CHURCH LEADERSHIP THROUGH SPEECH AND ACTIONS

It is vital that controlled speaking is learned and practiced in everyday speaking. Controlled speaking is not a mundane way of talking. James is the writer of a very important Epistle that identifies the characteristics of Christians. The Book of James was written to the Jewish Christians who were scattered in Palestine to expose the hypocritical practices of the early believers of the church. James is identified as Jesus’ (half-) brother and a leading pastor of the Jerusalem church. James emphasized one of the most important aspects of the Jewish leaders and Christians regarding character in the third chapter of the Book of James - the words that are chosen to speak. 1 Elwell, Walter A., and Yarborough, Robert W. Encountering The New Testament: A Historical and Theological Survey, Second Edition. Michigan: Baker Academic, 2005: 354.2 Dr. Thomas L. Constable, Notes on James, 2012Edition, Sonic Light: http://www.soniclight.com/constable/notes/pdf/james.pdf

The importance of the tongue and proper speech is evident throughout the Bible. Zondervan’s New International Bible Concordance references the word ‘tongue’ in forty-five verses of the New Testament and one hundred thirty-nine verses throughout the entire Bible. The American King James Bible references the word “tongue,” in one hundred and sixty-one verses. Goodrick, Edward W., Kohlenberger III, John R.,Zondervan’s Understand the Bible Reference Series: New International Bible Concordance, 1981, Zondervan, Grand Rapids, Michigan: 944. Crosswire Study Tool. http://crosswire.org/study/wordsearchresults.jsp?searchTerm=tongue

James 3:3-5 states:3 We can make a large horse go wherever we want by means of a small bit in its mouth. 4 And a small rudder makes a huge ship turn wherever the pilot chooses to go, even though the winds are strong. 5 In the same way, the tongue is a small thing that makes grand speeches.Holy Bible. New Living Translation copyright© 1996, 2004, 2007 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188.

James, in chapter three, verse 5 provides an association of the tongue and its power in speech, “though small and comparatively insignificant, the tongue can effect great change out of all proportion to its size. James provides two illustrations, “the bit, the rudder, and the tongue, even though they are small, all have power to direct.” Ironically, a bit is used to control the direction of a horse and a rudder controls the direction of ships and boats. God provides us his words, through the Bible, including the profound teachings and preaching of James, to obtain our direction.

Bits work by exerting pressure inside the horse's mouth. The bit goes inside the horse's mouth, where it presses on the tongue and applies pressure to the bars in the mouth. The bars are made of sensitive cartilage, and the horse easily feels the movement of the bit as it responds to the direction of the reins. A horse trained with the use of a bit is under control of the rider. James expressed to the church leaders that those who are trained in the Word are under the control of Christ and are led by the Holy Spirit (the rider). “The person who speaks much is going to err in his or her speech much because the tongue is the hardest member of the body to control. No one has been able to master it yet except Jesus Christ. Yet spiritual maturity requires a tamed tongue (cf. Titus 1:11).

“The person who speaks much is going to err in his or her speech much because the tongue is the hardest member of the body to control. No one has been able to master it yet except Jesus Christ. Yet spiritual maturity requires a tamed tongue (cf. Titus 1:11). If we can control the tongue, we can bring the whole animal under control.”

The Free Dictionary defines the rudder as, “A vertically hinged plate of metal, fiberglass, or wood mounted at the stern of a ship or boat for directing its course and a controlling agent or influence over direction; a guide.” “The word rudder comes from the Anglo-Saxon rother, meaning a paddle. The first rudders were almost certainly paddles, as steering oars, pivoting them in an upright position at the starboard and controlling them with a tiller. The tiller moves the opposite way, turning the rudder (and, therefore, the boat) to starboard when the tiller is put over to port.”

It is said the famous oceanliner, the Titantic could have avoided shipwreck had the rudder been larger. Hundreds of lives were lot because the ship did not have adequate control.Leonardo da Vinci said, “He who loves practice without theory is like the sailor who boards ship without a rudder and compass and never knows where he may cast.”