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org
The KEY RING is a monthly publication by the Kampala Baptist Church
that seeks to provide an avenue where men and women can share
knowledge and understanding of the word of God, experiences, en-
courage one another as the older perform the act of paralambano
to the younger.
Our prayer is that the Lord will speak to you through these publications.
1. Is there a point in your life when you
felt like you had power? What was the
feeling like?
Hhmm, that is a good one! Actually I
cannot say that I have had the feeling that
I have power. Feeling in the sense that I
have some experience of some emoton of
power. May be it is because of how we
defne power. I think all of us defne it
diferently. But I know I have been in
positons of power. As a parent and
husband, I defnitely know that I have
some power. By power I mean that I am in
a positon where I am able to infuence
others or have some element of control of
other people but I wont say I have felt it.
How do you feel power? It is difcult to
feel power and for me it is more of
knowing than feeling.
2. Is there someone who we can rightly refer to as a powerless person in a family?
No, I wouldnt say that. Even if people dont recognize you as someone who has power,
I think all of us can infuence other people in one way or the other and in a given
directon, either positvely or negatvely. Any person
who is in a positon to infuence has some level of
power. Even the kids in a family can infuence things
in a given directon by virtue of who they are. So in
that sense, they have some level of power, some
level of infuence which they can use to move things
in a given directon.
3. How can the diferent individuals in a family
exercise their power to make the family what God
intended it to be?
I will start with the husband or the father in a home because that is exactly where I am
right now. Knowing your positon as the head of the family is critcal because that
basically means that you should have a sense of purpose and a clear sense of directon
to which you are to infuence the people in your family. If you fail to do that, it means
that you are going to have family members drif in all directons. A case in point is
Abraham, our father in the faith, for whom God had a clear purpose. Genesis 18:17 The
LORD said, Shall I hide from Abraham what I am about to do, seeing that Abraham shall
surely become a great and mighty naton, and all the natons of the earth shall be
blessed in him? For I have chosen

him, that he may command his children and his
household afer him to keep the way of the LORD by doing righteousness and justce,
so that the LORD may bring to Abraham what he has promised him. The husband,
frst and foremost, needs to recognize and obey God who is the supreme power. Then
afer knowing my positon as the head of the family, I take that positon and help or
infuence the other family members and empower them to move in a given
directon.
When it comes to children, the whole concept of obedience or disobedience is an
element of power in their hands because it is a determinant of the outcomes of ones life. The
moment a child is living in obedience, there is a way things are going to move in a given directon
or otherwise. A child who is obedient is using their positon and using their power in a positve
directon. If you are disobedient in that setng, then ones power is being used negatvely and will
end up with negatve repercussions. Thus a child in the family uses their power and their
infuence to move in a given directon.
So all of us in one way or the other, even a baby if it smiles or not, uses its power to infuence
things and people. For example, the power of a smile is able to infuence or bring about a new
environment in a home. So each of us in the family has power to bring about or make the family
to be what God intended it to be.
4. Does a person who feels powerless in the church have a right to feel that way?
No, there is nothing like a powerless person in church. Every person who is part of the church of
Christ has been gifed by God to contribute to the welfare of the church. However, leadership,
whether in a home or church is critcal in helping the people they serve to realize that they have
the power and that we have been empowered. People can feel that they dont have power if they
have not been helped to realize that they have the power. There is a story of an elephant that
was ted to a small rope when it was young, even when it grew up and had the power, it could
not go beyond the string because it did not know it had power. It had been conditoned into
powerlessness.
Even in church, this process of helping people fnd their gifs and calling is part of empowering. If
we recognize that church is the body of Christ, then each of us is part of that body and each of us
has a part to play which infuences the other parts of the body. For example, if I have a wound on
any part of my body, it will infuence the rest of the body. A litle wound on my smallest toe could
cause the whole body to move in a limping manner. Any part of our bodies has power to infu-
ence the other parts of the body just like the litle toe has infuence on the whole body. Thus,
each one of us in the church has a role to play and that role is what you have been empowered
with. So, if you are gifed in such a way that you are the
eyes of the body, or nose, whatever you do, will infu-
ence the rest of the body and it will afect the body in a
given directon.
5. If power is defned as the ability to infuence, how
best can individuals in the church of Christ use that
ability to make the church what God intended it to be?
Each individual in the church of Christ, should, in the
frst place recognize that they are part of the body of
Christ and have been gifed for works of service to the building up of the body of Christ. That is,
they are empowered. Leadership is a key aspect in terms of helping individuals recognize this
and be able to know and use their power positvely. If the leadership of the church does not help
the individuals to recognize this, then individuals will feel powerless and thus the negatve
aspects of our powerlessness will set in or take charge. However when the leadership
efectvely facilitates individuals to recognize who they are as part of the body of Christ,
individuals will tap into their power to build the body. If each and every one recognizes their
endowment of power, we should be in positon to move and be what God wants us to be.
3 OF 3 : POWER
What i s on your mi nd?
What would you like the next Key Ring topic to be?
Write to us using the email address below. Thank you
Upcomi ng Event s
6
th
September - Sunset Prayer Walk
3
rd

& 4
th
October - Prayer Night & Sunrise Prayer Walk
Pl eas e pl an t o be par t of t hes e wonder f ul t i mes of f el l ows hi p
FINAL REMARKS ON SELF-CONTROL
It is very clear in the word of God that self-control is a fruit of the Holy Spirit. So it is only
when we allow the Spirit of God to take charge of our lives that the concept of self- control
in terms of money, sex and power can be realized in our lives. Short of that and by virtue of
the fact that we are of a fallen nature, self-control is not possible. But that fruit of
self-control is possible through the power of the Holy Spirit as intended by God. Having
power to control ourselves before we have power to control anything else!
there is nothing like
a powerless person
Issue 29 - September 2014
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