A Legacy of Leadership: Pastor Oscar Muriu

Well, as they say, all good things must come to an end. Today marks my last post on the Global Leadership Summit. Sad, I know...

In case you're just getting on board, I'll list my previous posts: Global Leadership Summit: My Takeaways (with a focus on Pastor Bill Hybels), General Colin Powell: Impeccable Leader with Humble Beginnings, Patrick Lencioni's 3 Signs of a Miserable Job and Dr. Brene Brown: Walking Her Talk.

Today, I want to share one more talk from the Summit. I'd never heard of this speaker before, but I'm sure I won't forget his message.

Pastor Oscar Muriu

Pastor Oscar Muriu, Senior Pastor of Nairobi Chapel in Kenya, East Africa, spoke on a topic that I'm excited to close this series on.

He spoke on leaving a spiritual legacy. I'll jump right into his five major points.

1. The size of your harvest depends on the number of leaders you raise up.

Pastor Muriu encouraged leaders to pour into the lives of potential leaders, thus multiplying the work of the Kingdom of God.

I love love love this quote from him:

"The test of your leadership is not the impact you make in your lifetime, but how many leaders you raise up who will continue the work after you're gone." 

2. Live for the next generation, not your own.

His definition of mentorship? Walking with people that are a generation younger. That's at least 20 years younger. Now that's a game-changer.

As Pastor Muriu stated so well:

"When you live for your generation, your vision dies with you."

3. Identify the budding leaders around you and go to the Lord in prayer about them.

Always have your eyes wide open to the potential in others around you, especially those of the next generation. And pray regularly for them - that God would raise them up as the leaders that you - and He - can envision.

4. Instill the love of God and others in them.

Model a life of love for the Father, the Church and the world for them to see and emulate. And encourage them to love hard as well.

5. Never do ministry alone; always have budding leaders around you.

Pastor Muriu emphasized the importance of spending quality time with budding leaders. So much so, that he brought to the stage three budding leaders that had accompanied him to the Summit - all the way from Kenya.

His investment in those young people was evident, and his face beamed when he introduced each of them to the Summit audience. He was a proud papa, showing off his precious children to the world. It was a beautiful thing to see.


Have you identified any budding leaders around you? Are you spending time with them, investing in them, encouraging them in their relationships with God and with others? 

Let's increase God's harvest!