In this panel‑style discussion, speakers A, B, and C explore how rapid technological change—AI, automation, blockchain, and machine learning—demands a new kind of leadership both in the marketplace and within the church. They argue that leaders must continuously "update" themselves, much like a smartphone, to stay relevant and influence others. Drawing on biblical concepts of dominance and the priest‑king identity, they assert that humanity was created to influence and meet needs, and that the body of Christ must embody this purpose. The conversation shifts to a re‑imagined church model: leadership is not confined to a single pastor but distributed among all believers, each equipped with a divinely‑allotted ministry. The panel emphasizes intentional growth, discipleship, and church planting as mechanisms to train, equip, and send leaders outward, turning the church into an operational base that makes disciples of nations. Throughout, the speakers stress urgency, enthusiasm, and a call to innovate within faith communities to remain impactful in a changing world.
Chapters
Let me tell you something. These guys, I'm telling you, whenever I come around them, I'm so excited because I never leave empty-handed. So grab your pens, grab your paper, because you are going to be blessed, guaranteed. You know, today actually I want you guys to talk about leadership, entrepreneurship, and purpose, because I think if there is any time to address that issue, it is now. Um, going back to the point you made, you know, the whole— the way the world is going You know, I'm in an information technology field, so it's a global change. Like technology, the globalization of technology, it's like it's a shift where people have to literally catch up, you know, to— in order for them to get to engage in what's coming up within the next 10, 15, 20 years as we speak. Faster, you're in the trucking business. We have now— they have— they're testing auto, uh, automatic truck— trucking.
Yeah.
Where you have robots or the cars are driving themselves doing deliveries, interstate deliveries, you know what I'm saying? We have artificial intelligence, we have, um, blockchain, we have machine learning. You are into finance, that are able to calculate numbers, you know, are able to put all these things for you. So you no longer need humans. So that means you have to advance yourself with what's coming up, and what's coming up is technology. You know, and as leaders, how do you find yourself, or how do you see yourself become innovative, or how can you encourage people to become innovative? Those that are already, you know, acting leaders and those that are building themselves to become leaders. Why is it so important that you get involved with the change of times, you know, as things are happening?
One of the things I believe is that we always have to learn even from small things around us.
Yeah.
When I wake up in the morning, one of the very, very funny things is that when I turn on my cell phone, it updates first. And when I get in my car and put the address, It find my location before I could— that can start. So it give us 2 things. Uh, if you are a leader, first of all, if you are a person, you are a leader.
Yes.
You are lead— you, you, we all know that leadership, first of all, is influence. So whatever you are, you are influencing somebody, maybe your wife, your child, your, you know, your family. And so we influence, and so To a certain extent, but our goal is to be able to influence many. So, it's very, very important if you have to influence people, if you have to influence yourself, you have to make sure you update yourself, just like that cell phone will update. Sometimes, you know, you can't even use your app because they ask you to go and update. You know, when they make some change, they want you to go in and update before you can use it.
Yes.
So I believe it's very, very, very important to just, first of all, as a person, to set our mind that, hey, I have to be intentional when it comes to growth. I have to make sure I follow, not that I follow the trend, but I have to go with it. If it's not, I'll be left behind. Yeah, that's right. So I think that's one of the very, very important things that every leader should know. Pastor Arnold said earlier that, hey, we was talking about, you know, how you can position yourself in other places. He said, I will remain myself because I know I will be updating myself. I'm learning every day. It's not something I can drop it at any time. So whatever I find myself, I will be the same guy. And I think it's very, very important for us to be very intentional. for— with our growth. Uh, whatever we do, we must grow. And the moment you stop growing, you die. Yeah. Um, so that, that's, that's what I think.
You know what, you're very correct. Because if you even look at that, like the point you just made in the aspect of human growth, human development, you know, you, you never stay the same, right? At one point you're a newborn, you know, then eventually— or at one point you were born, they have to literally carry you everywhere. And then you learn to start crawling, and then you learn to start trying to stand up, and then you stand up, and then you start walking, and you're able to run. And it gets to a point where you're unable to do that. So there's always a transition within the human life. Or even when it comes to development of crops, you know, there is the planting process, there is the germinating process, there is a harvest process, and there is the recultivating for other food to multiply that seed. So you're very right, you have to constantly, constantly grow and constantly update yourself. And Pastor Ona, as you know, in terms of a 21st century church and leadership, right, how is it so important? Because I believe, I believe that, um, first off, when God created man, the first thing he gave man was dominance. So first thing he gave man was He created you to be an influence, to be able to, to produce, to transform, you know what I'm saying? And, and that means that you have to constantly meet a need. You have to constantly, uh, supply. And the moment where, um, supply— you stop meeting the demands, you stop supplying the demands, you become irrelevant.
Mm-hmm.
You, you are no longer, um, able to influence the people. You're no longer able to you know, cause any kind of change. And as the body of Christ, we are called to govern our world, to govern a nation, because the Bible says we should— he placed us here to rule the earth, right? So how is it pivotal as a 21st century church to be great leaders, and how can we, you know, be impactful in a sense where we are not just influencing the body of Christ, but we are building the body of Christ to influence outside Because if you look around, you notice people— if we focus on the body of Christ, but the body of Christ is already the developed product, you know, and we are supposed to take that developed seed, that mature seed, and go out there and develop others. So how is that very pivotal to become that type of leader in this day and time?
I mean, like, it is indispensable. There is no way we can, uh, go a long time if we don't think about that, or if we don't restructure the whole model of the church to be outward-focused. So I think first we have to start by deconstructing what it means to be a leader within the church. Leadership in the church is not something that is meant for one person.
Mm-hmm.
The whole notion of the pastor being the leader, I don't think that will work in this 21st century. We have to make people to understand that Everybody is a leader.
Yeah.
And everybody were called. And the pastor have to teach people. Like the Bible says, like those that were called to be prophet, apostle, they were called to equip the saints for the work of ministry.
Right.
It means each and every saint has a work of ministry that is allotted to them.
Yes.
By divine allotment, we have received a portion of ministry.
Yeah.
The saints have to be made to discover that and to know they have a portion within the ministry. And the portion of the ministry is to reach out. Yeah, it's not within the church. Yeah, we come to the church. The church is more— should be more like an operational base.
That's right.
Like a military center where people come to discover themselves. They're empowered and they are dispatched to go into the world to reach out to these people, because that is the only way we'll make disciples of nations.
That's right.
Because the goal is to make disciples of nations, and that cannot be accomplished with the model of the church we have right now.
That's right.
When people come and congregate and there's one person that put of a show. The whole showmanship thing has to stop.
Yeah.
There has to be equality that goes across the board.
That's right.
We come as kings and priests. There is no high priest. We are not under the Old Covenant. We are under the New Covenant. We are, as Peter said, he said we are priests. He made us priests and kings to reign over the earth. You get what I'm saying? So we have to walk under that kingship anointing where we are all kings, we are all rulers. But when we come to a church, there is another king that has been assigned by God to be the leader within this faith. And his job is to help us to discover who we are and give us the equipment that is needed so we can go and conquer the world. So we have to do it. It's a necessity. There is no way the church of today can have any impact in the world if that is not the model we undertake.
Yeah. Yeah.
You have anything to add? That's very, very deep, man of God. And I totally agree with that. When it comes to leadership, first of all, leadership is, like we say, you know, in a war, in a church, leadership is influence.
That's right.
So normally, I believe the goal, just like what you said earlier, of every pastor should be to make, you know, those who are around him, you know, way better than himself.
That's right.
And really literally give them a platform to really express themselves. Um, uh, that's— I believe that's why, uh, church planting is very, very important.
True.
Uh, sometimes we have only, I don't know how many Sundays. If you have 4 Sundays per month and then there's 30 leaders in the church, Of course, we're not gonna get a chance to preach if it's only Sunday. So, as you develop leaders, and I think in our churches today, as we develop leaders, we have to make a way for them to go. We have to prepare them, equip them, like Pastor say, and then send them out. So they can do the same thing, they can repeat the same thing. And I believe that's the art of discipleship.
That's right.
You know, you, you, you bring people who don't know don't know the Bible, they don't know God. You introduce them to God, you develop them, and you send them out.
Yeah.
So they can go and start the same thing over. And I think that's where we will, you know, that's the— it's going to be the pathway of this generation. The danger out of this is that if you oppress the people of God, You know, sometimes that may look like rebellion because I always say that ministry is like a pregnant woman. There's no way you can ask a pregnant woman to hold a baby in the stomach. When they pass that 9 months, it doesn't matter how you do it, the baby's gonna come out.
That's right.
So have that in mind. We understand that. You know, in church, we really, really, really have to see those who are under us as the people we are trying to give them wings to fly. And then when we see it that way, you know, the ministry becomes a lot, a lot, a lot easier.
