Greetings in Jesus name who said, "Let your waist be girded and your lamps burning"(Luke 12:35).

i was born in one of the smallest villages of India where civilization was 100% behind schedule.
No electricity, no road, no shops. i had to walk 3 km to the primary school at the age of 6. i was not very intelligent. Even though i had home tuition for years, i failed to secure good marks. i scored just average marks in the high school final exam. In college i could not understand anything they taught. i ran away when i got 5 marks out of 50 in Physics. Since i could not get a job anywhere else, i joined the army as a clerk. Army changed me with some positive attitudes (do everything fast, live a disciplined life, love and trust people irrespective of their color, language and origin; be health conscious, read books, etc.) and also introduced me to some bad habits (excessive smoking - 120 cigarettes a day, excessive drinking, stealing because almost every officer was doing it if they could.) Then i became a Christian on 1st October 1971 when i prayed to Jesus and invited Him into my heart as my Savior and Lord. My life was totally changed. The strong chains of multiple bad habits were broken and i fell in love with Jesus and the teachings of the Bible.
Touch Lives
i have learned one thing over the years: i can be a builder or a demolisher of others whom i love or dislike, and myself. Whatever i do, i touch lives including mine and i make an impact-positive or negative. i studied the Bible, and looked at Bible characters. i was amazed at how God picked up ordinary people and made them into extraordinary heroes -heroes for their time and for centuries. Abraham lived about 5000 years back. Moses lived about 4000 years back. David lived about 3000 years back. Peter lived 1900 years back. They were all ordinary people; yet they are heroes even today.
i started to ask questions. How did they become heroes? What made them special? Not their family background, not connections, not pure luck, but….. Yes, i found certain facts. Here they are. Study it, learn it, practise it and become a hero and a model for your generation and maybe, the coming generations.
Fact ONE. One person can make the difference between success and failure in any unit-factory, organisation, church, office, home or government.
i started to preach that God needs only one man or one woman. Such a person will get others, implant his vision into them, train them on the job and make them extraordinary heroes by motivating them.
i say boldly, you can make a difference in the family, office, organization or church. One person can make a difference. You can build. Or you can destroy. Good examples- Thomas and Judas. Thomas was not perfect and had serious spiritual flaws, but he came to India 2000 years back and planted churches in Kerala and Tamil Nadu. Judas was a man with high caliber and ability. Not only did he become a destroyer, but he even died as a failure. The choice is yours.
Fact TWO. A good leader will train his own Army.
No army will take soldiers of another nation. Abraham taught this 4000 years back (Gen. 14:14). If only every one will find a bunch of people who will be loyal to the Captain of the family, church, denomination, office or organization- the army can win. We have to find such people and train them by being a model and trusting them. Abraham did it; Moses had leaders for 50, 100, 1000 etc. David had 40 heroes who were leading his army for him. Jesus had 12 men. None of them were hired, but recruited, trained on the job and moulded into heroes by hard work. i remember a time in my mission when we had a leadership crunch. The ministry was growing fast with the many workers we were training. But we did not have enough able leaders. i discussed this with some mission experts in different countries. i had two options: (a) We can join hands with another mission that has more able leaders and continue doing what we are doing. (b) We can get some people who are working independently to fill the vacant posts in our mission and strengthen ourselves.
These well-wishers who were seasoned in mission work around the globe told me that i must not do both as it will damage our ministry, sooner or later. So, i started to spend time with my leaders trying to build them and train them. i motivated them with a slogan, 'Excel.' i went to them and also brought all of them to my place to spend one week together- three times a year. i invited the best speakers to speak to them on character and leadership. Yes, it was a slow process. But that built quality in them and now we have good leaders from different states and different people groups who have the spirit of our mission and carry the vision that i have received. That is how a good army is built. By giving exemplary training, and also having refresher courses very often. Plus good discipline for the leader as well as those in the bottom level of the ladder. In short, the captain needs junior officers and soldiers who will do the job very well. The stronger they are - the better you become. The weaker they are-the worst is on the way. So, build your army-the people. You do it.
Fact THREE. Promote those who work as builder leaders before they are actually promoted.
A real builder will never wait to do something for the benefit of the unit till he is paid or promoted.
Promotion will never give ability or quality to a person. Those who will work as a leader because of the position, but lack ability or quality, will only ruin others, send away able men under them or above them, and frustrate the function of the whole unit. The future of that unit will be in jeopardy.
Do the job. Do the job very well. Do it even if you are not paid for it.
Fact FOUR. You must be willing to do what you want others to do.
i am sorry to say that Indian political leaders set a bad example. For example, our political leaders will challenge people to speak in Hindi and hate English. But their own children are in the top English medium schools and colleges in India or abroad. i remember a chief minister in UP who gave orders to close down all English medium schools in that state when his own son was studying in Switzerland. The political leaders will make very impressive speeches about clean hands and shout against corruption. But how many of them can honestly say that they have not taken bribes or demanded the appointment of their own people in various jobs/universities. They say that the doctors must go to the villages where there are no doctors.
Are their doctor children in the villages? Even today, when we are having the Independence Day or Republic Day parade, school children are forced to sit, whether in the rain or under the hot sun, till the VVIP standing under the well-protected canopy finishes his speech and the whole function is over. Is it any wonder that these children grow up hating our politicians and our government system?
Then the politicians wonder why the youths have no commitment to the nation. You figure it out.
But this must not be the practice in the church and Christian ministry. This is not the example Jesus showed. i have no right to send a worker to a village, if i am not willing to send my son or daughter into the same area. i must be willing to clean the toilet, if i want a missionary to do that mean (?) job. i must be willing to cook my own food, if i expect a pastor to do it. i must be in the office at 9 a.m. if i am expecting my office worker to be there at that time. i must be a model to those under me and an inspiration to those around me and above me. Then only am i a builder.
Fact FIVE. A builder motivates with his words and actions.
A builder will never talk negatively. He will not have certain words in his vocabulary, such as:'This is impossible,' 'We can never reach this target,' 'My leader is crazy,' 'It is better to work somewhere else. A builder builds with his words, and actions, while a destroyer destroys with his words, and with actions that do not show commitment. A builder will watch his words. He will only use words that will build others that are loyal to the organization that builds hope in others for the future, and is always excited about tomorrow. A builder will never associate and party with those who talk bad of the organization or those who leave the organization for better perks.
Fact SIX. A builder teaches others under him how to build.
There is no meaning in getting angry or blaming others when you lose a battle. Take remedial measures.
Conduct refresher courses. Discuss. Hear what others have to say and then lead them. A builder must be a decision maker. Your decision can add a few more inches or floors to the building or cause it to fall.
So a builder must be well informed on the subject. He must read. He must interact. He must attend conferences. He must meet people involved in the same type of ministry. He must ask questions and he must learn from others.' Learn from the mistakes of others. You do not have the time to do all of them by yourself.'
A builder must also teach others to improve, excel and do the job very well. It will cost money to send them for refresher courses or training and provide them the needed books. But it costs.
Fact SEVEN. A builder will maintain high integrity.
A builder who lacks integrity in any area cannot be bold and lead others under him. Respect is earned and cannot be demanded. A builder will not lie even to save his reputation, cover his mistakes, or save his kids.
i know many people who talk about holiness in non-essentials, while they are bad examples in essentials. They can find Bible verses to prove that one must not have moustache, must wear only white clothes in the church, or that TV is of the devil. But they are silent about the greed of believers in demanding dowry from the girl's family, group fights, going to the court against the brethren, beating the wife and so on, which are strictly against the Bible. Swallowing the camels!
Integrity is very important with -
(a) Opposite sex. There can be scandals of many types. But this is the dirtiest. So, beware that you keep a good distance from members of the opposite sex. Ask your spouse to watch you. If your spouse smells rat in the behavior of another person who gets nearer to you with another motive, believe me, your spouse is likely to be right. God seems to have given a special gift to women to gauge the intentions and character of people. A woman may tell her husband that a man is not to be believed or that a woman's approach must be dealt with cautiously - she could be right. i remember Billy Graham talking about his decision to keep his relationship with his female secretaries beyond suspicion by following these rules: (i) I will not go for a meal with my secretary alone. (ii) I will not ride with my secretary alone in a car. (iii) I will not be in a closed room alone with my secretary. Even if I am in my office and I am dictating a letter to her, I will leave the room ajar. I have made my office with a glass partition, so every one in my office can watch me.
(b) Money. Jesus called money Mammon - devil. If we are not careful, this can become a cobra and strike us dead or leave us bleeding for life. Keep a clean account. Let there be transparency. i handle large amounts of money. People tried to spread scandals about me that i have accumulated wealth, etc - but it did not leave even a slight scratch because my account is very clear and clean.
(c) Position. i am sorry to say that even in organizations with spiritual goals, there is the inevitable fight for position. We must not seek the chair, but the chair must seek us. i have received several awards. But God is my witness, that i have never talked to any one to help me get them.
(d) In the family. What does your wife or husband think of you? Children? If you are not their heroes, something is wrong with you. You may need to take remedial steps. Either you can change your life-style, or go for counseling. May i suggest strongly that you read a book on family life every year and read regularly a magazine on marriage and family. It is not a waste, even if you get one small tip every month. Remember that a house is built with many bricks. A tip can be a brick. Integrity is the greatest wealth a person can have. It will be a legacy for your kids and those with you. Earn it in big volumes by a well-planned life
May God help you to be a builder!

p.g. vargis