As the LEAD Conference continues, more leadership insights and principles are shared with the goal to empower church leaders in fulfilling the mission of the church. The recent sessions covered a range of topics crucial for effective leadership in various aspects of church administration.
Exemplary Leadership in Finance
Jacinth Adap, the Treasurer and CFO of the Southern Asia-Pacific Division (SSD), spoke on the topic of exemplary leadership in finance. He emphasized that financial management is closely tied to character development, where the core of exemplary leadership is integrity—acting with honesty and transparency. He also highlighted leading with humility and service, stating that a financial leader should prioritize others, ensuring that their financial decisions benefit the mission of the church and never for personal gain. Exemplary leaders demonstrate faith and foresight in financial leadership—they see beyond the immediate, making wise, forward-thinking decisions, with their vision aligned with God’s purpose.
Adap further mentioned that exemplary financial leaders pursue excellence in their work, not for personal pride, but to bring glory to God, as the pursuit of excellence is an act of worship—honoring God by using His resources for the mission.
Creative Problem-Solving Through Design Thinking
Creative problem-solving through design thinking was another key topic, presented by Barna Magyarosi, Executive Secretary of the Inter-European Division (EUD), the regional office of the Adventist Church based in Bern, Switzerland. Magyarosi defined design thinking as “an extraordinary idea-generation methodology to find empathy-based solutions to problems.” He outlined the cycle of design thinking, which begins with empathy—making an effort to see the world through the eyes of others.
According to Magyarosi, “The mission of design thinking is to translate observations gained through empathy into insights, and then transform those insights into services that will improve lives.” The next step is to define the problem. Following that, the process moves to ideation, where a range of creative ideas is generated. Afterward, it’s time to prototype or pilot possible solutions. The principle here is: “Fail early, fix early.”
Next, the solution is tested by returning to the target audience for feedback, and finally, the process concludes with implementation—putting the vision into action.
Magyarosi reminded the leaders to make room for failure. He said, “If you want innovation in your organization, you have to create an environment where failure is acceptable.” Otherwise, people will be too afraid to try anything new, and your organization will stagnate. He added, “Encourage wild ideas. Let your imagination run wild. Every idea, no matter how crazy, should be treated equally.” Lastly, he emphasized that design thinking is, above all, human-centered—it focuses on people.
Loyalty in Leadership
For the final session of the day, Abner De Los Santos, Vice President for the General Conference (GC) spoke on the concept of loyalty—a unique bond that unites people. According to him, “Although loyalty to God is our first and greatest obligation, it also requires us to be committed to those whom God brings into our lives and calls us to serve.” Since God is loyal, God’s people should also strive to embody loyalty.
However, Abner emphasized that while loyalty to leaders is important, it should never be an excuse to ignore injustice or tolerate abuse in its name. He pointed out that true loyalty involves holding leaders accountable, but always in a spirit of love. He said, “Loyalty requires us to support our leaders, but allowing sin to thrive in the name of ‘loyalty’ is not true loyalty.”
Each session concluded with a time of reflection and sharing among the delegates, allowing them to internalize and discuss the leadership principles presented. The LEAD Conference continues to provide church leaders with tools and insights to enhance their leadership skills and ministry.
