Divine-Human Cooperative
By Dr. Brian Simmons
Abraham, the father of Isaac and grandfather of Jacob (Israel) was a hero of the faith and walked closely with God. The twelve tribes of Israel emerged from Jacob who was renamed Israel by God.
Jesus Christ was a descendent of the tribe of Judah. The story of Jesus and the redemption He offers is the golden thread that runs throughout the Bible. And, all of history from creation to the present day is a part of God’s overarching plan and purpose.
As followers of Jesus Christ and stewards of God, Christian leaders must seek the will and purposes of God for their lives and the organizations they lead. Only then can spiritual leaders move others onto God’s agenda.
It is important to remember that God had only one perfect son and his name is Jesus! So, in light of these foundational truths, what is my role and responsibility as a steward leader?
“The Lord took Abram outside and said to him, ‘Look up into the sky and count the stars if you can. That’s how many descendants you will have’. And Abram believed the Lord, and the Lord counted him as righteous because of his faith.” (Genesis 15:5-6)
Abram (later renamed Abraham) was not perfect. On more than one occasion he deceived a king that his wife Sarah was his sister for fear that he would be killed because of his beautiful wife. They did have the same father and different mothers but a half-truth is still a lie!
Yet, this same man obeyed God and was willing to sacrifice his son of promise, Isaac, to God! Abraham believed that God would raise Isaac from the dead! This is great faith!
A major event in Abraham’s life was his commitment to finding a wife for his son Isaac. He was committed to finding a young woman who was not a local Canaanite woman. Abraham tasked his oldest servant to travel back to his homeland to find a wife for his son, Isaac. And, the servant promised his master that he would follow his instructions.
Now this impending journey back to Abraham’s homeland was at a time in history much different from today! There was no GPS to follow, and Abraham’s brother, Bethuel, had no permanent home address!
Yet, Abraham sent his servant out on his behalf to find a wife for his son Isaac. This illustrates the Divine-human cooperative. As steward leaders we align our purposes with the will of our Master, God, then we take actions based on what we believe to be His purposes for ourselves and those we lead. Then, we seek to move others onto God’s agenda.
Here is the key point… all we do is enabled by Him, and as God leads us and we follow He occasionally works miracles on our behalf for the purposes that only He can accomplish!
God led Abrahams’s servant directly to Bethuel and his daughter Rebekah! This was a miracle. God worked in her heart, and she agreed to return back to Isaac and marry him sight unseen. This was a miracle! Yet, Abraham’s servant on his master’s behalf loaded ten of Abraham’s camels with all kinds of expensive gifts and traveled to distant Aram-Naharaim! He did what he could do enabled by God. He stepped out in faith.
What if the servant did not travel to find a wife for Isaac? In God’s plan, he did what he was called to do and God did what only he could do! This is the Divine-human cooperative.
This story in the Bible reminded me of several times in my past when I stepped out by faith, traveled to another city, and began the procession of hiring key people for the organizations I helped to lead.
With my wife, Bonnie, we traveled to meet with Tony and Becky Fajardo outside of Charlotte, NC. He followed the leading of the Lord and accepted the call to lead Ben Lippen School for nearly a decade. During this time, the school grew from 735 to 1250 students, the annual budget grew from $7 million to $17 million and nearly $10 million of new and renovated facilities were constructed! This illustrates the Divine-human cooperative. Then, Tony followed me as Interim Head of School at King’s Ridge Christian School and became head of school there!
Another example is the trip Bonnie and I took to Charleston, SC to meet with Jill McElheney and her husband Trey. As a result of this initial dinner, God called Jill to join the CIU team as the founder of CIU’s nursing program. Over her years of service, nursing was established, millions of dollars were raised for two simulation labs and the hiring of a wonderful nursing team, the program was accredited and the first nurses graduated! Another example of the Divine-human cooperative!
Bottom line… God is still at work today in the lives of steward leaders who step out and do what He enables them to do as He works miracles along the way and does what only He can do! The Divine-human cooperative is still at work today!!
