Venezuela's Finest

Venezuela makes the news a lot these days, due mostly to that country’s illustrious President Hugo Chavez. In many places in that country you see the Chavez signs about a socialistic revolution. I want to share with about a different kind of “revolution.” It is a Jesus revolution that counts on a nucleus of leaders who bear the image of Jesus. For me these are “Venezuela’s finest.”

I just returned on Saturday, April 9, after gathering with this nucleus of 13 pastors and leaders who are doing leader development in and across Venezuela. From the youngest pastor (28) to the oldest (56) each of these has a heart to minister to Venezuela’s leaders. Let me tell you about two of them.

Two of the Finest

Jair Rios is a pastor in Caracas, Venezuela. Some years ago, while he was leading in a parachurch ministry, a woman prayed over him and told him: “Brother, God is going to use you with the pastors of Venezuela.” Jair blew it off as a crazy notion. Later, when God took him into some deep waters, his heart for pastors became all-consuming. Today he states that Venezuela’s pastors are suffering. They are driven and running hard but they are not taking care of their soul. He says our group of leader developers stands before a great necessity and opportunity. He challenged us with a question: “Will we internalize these concepts of renewal?”

Lisandro Marcano is a bi-vocational pastor who also happens to work under the Chavez government! He is a Nehemiah in that political environment. He speaks freely and boldly for Christ in the political arena and in the church. He is also part of NDLL Venezuela. I met him in 2007 at a summit of Christian leader developers that I work with in various nations. As he sat in our meetings tears flowed down his cheeks. His life was transformed. His marriage was healed and he has become an even more effective developer of Christian leaders.

Jump Start Retreat in June, 2010

Last year I gathered with several of these godly leader developers for a retreat near Valencia, Venezuela. We led a retreat for about 40 influential pastors from all over the country. Two of the men there were denominational leaders of the largest denomination in Venezuela. This organization had not been open to the input of other organizations up to that point. God touched these two brothers and they asked for our leader developer network to help with their pastors. This denomination has 400 churches alone in the capital city of Caracas.

Four from our network have begun to lead retreats for this same organization. The request is that NDLL lead these renewal retreats all across Venezuela. These retreats foster a kind of "grace environment" where pastors and ministry leaders can experience a renewing touch of God, realign their hearts with biblical values, and develop trusting, transparent, and accountable relationships with other leaders.

Gathering with Nucleus of Venezuela’s Finest

That brings me to why I was in Caracas in the first week of April. Jair and Lisandro were there along with other leaders. This was a time to consolidate and encourage the growing nucleus and provide ongoing empowerment to my friends. Over the three days we dialogued and processed how God was at work in our lives and how we could continue to respond to His deepening work in our lives and ministries. What a privilege it is to work with these leaders!

When you think of Venezuela try to look past the country’s charismatic and controversial president and consider the transformational movement led by “Venezuela’s finest.”