Pastor Gary Skinner. COURTESY PHOTO.
Watoto Church founder Pastor Gary Skinner says leadership in Uganda and the rest of the world needs to be modelled on Jesus who exemplified servant leadership, focusing on the needs of others, not self.
“It doesn’t matter what your job title is, it doesn’t matter how wealthy you are, it doesn’t matter how important you think you are, we need to be serving our communities,” he said in his recent sermon at Watoto Church.
Ugandans cast their votes 14 Jan. after one of the most keenly watched and intense election campaigns in a generation. A president was elected alongside members of parliament.
For Pastor Gary, effective leaders are those who advocate for biblical values, acknowledge Christ’s authority, and serve their community to bring about transformation.
“Find out if they (leaders) are following Jesus, or they’re following somebody else. Ask yourself whether they’re there to bring about righteousness, truth, justice and the character of a holy God, or something else. We need to be asking ourselves whether they simply want to be lord of something, or whether they’re willing to be the servant of something,” he said.
“If anybody is not putting Jesus first, they should not be in a position of leadership in this nation. That’s my passion. That’s my dream. I want to raise up a generation of young people who say, “I’m here to serve Jesus by serving you,” he continued.
Pastor Gary decried the high level of corruption in the country, urging “let’s begin to live the kind of lives that will build a great nation.”
“Everybody’s going to try to get some some money out of you through some corrupt practice, including those that are in government positions and authority. It’s so difficult to run business or to do anything in this city. We have to change that. I’m here to say to the next generation; say no to corruption,” he explained.
He urged youth to become part of a solution to Uganda’s challenges.
“I am here to encourage the next generation to be the best generation that Uganda ever had. I’m here to encourage the next generation of pastors and leaders to be the greatest leaders. That’s why I exist,” Pastor Gary stated.
“God wants to do something through African young people as they live out the culture of Christ.
“We don’t need to be dependent upon the west for success. We need to be dependent upon our trust in truth, in righteousness in Jesus for what the future holds. We can do it. We can build better economies, we can build better businesses, we can build better schools. God can give us the ideas to become entrepreneurial and to become creative, because He’s a creative God,” he stated.
The hope of our community is the church, Pastor Gary emphasized, noting that it is here that God “speaks and acts.”
