help I excelled in the profession. Leadership in the professions is undergirded by integrity and professionalism. I continue to serve as a non-executive director on a number of boards of directors. 

The marks of a competent board member are the same: integrity, professionalism and business experience. In all these callings, leadership is marked by servanthood, whether serving the electorate, the clients or the stakeholders in a company. 

But the foremost underlying attribute of a leader is humility. For a Christian, this comes by meeting with God each day in one's devotions, being obedient to Him and His Word, following the example of Jesus while he was on earth and seeking to do what is right - irrespective of the personal cost."

Read more stories on our Public Leadership website –www.thepublicleader.com/stories.