RelationshipsUncharted - the book

 



Synopsis

Relationships must be the most powerful tool that the Lord developed for ministry, purpose and pursuit of our greatest exploits.

A book on relationships, beyond umjolo, as the euphoria of love and what sustains it, AND spiritual warfare beyond spiritual rites and ordinances… That is what we delved into exploring with the book – RELATIONSHIPS – THE UNCHARTED TERRAIN FOR SPIRITUAL WARFARE, a mouthful that may perhaps be better described as “The way in which two or more people are connected is the undiscovered and real battlefield for engagement in war of the non-physical (part of the person which governs his entire being

-        Selah

 

The book explores the practical concepts for each of the following relationship types that the Apostle Paul teaches about throughout Ephesians 4, 5 and 6, prior to then teaching on the whole amour of God.

 

§  CHAPTER 1 - Uncharted terrain

Builds from the introduction which covered the business case for the book. Chapter 1 starts to define the title in more detail to help the reader understands what gap the book is meant to cover and the importance of the subject matter. It eventually leads to the dictionary definition of the title which reads: “The way in which two or more people are connected is the undiscovered and real battlefield for engagement in war of the non-physical (part of the person which governs his entire being)”

 

CHAPTER 2 - Husband & Wife Relationship

Establishes the marriage relationship as the central foundation for all other strategic relationships that God instituted in our lives and is based on scriptural references of the Husband-Wife relationship. Academic studies supported by scripture are instrumental when we delved into key topics such as:

·       Marriage is in effect a reunion of two parts that make up a whole

·       Marriage couples make better drivers than courting (umjolo) couples

·       Marriage is God’s idea for the sole purpose of work

·       Marriage must be based on love to support the work of the Lord

·       It is not good that a man is alone. It is good that man finds a companion for communion

·       Laying down your habits, your self-centred perspective is a slow process of laying down your life for a friend (John 15: 13)

o   Blending is a process of death

o   Compromise is a process of death

o   Building this new family, requires the dying of the old self from both parties

 

 

§  CHAPTER 3 – Parent & Child Relationship  

Anchored on the opening verses of Ephesians 6, this chapter makes a case for the Parent-Child relationship as a model of our relationship with God. Deliberate parenting that allows children to eventually make the connection around how their honor to parents is not only a form of honor to God but also their training ground for a purposeful relationship with God. This chapter talks to each of the role players in the Parent-Child relationship and establishes a clear path for each of them towards victorious relationships with each other that become purposeful relationships with God. We make use of a series of stories to illustrate key principles such as parenting, fatherhood, affirmation.

 

§  CHAPTER 4 – Servants & Master Relationship

The Servant-Master relationship may better be understood as the Employer-Employee relationship. Beyond the voluntary slave-master relationship, we look at economic, socio-economic basis for this type of relationship. This cpather makes the case for Servanthood as the basis for victorious working relationships through topics such as:

·       Servant-leadership

·       Job vs. Work

·       Occupation vs. Business

·       The slave holds the key to a productive working relationship

·        Obey Christ through service to the masters

·       Leadership is sharpened (made better, developed) by serving others

·       The work suffers if there’s no obedience

·       Serve wholeheartedly

 

 

§  CHAPTER 5 – Ending Relationships

RELATIONSHIPS are dynamic in nature – they will either GROW or they will END… either route is good because it makes way for other relationships aligned to your purpose. This is at the center of Chapter 5 which focuses on Ending Relationships. We make use of various examples in the scriptures, politics, nature and social advents, like Grief, to build a case of ending relationships.

 

§  CHAPTER 6 – The whole armour of God

This becomes the climax of the warfare aspect of the book. It is anchored on the Go-To-Scripture for spiritual warfare (Ephesians 6), but we try and make use of everyday artefacts to illustrate the role of each item in the armour of God and a good example is the soccer fans ‘makarapa hat’, as the helmet of salvation, which is unique to South African sports. We look at each article of the armor of God to derive some truths that prepare us to Stand and Withstand accordingly.

 

§  CHAPTER 7 – Winning

In war, there must be winners, so in this chapter we reference the latter part of Ephesians 6 to understand the role of prayer ie.  Various types of prayers, kinds of prayers, levels of prayers. We also discuss other key ingredients for winning such as:

·       Being Alert/ Stay Woke

·       Unbelief or doubt

·       Unfaithfulness/ Disobedience

·       Unforgiveness/ Reconciliation

·       Watchers & Gatekeepers

·       Spiritual Gifts

·       What to Win – in relationships

·       How to Win – in relationships

·       Play to Win – in relationships

 

§  CONCLUSION

The book objective is to open our eyes to the truth that teaching on spiritual warfare does not start in Ephesians chapter 6 but rather in earlier chapters when the Apostle Paul delves into relationships and how or why they must be priority. Corroborating scriptures and practical evidence are illustrated in the relevant sections of the book to offer a well-rounded view, even though we are only scratching the surface of this intricate subject

 

Beyond this synopsis, the overall summary includes three key sections of the book to provide an overview of the text:

  • § Introduction
  • § Chapter 1: Uncharted Terrain
  • §  About the Author

 

 _____________________________________________


 

INTRODUCTION

 

The book of Ephesians is a letter that the Apostle Paul wrote during a time of his incarceration and emphasizes the headship of Christ and the structural order in the church. The structural order in the church does not stand on its own but is illustrated by the various relationships that members of the church maintain outside of the church such as Family relationships, Work relationships, Business relationships and other Personal relationships.

 

The closing chapter, Ephesians 6 in particular, has been the basis for starting to understand spiritual warfare and widely preached, taught about, and evangelized in different platforms across the globe throughout the history of the church. It has been preached in trains and train-stations. Evangelized in Buses and Taxi Ranks. Taught in Schools and Pulpits across all Christian church denominations. The early church, the old church and the New Testament church have all heard and exercised the truth held in this foundational piece of scripture.

 

We know it as the foundation of warfare but have been missing the preceding verses which are more concerned about relationship and how we connect with others. Prior to getting into the message of spiritual warfare, Paul spends a lot of time addressing the importance of harmonious relationships at different levels of our lives. In this book, we catalogue these relationship categories as terrains of spiritual warfare.

The call to action for this book is to really value our relationships by putting in the work to not only reveal their strategic importance in spiritual warfare but also unlock the individual blessings that the varied roles in each of the relationships bring into our lives.

At any given point in our lives, we wear multiple hats in terms of relationships, and I believe they are all important and each demand intentional nurturing for the important work of Purpose.  You are not only a son but also a father, who is also an employee and (potential) employer.

Like any other battalion (1), a central military unit, you also have a power base that allows you to effectively minister to these relationships. That support structure in many cases is your life partner (Husband/ Wife) who has the important assignment of serving you whilst you also serve them. A partnership founded upon service to each other.

 

To that effect, the relationships that we will be focusing on based on scripture are the following:

 

 

Relationship Type

Key Role 1

Key Role 2

Marriage

Husband

Wife

Parenting

Father/ Mother

Son/ Daughter

Working

Leader/ Employer

Server/ Employee

 

 

 

 

 


In this book, we are talking victorious relationships because we believe that

Winning in relationships is winning at war – Winning at spiritual warfare

 

Our native languages are very descriptive in the words used to describe relationships. A look into some of these powerful words is revealing of the true intent for relationships, so let’s set the scene using the mother toungue:

 

UBUDLELWANO (Isizulu): from the root word ukudla which translates to Eat. Ubudlelwano can mean to eat from each other’s plate or better yet to share a plate, denoting brotherly fellowship. This is best described by the experience of growing up in a typical African household where children would eat from the same plate. Eating from the same plate instills a sense of sharing that requires people to eat at the same pace – effectively taking every step together. Moving together and leaving no man (or woman) behind. An interesting trench towards meaning can also be another word association of ‘ukudlelana’ loosely translated - eating for each other or even eating from each other.

eating for each other – brings a unique picture of mother predator who chews on behalf of the children and then feeds them pureed food which is easier to swallow for their young mouths and stomachs. In victorious relationships, we may need to process the knowledge, and information, from experiences into wisdom that can build the relationship. It is often not the what, but the How that is important when communicating, so the application of concepts such as personality profiles are critical for effective communication in relationships. The lessons learnt by one party, become the wisdom that informs the relationship for both parties, avoiding the need for both individuals to go through the same struggles to retrieve the wisdom there-of.

eating from each other – best illustrated by the process of regurgitation. Some animals can carry food for their young from their stomach. They then vomit out this food for their young to also have their fill. So, in victorious relationships, we can regurgitate life experience, wisdom into new-found knowledge for our partners.

 

Another perspective of ubudlelwano can be about eating from the same pot or the same source. Eating from the same pot can also be paralleled to receiving similar upbringing, similar culture or even growing up under the same doctrine. The bodies of those who ‘eat from the same pot’ are therefore built with the same stuff, same nutrients, same posture

In victorious relationships, both parties we’ll need to be intentional about eating together, moving together. This may look like,

§  Date nights,

§  Family Dinner ritual,

§  Dinner for fellowship

§  No phones at the table,

§  What did you learn today?

§  What did you do today moments?

 

In victorious relationships, both parties we’ll need to be intentional about eating from the same pot. This may look like,

§  Family devotionals,

§  Family Book Club,

§  Church together (same church or Doctrine)

Two people coming together is not possible without the sacrifice of leaving. In other words, leaving (your past) is the prerequisite to cleaving to the future (vision) you are both called towards.

“Izandla ziyagezana”

Translated: Hands wash each other

Meaning: An act of goodwill deserves or inspires a reciprocal act of kindness

 

ISIVUMELWANO (Isizulu): from the root word vuma which translates to Agree. This word is used when talking about a contract. It denotes the idea of being on the same page, especially with regards to what is important for everyone in the relationship. 

 

In victorious relationships, this may look like,

§  Conversations: prioritize and in need schedule frequent conversation opportunities

§  Agree on Family: extended family boundaries as an important influence

§  Contracting: especially in working relationships incl. business

 

KAMANO (Sesotho): from the root word hoAmana which translates to verbs Involve (Agree/ Contract) OR Touch/ Hug (as in to seal the Agreement) See 2 Chron. 18. "I am as you are, and my people as your people. We will be with you in the war". This is an eloquent example of Kamano, where-in a whole King (of Judah – Jehoshapath) was forced into war which he did not really support but because of the covenant, his brethrens war became his war.

 

In victorious relationships, both parties we’ll need to leverage each other’s strengths to maintain the functional nature of the relationship. Individual strengths will show up naturally and must then be trusted for victory. This may look like,

§  Financial management: the casual personality allows the analytical personality to manage family finances

§  Cooking: the chef in the family may own this domain but still needs support and to be given a break frequently

§  Child rearing (discipline, teaching...): specific areas of raising children may be shared but others become overtly specialties with each party

 

“Ngwana moshanyana ke kabelwa manong”

Translated: A boy child is a sacrifice to Vultures

Meaning: the boy child will grow to become a man that fights and die for his nation

 

Ho Ama - In victorious relationships, intimacy is priority. Irrespective of personality types or preferences, you will need to make time for intimacy and ALWAYS reciprocate another parties’ advances. This can be as simple as holding hands or venturing into thrilling sexual frolic and/ or everything else in between. 

 

 

SELEKANE (Sesotho): from the root word hoLekana which translates to be Equal (Even/ Same) as in Same spirit, Equal importance. Every endeavor within a relationship requires the complementary role of leader-server, giver-receiver, parent-child. These roles are not about assigned position in the relationship but tasks. The key value from this definition is the importance and interdependency of each party within the relationship.

In victorious relationships, both parties value each other. There are certain things that no one can do better than your partner. Valuing your partner may look like,

§  Gratitude: Practice gratitude daily about them and whenever possible to them

§  Love Language: Understand how they receive love and strive to be their #1 fan

§  Affirmation: Communicate frequently the value they add in your life

§  Day in the Life Of (DILO) exercises where you swop duties may be useful to build empathy

 

Interesting fact: the Zulu word for a partner ie. Spouse and in-laws (to each other) is uMlingani which also means ‘my equal’.

 

 

VUNAKULOBYE (Xitsonga): translated covenant, agreement or contract.  Living/ Being together: the very basis for intimacy and building together is to be living together and bound by commitment that only comes from a Covenant. A covenant brings relationship and relationship requires covenant. 

 

In victorious relationships, this may look like,

§  Family Time: deliberate scheduling of family time

§  Family Adventures: Teaching each other personal interests

 

“Nghala yo vomba exihlahleni”

Translated: A lion roars in the bush

Meaning: A warrior is identifiable in war (spiritual warfare)

 

Are you that concealed warrior, who will get into this uncharted terrain and fight for your relationships?

 

 

REFLECTON:

What are some of the words and mother-tongue diction that describes R E L A T I O N S H I P ?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

CHAPTER 1 - Uncharted terrain

 

 

uncharted

adjective

  1. (of an area of land or sea) not mapped or surveyed.

"the plane landed on a previously uncharted islet"

Similar: Unexplored | untravelled | undiscovered | unresearched | unplumbed | unfamiliar | unknown | strange | unmapped | unsurveyed

 

  

Relationships are the uncharted terrain for spiritual warfare –

HOW, WHY and WHAT DO WE MEAN?

 

Let’s get into the definitions to formulate the foundation for this important message.

 

Relate (Relationship) noun: /rɪˈleɪʃ(ə)nʃɪp/

the way in which two or more people (or things) are connected, or the state of being connected. the state of being connected by blood or marriage. the way in which two or more people or groups regard and behave towards each other.

 

Uncharted adjective: /ʌnˈɑːtɪd/

(of an area of land or sea) not mapped or surveyed. Virgin lands

 

Terrain noun:  ter·rain | \ tə-ˈrān also te-

 a plain or territory. In the context of war/ battle, it is the site where war is waged – the battlefield. War can be waged on Sea, Air or Land but the terrain is usually associated with Land. Different types of war-terrain can be desserts, the jungle, rocky (mountainous) regions or just open fields.

 

Spirit (spiritual) noun /ˈspɪrɪt/

the non-physical part of a person regarded as their true self and as capable of surviving physical death or separation.

Furthermore, the spirit is the part of the human-being that is connected to the spiritual world, especially his creator. Like God, man also has three parts to him that can be summarized in the following statement:

Man is spirit, with a soul (conscious mind and emotions) and lives in a body

 

The spirit governs the soul and subsequently the body. Similar to how a horse-rider, uses the reins to control the direction of the horse, so does the spirit, use the soul to control the actions that must be carried out by the body.

 


Warfare noun: /ˈːː/

engagement in or the activities involved in war or conflict.

Spiritual warfare therefore refers to engagement in spiritual war. In Paul’s letter to the church in Ephesus, the bible teaches us that we wrestle not against man but rather the wicked spirit that may use man against man (Eph. 6: 15) 

 

The dictionary definition of the title would therefore be something like:

“The way in which two or more people are connected is the undiscovered and real battlefield for engagement in war of the non-physical (part of the person which governs his entire being)”

 

There’s a lot of academic insight and theory into concepts like work-life balance, making marriage work, raising productive human-beings… or simple productivity in work or business but the application seems to elude many because, we don’t view these as the actual battlefield but rather complementary pieces of information we can just know and never really use.

Without a clear revelation on the root cause, all the stopgap approaches we have tried have left us with an unfulfilled hunger to address a problem that we did not even truly comprehend, not its depth or even its impact on our lives and purposes to which we have been assigned the very lives for. I don’t believe we’ve had a compelling reason to really deal with this, simply because we have ignorant to the fact that battles are won in the right battlefield (terrain).

With all the knowledge, armoury and many other advantages, the battles are being lost because we are standing in a disadvantageous battlefield, exposed to the enemy without enough covering. We are fighting the good fight but in a wrong battlefield – a major disadvantage. General Sun Tzu’s Art of War (2) details nine varieties of ground that either offer advantage or exposes us to disadvantage when facing the enemy. Serious ground, for an example, is when your army has penetrated deep into hostile country, giving you an  advantage over the enemy and a golden opportunity to gather and plunder the enemy’s resources. For far too long we’ve allowed the enemy to advance into our territory, because we were not keeping watch of what is important in victory over this cunning enemy – Relationships.

These definitions give us a good foundation to begin understanding the connection between relationships, warfare and terrain or battlefield. We believe that connecting the dots between our relationship and spiritual warfare will help us realize our full potential by living it out for this and future generations. This book therefore seeks to answer some of the basic questions around that connection and hopefully catapult many conversations into movements that will further unpack this important connection. The reference to relationships as a terrain is meant to pull our focus in tapping into the significance of both terrains in general and relationships as one of the major terrains that seems untapped. For a long time, the enemy has been aware of this truth and has been launching successful sneak attacks on individuals, families, churches, businesses, and society by attacking this key area that we seem to be neglecting – our Relationships.

Some of the questions that will inform the direction of this body of work include the following:

§  What do relationships have to do with warfare?

§  Why is it important for you to win in relationships?

§  Why is it important for you to win in ALL your relationships?

§  How will understanding relationships help with spiritual warfare?

§  How will understanding spiritual warfare help with relationships?

§  Are you a Lover or a fighter or perhaps both?

§  How come that any other win appears to be insignificant, if the price paid is our relationships

§  Why is it that ‘if mama ain’t happy, ain’t nobody happy’?

The going concern or simple answer to most of these questions is because Relationships must be a priority in our lives. Everything else hinges on strong, meaningful, and purposeful relationships at home, at work or the marketplace.

The going definition for Relationships as the uncharted terrain for spiritual warfare is a bit of a paradox because marriages, leadership, protocol, are the very areas that the enemy attacks when intending to collapse a community of people in any institutional setting such as the Church, Business or Society at large. Relationships as a terrain is only uncharted from our perspective, and not the enemy’s. This is where he has been hitting us and all we’ve been doing is a laborious and continuous cycle of gaining composure as opposed to also taking our shot in this very area of our lives (Relationships). The recovery process after suffering an attack is highly demanding of our energy, time, which means that our resources for Purpose-work are diverted into the recovery process as opposed to the building of the work of the Lord.

Let’s unpack some of the key terminology in the book title statement.

The first concept in this book is the importance of terrain or battlefield in warfare. As a man of war, David expressed a shocking statement that may still be scholarly debated – his hate for the lame and the blind (2 Sam. 5: 8) – a king who hated the most vulnerable in society – why?

A King is usually associated with prestige and authority over all things – a superior position in any nation. The extreme opposite of the throne may well be the lame, blind or physically challenged, since they are perceived to have a lack of ability. So, King David sounds ignorant and very much //’like a bully in his assertion of hating the blind and lame; but this was more a connotation he assigned to his nations enemies, the Jebusites, based on their disrespect of sending the blind and lame to battle because of the advantage of their terrain.

Here’s the backstory, the Jebusite city was on a hill and this position served as a fortress and an advantage which they used to defeat their enemies. Wikipedia references of Mount Zion and the Jebusites paints a clearer picture of their vantage point:

 

The etymology of the word Zion is uncertain. Mentioned in the Bible in the Book of Samuel (2 Samuel 5:7) as the name of the Jebusite fortress conquered by King David, its origin likely predates the Israelites. If Semitic, it may be associated with the Hebrew root ṣiyyôn ("castle"). Though not spoken in Jerusalem until hundreds of years later, the name is similar in Arabic and may be connected to the root ṣiyya ("dry land") or the Arabic šanā ("protect" or "citadel"). The Jebusites (/ˈdʒɛbjəˌsaɪts/HebrewיְבוּסִיModernYevūsīTiberianYəḇūsī ISO 259-3 Ybusi) were, according to the books of Joshua and Samuel from the Hebrew Bible, a Canaanite tribe that inhabited Jerusalem, then called Jebus (Hebrew: יְבוּס‎) prior to the conquest initiated by Joshua (Joshua 11:3Joshua 12:10) and completed by King David (2 Samuel 5:6–10), although a majority of scholars agree that the Book of Joshua holds little historical value for early Israel and most likely reflects a much later period. The Books of Kings as well as 1 Chronicles state that Jerusalem was known as Jebus prior to this event (1 Chronicles 11:4). The identification of Jebus with Jerusalem is sometimes disputed by scholars. According to some biblical chronologies, the city was conquered by King David in 1003 BC.

 

It was such an advantage that they did not need to engage enemies directly but could post the blind and lame at the hilltop for them to release stones (and other armory) that would annihilate enemy forces before they even stepped close into the city. This terrain made all the difference for the victory of Jebusites in protecting their territory. Here’s the key point -

 

Terrain in war offer an unparalleled advantage.

Wars can be won on just the advantage of the terrain.

 

The central idea that will be a leading theme throughout the book is Relationships. As creatures of connection, we have all been in some form of a relationship, and therefore will agree that it requires constant nurturing. The idea of child maintenance is form of nurturing that is required in a Parent-Child relationship and goes beyond finances but steps into time investments. Husbands may not be as sensitive to intimacy needs but will be the first ones to reiterate the saying that “if mama ain't happy, ain't nobody happy” that gets them to invest a considerable number of resources to make her happy. The requirement for deliberate investments in relationship is a universal truth for relationships in any context. This is why every relationship expert will keep making recommendations around activities that allow partners to invest in each other – Date Nights, Family Walks, Praying Together, Eating together, Conversations, Teaching moments, Gratitude, Vacations, Team Building...

 

 

Every relationship, requires deliberate investment of resources

Time and Money being the most obvious

 

Spiritual Warfare is a combination of two concepts that are Spirit-ual, which is relating to or affecting the human spirit or soul as opposed to material or physical things” and Warfare, which refers to the process of military struggle between two nations or groups of nations”. Spiritual warfare is the military struggle relating to the human spirit and in common understanding, it is the Christian concept of fighting against the work of supernatural evil forces. It is based on the biblical belief in evil spirits, or demons, that are said to intervene in human affairs.

We have focused our war strategy on ordinances and religious rites like prayer, declarations, confessions and even supplications for Gods intervention which are all good but, in my opinion, very much reactive. The enemy on the other hand has been attacking us in the terrain of our relationships and our only response has been what we’ve always done – to move to the terrain of religious rites to bind & bind & lose, to constitute special prayer sessions (night prayers, January fasting & prayer) ... Meeting the enemy at the gates is the only proactive approach and that will require us to explore taking this military struggle to the relationship terrain as well. We need an ambidextrous strategy that is both Proactive and able to swiftly respond to the enemy’s advances (Reactive).

Rectangle: Rounded Corners: One of the dominant ways of spiritual warfare is through our relationships. We believe that there is sufficient material that cover spiritual forces or spirituality, so for the purposes of this book, we will not go into deep study in that direction but rather will endeavour to focus our journey on the truth revealed in the title: Relationships are the uncharted terrain for spiritual warfare.  The objective is to restore this delicate balance of both the Proactive and Reactive balance in spiritual warfare.

One of the dominant ways of spiritual warfare is through our relationships. We believe that there is sufficient material that cover spiritual forces or spirituality, so for the purposes of this book, we will not go into deep study in that direction but rather will endeavour to focus our journey on the truth revealed in the title: Relationships are the uncharted terrain for spiritual warfare.  The objective is to restore this delicate balance of both the Proactive and Reactive balance in spiritual warfare.


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ABOUT THE AUTHORS:    with nwm רוה הקרש

 

רוה הקרש – Ruach HaKodesh translated The Holy Spirit

 

According to a Rock Island Books (24) Hebrew word study, the Holy Spirit is the Ruach HaKodesh and is depicted using pictographs that reveals the following concerning the third person of the Trinity who we recognize as the co-author of this book:

 

Ruach: spirit, wind or breath depicted by the following pictographs.

§  Д - Head: Master, Leader, Prince

§  ף - Hook: Fasten, Hold two things together that are separated

§  - Fence: Separate, protect, cut-off or sanctuary

 

A leader who will connect (fasten) us to a boundary (fence) that is intended to protect and provide a sanctuary.

 

Ha-Kodesh: The-apartness, holiness, sacredness depicted by the following pictographs.

§  Ѱ - Man with uplifted arms: behold, pay attention to what follows, reveal or the Holy spirit is the revelator

§  Ƥ - Back of the head: the least, the last or behind

§  - Door: doorway, a place of decision, a place where change can take place, an entrance to life or death

§  w – Teeth: to press, to consume or to destroy (one letter God uses to identify Himself)

 

Behold or pay attention to what follows, what follows is Kodesh, someone unworthy, the least is being brought through a doorway where God will identify Himself. Going through this doorway, will set this unworthy person apart from those not entering this special place before God. He is going to be granted access that he obviously is not able to provide on his own merit.

 



 The title Ruach HaKodesh is given to a leader who intends to join us to clear boundaries, which will allow the least of us to be set apart and invited to pass through a doorway into a place where God will identify Himself to us.

 

Think of Him as the pedagogue to the words you will be reading in this book. The Holy Spirit is in many ways co-partner to the working of God in our lives, similar to how He was first seen in the advent of creation when He was moving on the face of the deep. A big part of the writing process for this book must be credited to Him because many at times I would avoid the flickering cursor that demands my attention, but He would intervene to not only reveal new insights for this book but also make the deep wells of invested revelation to come forth when I least expected it. He is friend, partner and closest relationship any of us has and therefore need to take deliberate care to listen to his leading, nudging and instruction as we go about in our daily activities. This is why we recognize him as the co-author to this piece of work

רוה הקרש

 

nwm – Nhlanhla William Mukhari

 

Like many other progressive leaders, Nhlanhla W Mukhari grew up in the church. He is very deliberate to remind anyone about the beneficial traits of being part of a local church community. Church’s ultimate call to action is – Leadership, so Nhlanhla credits a lot of his work to the foundational principles of Christianity emphasized when one is part of a local church community. “I grew up in church and continue to glean wisdom that flows from the pulpit every Sunday like a perpetual life-giving well”, he continues to say. It is no coincidence that world leaders in the arts, sports and politics all credit God as their source or as Mukhari likes saying – church is the real superpower. In parallel to serving in various leadership capacities in the church, Nhlanhla has over 15 years’ experience in corporate South Africa. He is an experienced leader in Service Management and led IT project teams in South Africa and other countries across the continent.

 

Nhlanhla’s academic background is in Communications, majoring in Marketing and Development studies and is pursing studies in Business Administration. His passion for positive contribution eventually gave birth to the #LetUsMake movement. Through which he plans, leads, organizes and moderates leadership conversations with leaders across the continent and the diaspora.  

 

He is likely to introduce himself as a peacemaker (according to Matthew 5: 9). He explains it this way: “Professionally I am trained in Communications and what attracted me to that space is the advocacy of communication and how to communicate effectively. This is something I always struggled with when having to position my ideas and view of the world, especially since it matters to me how I am or how my message is being received. I understand Kanye (West) when he says, ‘my brain is bigger than my head’. My struggle is to say it the way I intend for it to be received. I grew up as the last of three boys which meant that I always had my big brothers looking out for me. I have never had to fight, so when I grew older, I naturally avoided fights. Avoiding fights meant looking into clever strategies like talking your way out of potential fights and investing time in relationships – hence communications. I was not only born to be a peacemaker but also developed to make peace - always. All the roles I enjoyed professionally and in church as an elder where characterized by standing in the middle and working to Make Peace between parties such as the Leader and his People, as a project manager, the Executive and his Management Committee (MANCO), as chief of staff or business manager, The Pastor and the church as an Elder…and even perhaps God and His people as a saint-sinner (recovering)… making peace in marriages, friendships, among co-laborer’s and relationships of all forms. In conversations, the peacemaker may be a moderator. I have a natural ability to really listen and facilitate the conversations – for the purposes of bringing peace. After publishing, the peacemaker may possibly show up as a Relationship Evangelist.

My name is Nhlanhla Mukhari, and I am a PEACEMAKER.”

 

Nhlanhla has delivered engaging and humorous talks with candor and connection to audiences on engaging subjects including business, identity, and personal development.

 

For more information and to further engage – Go Follow IG: @letusmake.

 

 

 


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