Essay Sample on Exploring Beliefs in Superior Beings: Religion Around the World

Introduction

Humans believe in the existence of superior beings who are known to have some powers such as omnipotence, omniscience, and omnipresence (Purzycki et al, 2016). The beings control the happenings on the Universe and the results of doing them. In many instances, people worship the beings and offer them libation to gain their favor and become blessed (Bryne, 2017). There are many religions all over the world, some of which may be spread across the globe while others are not very widespread. An excellent example of a religion that is known throughout the world is Christianity, Hinduism, and Islam. They all have different standards of ethics and various codes of conduct (Stenmark, 2017). Some of the condemn practices that are legal and acceptable in other religions. An excellent example of such is Islam in which actions such as eating swine, which is legal in Christianity. The different views that the participants have makes them unique.

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Due to the differences that the religions have, there need to be an elaborate means of leadership that is used in making decisions on behalf of the followers in the religion. People must follow the examples that those who came before them have to achieve the objectives of the religion. Christianity is not an exception to the above measures. Christians believe that Jesus is the son of the Lord, and he came to the earth to save people from their sins (Scott, 2015). After dying for his sins, he became a leader and teacher of many people. He also left his followers to teach the gospel and ensure that it spreads to other nations and does not die after his death and ascension to heaven. In making such a measure, the disciples spread the gospel to many people, and that way, Christianity was born. This paper is an explanation of the research that is ongoing about the spiritual formation of ecclesial leaders.

To understand the topic, the definition of terms is essential. The first term is ecclesial leadership. It is the process in which an individual decides to heed a calling by God to guide others through His path (Huizing, 2010). The acts come from the teachings of Jesus, sending out his disciple to go and teach people and make them his followers. There are other definitions for the term though they all revolve around the idea of influencing more people to follow the word of God. The people who are involved in such works are guided by the Holy Spirit, which gives them the strength and passion for keeping on with their aim. Jesus chooses the twelve disciples at random and made sure that they had the right qualities to become leaders of the church even after he was gone. He taught them a lot about the kingdom of heaven, which they had little knowledge about. He also gave them the power to perform miracles and became just like him.

For one to be an excellent ecclesial leader, one requires not only to be a member of the church but also have a well-defined spiritual formation (Ziegler, 2018). The spiritual aspect of a human being is composed of the personal and public expression of a belief in the religion (Canda, Furman & Canda, 2019). Inner expressions include having faith, following the teachings of Christ without being followed among other aspects. On the other hand, the outer expression of spirituality is by obeying the laws of the church and those of the community, treating other people with respect and avoiding social evils such as racism, ethnicity, corruption, and others. One requires to have a deep connection to God in all aspects, namely physically, spiritually, and mentally (Hartwick, 2015). In gaining such integration with the almighty, one gets a Christ-like desire to understand and fulfill the likings of God. The second most essential aspect is the ability to emulate both the teachings and the action of Christ. Some of them are described below.

The greatest skill that Jesus taught his disciples was that of service (Collins, 2018). For one to be a good leader, they have to serve those who are under them. The best means to reach the people is by being humble even when accorded a lot of power and authority. One should also use the skills and gifts that they have for the benefit of others and not for theirs. It is important to look at the best means that they can reach out to those in need and assist them in any way.

Another skill that He insisted on is love. For one to lead people, they have to demonstrate love for them. When one becomes a leader, they should be close to the people so that they may feel what they are going through (Bromberger, 2017). Love also makes a person easy to approach whenever an issue faces them. The main duty of a leader is to ensure that they help those they lead. In the political stand, the leaders are representatives of the citizens under them. The citizens pass their views through them to the state, and the correct measures to address them are made (Roberts, 2015). The same applies to spiritual leaders. They are supposed to be a means that people can access the word of God and find comfort in the Lord through them. They should serve as a bridge that links people to the word of God and help them understand what He wants.

The ecclesial leaders follow the example that Christ gave and try to imitate him in all aspects. They are supposed to be led by the principles of the church and the religion that they follow. A goal or objective also govern the leaders in their life. The goal of Jesus was to save the earth from the sins it had and make people understand more about the kingdom of God and all its benefits. He knew that there would be trials and tribulations in the course of his mission, but he continued with it no matter the resistance that he faced. In the end, he knew that he was going to die, so he appointed a group of people to continue with his works even after he died (Cook, 2018). In the teachings of the bible, it is clear that Jesus had the power to foresee the future. He could tell what would happen as seen in the case of the last supper when he saw that Judas would betray him. Being the son of God, he could avoid all the trials and tribulations, but he had to stick to his mission.

The ecclesial leaders should also have an objective to which they tie their daily works to (Ho & Shek, 2016). They should ensure that they know the means that the gal will be achieved. For example, if the goal of such a leader is to let people know about the Kingdom of God, they could preach to the people who have little or no understanding of it. They could also print out books and handouts that can be distributed to the people to enhance their knowledge. From having an objective, they should have the determination to follow it and ensure that they fulfill it at the end of their mission. The leader should not shy away from their mission simply because the people that he faces do not like it. They should instead carry on with their doings without giving up with the hope that one day the people will understand and follow them.

There are several dimensions of spiritual formation. First, emotional formation is the ability to identify, express, understand, and reflect their feelings in a manner that is appealing to the Lord (Graves, 2018). This means that they should avoid negative feelings such as anger, hatred, brutality, and pride and instead embrace positive ones such as love, understanding, humility, and kindness. With such feelings, one can fit into any community without causing suffering to others. The people can also try to emulate the leader in the way that they handle their feelings. In achieving that, the aim of letting people know about God is achieved.

The second aspect is intellect. Intellect is the ability of the mind to analyze situations and come up with a proper conclusion or solution to the problem (DeYoung, 2015). It helps the leader to understand the teachings of God and come up with the means to implement them. It is a trait that is built over time as one interacts with certain aspects that are allowed in the church. Some of the activities that help in building the intellect of a leader is reading and meditation about the bible teachings, understanding the psychological needs of the people under them and critical analysis of cultures whether of the church or not (Saxton, 2015).

Moreover, resource stewardship is the ability that one has to use the resources they have properly (Gibson &Warren, 2018). One needs to be a good manager of the material things that they are supposed to manage. In doing so, the person avoids debts, has enough to give, and still fulfills their duties in their families or societies. Physical health and wellness also count since one has to reach out to other people. Physical health eases the spreading of the gospel as Jesus did since they can travel and speak to many people. It also means that they can use their strength to do particular chores allocated to them.

When one achieves the aspects described above, they can then use their actions to lead other people to God (Brownlee, 2018). The first skill that they need to apply is understanding. One has to come to terms with the issues that the people that they are interacting with face. The situations also make a person decide the best means that they can use to make them understand God's word (Brizlee, 2016). If for example, one is dealing with much leaned intellectuals, one may use complex terms that are related to their field of study. Using the same words on people with little or no education may be cumbersome since they will not understand. The same applies when dealing with the age of the people. Children may find games and animated shows very interesting, and using them to spread the gospel would be a good measure. On the other hand, using the same shows on adults may not yield any results since they do not find them entertaining. The above skill is based on how well one had an emotional formation in their stages of spiritual formation.

The second skill that one develops from spiritual formation is the understanding of the scriptures (Ord & Coote, 2018). To give a proper explanation to their followers, leaders need to have read and understood the bible in detail. They then use the words and bible verses to base their actions and teachings. If the biblical teachings condemn pride, the person should have references to the bible and proper explanations to the followers basing on several stories and instances in the bible. They should also relate different instances in the bible to form the basis of convincing teachings and arguments (Stieverman, 2016). The spiritual formation skill that is required in this segment is intellect. From their understanding, they can utter wisdom to their listeners.

Finally, the ecclesial leaders need to show a proper relationship to their followers and other members of the community that they live in. One cannot be formed spiritually if they do not know how to relate well with other people. To gain proper relationship skills, one needs to have patience, understanding, and love for others (Kessler et al, 2015). It is impossible to be an ecclesial leader if they do not know how to handle other people. Poor relations also lead to one becoming violent, judge, and harsh to others. The traits above contradict the teachings of Jesus and the Bible about leaders. A person who is spiritually formed understands the people that they interact with depending on the situation that they are in. Having this trait makes them more accommodating for the mistakes of other people. The measure is essential in reforming the individual and making them more worthy of the Kingdom of God. Besides, it helps avoid some vices such as judging. One cannot see the good in others if they are judges of character. They tend to avoid people who have flaws and focus on those who are easy to reform. This is the opposite of...