WHAT IS CHRISTIAN MINISTRY

"Ministry" is from the Greek word diakoneo, meaning "to serve" or douleuo, meaning "to serve as a slave." In the New Testament, ministry is seen as service to God and to other people in His name. Jesus provided the pattern for Christian ministry—He came, not to receive service, but to give it (see Matthew 20:28; Mark 10:45; John 13:1-17).

The Christian should minister by meeting people’s needs with love and humility on Christ’s behalf (see Matthew 20:26; Mark 10:43; John 2:5,9; Acts 6:3; Romans 1:1; Galatians 1:10; Colossians 4:12). Christians are to minister to others out of their devotion to Christ and their love for others, whether the other people are believers or unbelievers. Ministry to others should be impartial and unconditional, always seeking to help others as Jesus would.

The ministry in our day has taken on more of a vocational meaning as we call pastors "ministers" to full-time service. Pastors do spend their lives in the ministry, they do minister to others, and they can rightly be designated as ministers, but pastors are not the only ones who are to be involved in ministry. From the early New Testament churches to the churches of our day, each Christian should be in the ministry of helping others (see Romans 12:3-8, 10-13; 2 Timothy 2:24-26).

The content of ministry seems to prioritize the ministering in spiritual things, not just practical things. Ministry should certainly place emphasis on sharing the Gospel of Jesus Christ with others so they can come to know Him and receive Him as personal Savior, go on to experience Him as Lord of their life, and go even further to know Christ as the essence of their Life (see John 1:12; Colossians 2:6-7; Galatians 2:20; Philippians 3:8-10). Ministry can, and should, include ministering to the physical, emotional, mental, vocational, and financial needs of others. Jesus did, and so should we!

SUCCESS
IN CHRISTIAN MINISTRY

Success in Christian ministry. Whether you are a pastor, church officer, evangelist, Bible teacher, or Christian leader, there is nothing more important than the salvation of the souls of men and women. The question is how to succeed in Christian ministry. Let me explain.

Our Lord Jesus Christ told us to, “Go into all the world and preach the Gospel to all creation (Mark 16:15). What a supreme honor to be considered a servant of Jesus Christ to carry out His will!! You are on a winning team!

Prepare yourself to honor with your faithful obedience to carry out Christ’s Great Commission. God has selected you and put into your heart to preach His Word, and shepherd the flock that God has allotted to you. You have the greatest job in the world.

There are only two things in this world that will last forever: the Word of God and the souls of people. You must be diligent to commit yourself to the wonderful pursuit of investing your time, talent and treasure to focus your life on the pursuit of those two eternal matters. To this end, you will reap abundant eternal rewards. Yes you will!

To succeed in the ministry there are five things you need to excel in. Let me illustrate. A one legged stool will fall over. A four legged stool will rock back and forth and not be balanced. A three legged stool will be stable. Those three legs are needed to succeed in the ministry of God’s Word.

The first leg is to know the Bible. You have started on a long journey of serious study of the Bible. Continue that study for the rest of your time on this earth. God has permitted me to earn two master’s degrees and two doctorates. In all of this study my most delightful practice is to continue to study and learn new things from the Bible. I am still learning and surprised by new things I discover from the Sacred Word of God. The Bible contains the treasure of God’s revelation to us. We must learn what His revelation is, so we can communicate with accuracy God’s truth to His people.

The great Apostle Paul wrote, “Be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, handling accurately the word of truth” (2 Timothy 2:15).

The second leg on our stool is to learn and develop the skill sets and abilities God has given us. We must learn how to plan, how to organize and preach a sermon and teach, how to counsel people, how to manage our time and the church or opportunity God has given to us. We must learn the skill of leading people to Christ. He has given each of you a spiritual gift or ability to minister to His people. We need to discover those gifts and develop them to excellence.

Become skilled in telling people how Jesus died on the cross to pay the penalty for their sin, rose from the dead to grant us eternal life, and how we must place our faith in Christ to receive the wonderful pardon from a Holy God.

The third leg on our stool deals with relationships. There has always been conflict, jealousy, strife within the church. As leaders we must deal with them. People get divorced or have family problems. Church leaders may become proud and fight against each other. Paul wrote, “Being of the same mind, maintaining the same love, united in spirit, intent on one purpose. Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind let each of you regard one another as more important than himself; do; not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others” (Philippians 2:2-4).

Conflict, bad communication, hidden agendas and all sorts of things disrupt the church and cause people to get mad at each other. The church and people’s lives suffer. The Holy Spirit is grieved. Don’t think it strange when heresy or jealousy breaks out among Christian ranks. Look at the epistles: they were written to correct problems of conflict and false teaching. These are the killers of success in Christian ministry.

As Christian leaders, we must learn how to handle those relationships among people. Hostile relationships cause division and hard feelings in churches, eat up our energy, and cause people to leave the church. Conflict also hurts the pastor, Christian leaders, and Bible teachers, and cause stress and bitterness. In fact, that is what the original sin did: ruin our relationship with God. He sent His Son Jesus Christ to die on the cross to restore the relationship between sinful man and the Holy God.

Ok, we have the three legs of our stool nailed in place, but it needs a solid floor to sit on. That is our fourth lesson. That floor deals with our personal, daily relationship with God. Our own spiritual lives need nourishment and attention. We spend time in prayer, personal application of the Bible to our own lives, confess our sins to God, and become more and more like our Savior, Jesus Christ. If we lose our spiritual vitality and power, the three legged stool has nothing to sit on. When we become too busy to have daily fellowship with God, then we are too busy. Spend time before the throne of grace to gain strength and courage.

The Great Commandment from Jesus is this, “And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength. The second is this, You shall love your neighbor as yourself” (Mark 12:30, 31).

Now we come to the fifth thing we need to succeed in the ministry: a mission statement. That Great Commission from our Lord Jesus Christ is, “All authority has been given to me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I command you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age” (Matthew 28:18-20).

How do we evangelize our area and world? We use every available means at every available time to reach every available person for Jesus Christ. We do this in the power and direction of the Holy Spirit who dwells within every born again believer.

One more thing. We must do all of these things in love. Love your wife and children. Love your pastor. Love the people God has allotted you. Love God. Love the Bible. Love prayer. Love lost souls and win them for Christ. Love your work. Love the church.

There you have it. The three legged stool of success in Christian ministry: gain Bible knowledge, develop your skill sets, and excel in relationships. Cultivate your spiritual life with Christ, and organize yourself and group to carry out Christ’s command, the Great Commission.

May God richly bless you as you continue on your journey of ministry. Your reward will be waiting for you when you leave this earth.

CHRISTIAN LEADERSHIP

There are many definitions of what it means to be a leader. “Spiritual leadership is moving people by biblical means, in dependency upon the Holy Spirit, to do God’s will.” Here’s my own definition: A Christian leader serves God and His people by exemplifying godly character and conduct; by communicating God’s Word to everyone with wisdom and love; by excelling in vocational responsibilities; by uniting, equipping and inspiring God’s people for worship and works of service; and by preparing them for eternal life.” I am going to split that up to expound it for you a little.

He Serves God and His People

He serves God and his people. Thus, the fundament of the Christian leader: he sees himself not as ruler, but as a servant. But as a servant of God first, then of his people. Some of these definitions will be further expounded as we look at some of the models.

He Exemplifies Godly Character and Conduct

He exemplifies godly character and conduct. Notice, the internal life comes first. Without a Christ-like core, everything else we do will rot and decay. But character does issue in external conduct. And maybe that modeling of holiness is one of the most powerful, yet most neglected, elements of spiritual leadership. So we don’t want to skip over this.

He Communicates God’s Word

He communicates God’s word. The Christian leader’s handbook is the Bible, obviously, and we have to read it and study it in order to not just learn how to be a leader, but to communicate it wisely and lovingly to Christian and non-Christian alike as opportunity arises. The Christian leader is concerned to speak God’s Word far more than his own. So the Christian leader’s leadership begins with that inner core of godly character and conduct. It’s nourished and sustained by God’s word.

He Excels in Vocational Responsibilities

He excels in vocational responsibilities. The Christian leader does not over-spiritualize leadership by thinking that prayer and Bible study will cover a multitude of incompetencies and inefficiencies in everyday life. I’m sure we’ve all known people like that, and maybe even known pastors like that (I have), where there was this sense of “The more inefficient and incompetent I am, the more godly I am,” and a veneer or a facade of prayerfulness and theological knowledge really set forward as an excuse for all kinds of basic failures in administration and organization. That’s not the true biblical leader. He recognizes a duty to be organized, to be efficient, to keep appointments, to prepare for meetings, to inspire trust and respect by wise financial stewardship, by wise time stewardship, and so on. So that’s not the sum and substance of leadership—we started remember with godly character and conduct, and the ministry of the word—but it’s a vital part of it. To be efficient and competent in these unavoidable elements of being a leader in the church of Christ.

He Unites, Equips, and Inspires God’s People for Worship

He unites, equips, and inspires God’s people for worship. The Christian leader is thinking continually, “How can I unite God’s people, bring my flock the congregation, together in thoughtful, orderly, reverent, word-centered worship?” But we also want to direct that worship, so that it reaches and inspires the heart and emotions. Yes, we want our worship to be the same and regular and orderly, so that everyone is on the same page, but just having that outward form is not enough. We want the inner life; we want spiritual energy; we want this worship to be uplifting and inspiring. The pastor must be a worship leader.

He Equips and Inspires God’s People for Works of Service

He equips and inspires God’s people for works of service. We make worship a priority of course, but we also want to teach and train and organize God’s people to serve Him and His Church and His world as their talents and opportunities permit.

He Prepares God’s People for Eternal Life

With all that said, the spiritual leader is also about preparing people for eternal life. Eternity is ever before us as pastors. However busy our own life or the church’s life, however much we and God’s peoples serve together, we’re conscious all the time that this world and all that we’re doing here is all too short. And we’re preparing for a long world to come. Ultimately, that’s what our leadership is to be about. That’s what all these things serve together to promote, we hope—this servant spirit, this godly character and conduct, this focus on God’s Word, this efficiency and competency in vocational responsibilities, this focus on worship and works—it’s all about getting people ready for eternity.

Well, whatever ever definition you accept or come up with of your own, the more we think about these things and the more we see the width, the depth, the height of what’s required, who can but say, “Who is sufficient for these things?” You don’t walk out of a leadership class or course thinking, “Hey, I’ve got it! I’m it!” I want all our classes to end with that cry, “Who is sufficient for these things?” But hopefully we can also hear that welcome echo, “My sufficiency is of the Lord!” That’s where we want to be brought. So we look at some of these and we think, “Yeah, I failed there really badly.” You want to bring that failure, that sense of inadequacy, to the Lord and seek His filling, His sufficiency.

Seeking Christian Leadership

So much, then, as a summary of Christian leadership. Let’s look secondly at seeking Christian leadership. We don’t usually portray our call to the ministry as, “I want to be a leader!” In fact, some might very emphatically deny this; “No, no, I don’t want to be a leader! Not me! I just want to preach the gospel and teach God’s people!” But preaching and teaching involves leadership. It’s a position of authority and it’s a directive activity that we’re involved in. 1 Timothy 2:12. The apostle there forbids a woman to teach or to usurp authority over a man—there’s authority involved in teaching. It’s a leadership position. So everyone who says they’re called to the ministry is saying, “I am going to be a leader. God has called me to be a leader.”

Should you want to be a leader in the church? There’s always been a lot of hesitation over somebody actually saying something like that, hasn’t there? The sense is that any sense of ambition in the church, any sense of, “I want to be a leader” automatically disqualifies you from that position. It’s certainly a strain in some areas of the reformed world, at least. The idea is that you’re just this passive guy and you’ve just been picked up by a force outside yourself, and you go kicking and screaming against it. And anyone who actually wants to do it can’t be called, can they? The idea of actually seeking and wanting this is sinful, is it not? That used to be the case even in politics. If you read some of the early political books (especially of America, but it used to be the case in Britain too), anyone who wanted to be President was automatically disqualified. You didn’t offer yourself. You didn’t seek it; it sought you. And that sense is also in the ministry too at times. Does the desire to be a preacher and pastor disqualify you from that office?

Well, there have been cases, like Calvin and Knox, where they were virtually forced into church leadership positions. And that idea, as I’ve said, persists—that unless you’re forced into it against your will, you’re running without being sent! So what probably happened to many of you is you went to a pastor or some of the elders and very humbly said, “I believe God is calling me into the ministry,” and that is stated, of course, very passively and very humbly. The desire and activity is all on God’s side. “God is calling me into the ministry.”

But there’s nothing wrong with a man wanting to be a pastor and a preacher. There’s nothing unholy about that desire. In fact, Paul says in 1 Timothy 3:1: “If any man wants to be an elder, he desires a good work.” “If anyone wants to be an overseer, he desires a good work.” Another version puts it like this: “To aspire to leadership is an honorable ambition.” So the potential problems of spiritual ambition do not lie in the ambition—they don’t lie in the desire; they don’t lie in the aspiration—it has more to do with the nature of that desire and the strength of it. Let’s look at that desire.

A Powerful Desire

First of all, it has to be a powerful desire. When somebody tells me, “I feel I have been called into the ministry,” I want to test the strength of that call. I want to know: Do you really want to be a pastor, or a minister? And if so, how much do you want it? What difficulty would stop you from being a pastor? How would you respond if your pastor or elders said, “No, we reject your application”? Is there anything in your life that you would desire to be or do more than being a pastor? And there should be really clear, definite answers to these questions. If you don’t have a strong desire to be a pastor, you might just about get through seminary, but you won’t last long in pastoral ministry. The figures of men leaving the ministry are frightening. It used to be one in three; it’s now getting close to one in two in America leaving the ministry within the first three or four years. There’s nothing that will get you through the ministry or keep you in the ministry but that sense of powerful call that always comes with powerful desire. So the desire should be strong and powerful.

A Pure Desire

Secondly, it should be a pure desire. Once we’ve established the strength of the desire, we want to look at the motive behind it. Paul commended the desire to lead, as we’ve seen. “Anyone who wants to be an overseer desires a good work.” But Jeremiah said, If anyone seeks great things for himself, he should stop right there. Jeremiah 45:5: “And do you seek great things for yourself? Seek them not.” It’s not the seeking; it’s the seeking it for myself. Diotrephes, who loved “the preeminence” we’re told, is a classic example of what Jeremiah warned against. We can read of him in 3 John 1:9-10. Church history is littered with the corpses of those who had unholy desires to lead.

Maybe Jeremiah’s words are more relevant to our situation today than Paul’s. When Paul was complimenting men who wanted to be church leaders, the context was quite different to the one we’re in. It was a context of persecution. It was a context of: you become a church leader and you have put a bulls eye on your forehead. You become a church leader in that day and age and the civil magistrate was after you. So the desire to be a leader was rare, and when expressed it was usually genuine, because such positions guaranteed persecution, financial hardship and a lifetime of stress. So in that context, the desire to be a church leader was good and honorable and rare. But when there are significant rewards associated with being a church leader (as there are in many American settings), then sinful ambitions and selfish motives are going to be much more common. And so we have to take the Jeremiah code, I think, more seriously than the Paul code in our context. Why do I seek these things?

So how do we distinguish pure from impure motives? Well, you can all say the right words. So can I. If we would ask for your motives for the ministry, you just need to read a couple of ministry books, memorize the answers, and you can give them the next day. There’s no question on earth I could ask any of you that will guarantee that I can unmask you if your desire is unholy. And there’s no question you could ask me either. All we can really do is ask one another to prayerfully examine ourselves before God. I cannot look into your heart, neither can you look into mine, but you can look into your own, especially as you bring your heart before the Lord.

God-glorifying desires. I want to glorify God by my life and lips. I want to serve God and His people. I want to see sinners saved and Christians equipped for works of service. I want to teach people about the Bible and lead them in worship. I want to prepare people for eternity. I want to see the church reformed and strengthened. I want to see church make an impact in my community, country, and culture. All of these are God-glorifying desires.

Self-glorifying desires. I want to be famous. It’s amazing how many blog articles I’ve been reading in the last few months about how many men, younger men especially, who have gone into church planting and things like that and are admitting now, “It’s all falling apart, and it’s because I wanted to be the next Driscoll or Keller or Piper or whoever.” I want to be famous. I want to be that name that doesn’t even need a Christian name, so when people say my surname everyone will know who it is. I want to be rich. I mean, in Scotland you don’t go into the ministry to be rich, but it’s very possible in America. I want to be powerful and influential. I want to be respected and recognized. I want to serve on important committees and boards. I want to be more fulfilled in my own life. I want more time at home with my wife and kids. I’m getting on in life and fancy an easier job. I’m not happy in my present work—maybe I should try the ministry. I want to make up for the wrong that I have done in my life. I want to make something of myself. I want to control others’ lives. I want to be wanted. I want to be free of a boss. I want to read and study. I want a title. I want to work where I don’t have to listen to cursing and swearing all day. You would be amazed at how many of these I have actually heard said to me.

May God deliver us from these self-glorifying desires and help us to examine ourselves. Yes, we want to be leaders—there’s nothing wrong with that. It’s a good desire. The question is, Why? And if we’re ticking the wrong column here, we’re in the wrong place, and we better get out! Before we waste our lives and other people’s lives too. This is a very solemn thing.

LEADERSHIP IS SERVING

Jesus said in Matthew 20:26, 28 (The Living Bible), “Anyone wanting to be a leader among you must be your servant. And if you want to be right at the top, you must serve like a slave. Your attitude must be like My own. For I did not come to be served, but to serve.” Then Luke 22:26, “But among you the one who serves best will be your leader.”

These two verses are the foundation for Christian leadership. Jesus said the exact opposite of what the world says as what a real leader is. In the world, you build a pyramid and you climb to the top. But Jesus said, “No, he who serves best leads best.” Servant hood is leadership. The better you serve the more God raises you up to leadership.

Leadership is not a matter of getting people to serve your interests. Leadership is a matter of serving the best interests of others. Jesus said, If you want to be great, you learn to be the servant of all.

God is much more interested in why you do what you do than He is interested in what you do. Check out your heart on these seven reasons to serve others:

1. We were created to serve others.

Ephesians 2:10 says, “It is God Himself who has made us what we are and given us new lives from Christ Jesus. Long ago He planned that we should spend these lives in helping others.” Even before you were born, God planned a life of service for you. One reason why so many people are miserable today is because they’ve missed the point of life. As I serve others, my own needs are met and as I give my life away, I find it. You were created for service. If you’re not serving somewhere, you’re missing out on the very reason you were created. That’s a mind-blower!

2. It proves that we belong to Christ.

Romans 7:4 says, “You are part of the body of Christ and now you belong to Him in order that we might be useful in the service of God.” God says that the way you know you’re a part of the body of Christ is that you serve others. Serving is the proof of our identity as members of His family.

3. We serve God by serving others.

Serving others is the way to serve God. Colossians 3:23-24 says, “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart as working for the Lord and not for men. It is the Lord you are serving.” No matter what you’re doing, who are you doing it for? You’re doing it for the Lord. Matthew 25:40 Jesus said, “What you have done for the humblest of my brothers you have done for me.” He states it positively, “If you feed and clothe others, then you feed and clothe Me. If you haven’t fed and clothed others, you haven’t fed and clothed me.” The greatest honor is to serve the Lord.

4. We owe God everything.

Romans 12:1 says, “Because of God’s great mercy to us, offer yourselves as a living sacrifice to God dedicated to His service and pleasing to Him.” The reason why I serve the Lord is because of what God has done for me—because of His mercy. When I think of what Jesus Christ has done for me, the sacrifice that He has made for me, there is no sacrifice that I can make for Him that will ever compare to what He’s done for me.

5. it’s the best use of our lives.

First Corinthians 15:56 says, (Good News) “Keep busy in your work for the Lord, since you know that nothing you do in the Lord’s service is ever without value.” When I go home and play with my kids that’s as important a service as preparing a sermon. When I take out the garbage or do the dishes for Kay so she can go do something else, that’s just as significant service as when I’m speaking to crowds of leaders because it all counts in God’s eyes.

It is the best use of my life to serve other people. If I didn’t believe that, I’d get out of the pastorate and go make a million bucks somewhere. But what counts for eternity is giving your life away.

6. It makes life meaningful.

Jesus said in Mark 8:35, (The Living Bible) “Only those who throw away their lives for my sake and the sake of the good news will ever know what it means to really live.” I don’t pity people who are up to their neck in service. I happen to know that those are the people who are most alive. If you’re not serving, you’re not living; you’re just existing. That’s why we want to move people into the core of a purpose-driven church because Jesus says, “Only those people who are throwing their lives away for My sake and the sake of the Good News will ever know what it means to really live.” It makes life meaningful.

7. Serving will be rewarded for eternity.

In John 12:26, Jesus said, “My Father will honor the ones who serve me.” And in Matthew 25:21 He says, ”Well done good and faithful servants. You’ve been faithful in a few things. I’ll put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness.” This life is a test. You’re being tested, and God is seeing what kind of faithfulness you have. You’re going to spend far more time on that side of eternity than you do in the years you’re here. How you spend your time here is going to determine what’s going to be done with you in the next life for eternity.

Someday I want to stand before Jesus Christ, and I want to hear Him say, “Well done thou good and faithful servant. You were not perfect, but you did your best. You gave it your best shot. You tried to make your life count for Christ. You gave it away. You had mistakes and bloopers and did all kinds of things that were worthless, but you gave it your best shot” At that point, when Jesus says, “Well done thou good and faithful servant,” it will be worth it all.

CHRISTIAN LEADER QUALITIES

1. Recognizes the value in other people

Good leaders see a large part of their role as developing other leaders. Leadership development takes place in an organization as good leaders begin to share their experiences, good and bad, with others.

2. Shares information with those in the organization

There is a tendency of some leaders to hold information because information is power, but a good leader knows that the more information the team has that collectively the team is better, which directly benefits the leader.

3. Has above-average character

There are no perfect people, but for a leader to be considered good, they must have a character that is unquestioned within the organization. Leadership always draws criticism from someone, so a leader may not be able to get everyone to believe in him or her, but the people who know the leader best should trust the leader’s character.

4.Faithful to his wife:

The emphasis is not so much on whether the leader is married or single but whether his/her relationship with the opposite sex is above reproach. Christian leadership is costly and no Christian who aspires to leadership can afford to heed worldly rather than Biblical attitudes to sex and sexual relationships.

5. Uses their influence for the good of others

Good leaders are as interested in making a positive difference in people’s lives as they are in creating a healthy profit margin. This doesn’t mean that balance sheets and income statements aren’t important. In fact, they are vital for the success of an organization (even nonprofits), but a good leader doesn’t separate a desire for helping others from the desire for financial success. Good leaders find ways to leverage financial health to strengthen the well-being of others.

6. Is skillful and competent

Good leaders can be depended on for their professionalism and follow-through. You don’t question whether a good leader is going to be able to complete a task. If they don’t know how to do something, they will find someone who does, but they will ensure that a job is done the best way it can be done.

7. Not afraid for others to succeed (above their own success)

Good leaders realize that some followers will outgrow the leader’s ability to develop them any further. Good leaders, however, aren’t threatened by another’s success. They are willing to celebrate as those around them succeed.

8. Serves others expecting nothing in return

Good leaders have a heart of service. They truly love and value people and want to help others for the good of the one being helped, not necessarily for personal gain.

9. Continues to learn

Good leaders are always learning and implementing those learning into the betterment of the organization. That could be through reading, conferences, Web-based learning or through other leaders, but also through people who report to the leader.

Able to teach: There is a strong link between teaching and leading (1 Timothy 5:17 & 1 Thessalonians 5:12 where individually applied and corrective teaching is embraced in ‘admonishing’). Christian leaders must invest time and energy in learning so that they can teach; Learning is as much a heart activity as a head activity

10. Remains accessible, approachable and accountable to others

Good leaders don’t isolate themselves from people regardless of the amount of responsibility or power he or she attains. Good leaders willingly seek the input of other people into their professional and personal lives.

Above reproach: Someone whose exemplary life attracts people to Jesus. Just the sort of person that was chosen by the early church (Acts 6:3); people who were of good reputation and therefore trustworthy.

Temperate: This is less a matter of moderation or lack of self-indulgence but more that of having a clear perspective. Walking in the Light of God, rather than the darkness of men, gives a wholly different perspective on matters which to the world are of vital importance, e.g., the Christian leader should be led and influenced by those things on which God places high priority.

11. Is visionary: thinks for the organization beyond today

Good leaders are always thinking beyond today. “What’s next?” is a common question asked by good leaders, knowing that someone must continually encourage change, growth and strategic thinking for an organization to remain healthy.

UNDERSTANDING THE FIVE FOLD MINISTRY

When we look at the Five Fold ministers, we need to understand how they work together for the good of the church, the body of Christ, the Bride of Christ. Let’s look at each of them, their calling, preparation, how they are set in, and how we are to respond to them.

The Five-Fold Apostle
The word apostle means, “One sent forth.” An apostle is sent forth by God to minister with God-given authority.

He/she is a pioneer who establishes churches and lays foundational truth in people’s lives
(Ephesians 2:20). Apostles could be called “spiritual builders” (1Corinthians 3:10). They have oversight of the body (1Corinthians 4:15).

The ministry of apostle is the most neglected of the five-fold ministries in the Church today. There are many pastors, teachers and evangelists, a few prophets, but very few apostles. One reason behind this is that apostles do not fit into denominational hierarchy. They cannot freely function within the structure of committees, elected leadership and denominational red tape. The ministry of apostleship is an area much in need of restoration to the Church by the Holy Spirit.

Few people are familiar with the ministry of the apostle. In fact, most people think that the original twelve disciples are the only real apostles. Although they hold a special place as the original apostles, the Bible mentions many other apostles including Matthias (Acts 1:26), Paul (Acts 14:1, 4,14), Titus (2 Corinthians 8:23), Epaphroditus (Philippians 2:25), Silas and Timothy (1 Thessalonians 1:1, 2:6). Also Andronicus and Junia, listed in Romans 16:7 were possibly Apostles. This shows that there were apostles after the original twelve.

THE FIRST AND FOREMOST APOSTLE IS JESUS CHRIST (HEBREWS 3:1).

He was sent forth from heaven on a divine mission for the Father. Jesus chose the original apostles (Luke 6:12-13), trained them (Mark 3:14-15) and commissioned them (Matthew 28:19-20; Acts 1:1-8). The book of Acts reveals how the apostolic ministry functioned in the early Church. As the apostles traveled and evangelized, they saw a need for permanent leadership in the churches they established. As a result, they ordained men to be elders, pastors and overseers in each five-fold ministry, including apostles. The Bible does not teach that apostleship was to cease. Rather, the Word teaches that apostles are much needed in the body of Christ.

The Five-Fold Prophet
A prophet is one who speaks for God to man. He does not necessarily have to foretell the future, although that is a valid prophetic ministry. He does foretell a word from God that reveals God’s plans for the Church. God uses prophets to give direction and correction to the Church. According to 1 Corinthians 14:3, prophecy is given to edify, exhort and comfort the Church. In other words, prophecy should build up, stir up and cheer up. Prophetic words that tear down the body and depress the people are not from God.

Prophecy always serves to encourage and strengthen. Sometimes a hard message, a correction, will come forth, such as a call to repentance, but it will always result in building, not destroying. A good example of a New Testament prophet is Barnabas, who is called “son of consolation or exhortation” (Acts 4:36). He exhorted the body to purposefully and steadfastly hold onto the Lord (Acts 11:23-24). Other New Testament prophets are John the Baptist (Luke 1:76) and Agabus (Acts 11:27-28; 21:10-13). John was sent forth to speak as a prophet through the tender mercy of God (Luke1:78). True prophecy will always be tempered with mercy.

The Five-Fold Evangelist
The evangelist is a messenger who proclaims the good news. He brings the lost to salvation and exhorts Christians to witness for Christ. Phillip was a New Testament evangelist who preached the Word with signs following. His preaching and miracles led to revival and great joy in Samaria (Acts 8:5-8).
In his second letter to Timothy, Paul sets forth the work of an evangelist. He is to preach the Word, be ready at all times, reprove, rebuke, exhort with patience, be watchful and endure afflictions (2 Timothy 4:2-5).

The Five-Fold Pastor
The word pastor literally means, “shepherd.” A pastor is the shepherd of a local church flock. He is responsible to teach, exhort, protect, correct, comfort and discipline his flock. He has authority to watch over the flock (Hebrews 13:17) and to be an example (1 Peter 5:2-3). As a good shepherd, the pastor leads the sheep to pasture and water. One of his main duties is to feed the flock (Jeremiah 3:15; 23:4; Acts 20:28; 1 Peter 5:2-3). False shepherds feed themselves rather than their flocks (Ezekiel 34:1-6), but true shepherds are under Jesus, the Chief Shepherd (1 Peter 5:4) and they follow His example (Psalm 23).

The Five-Fold Teacher
A teacher is one who expounds and interprets the Word of God. He does not just impart knowledge, but living truth, which can be applied to the lives of people. Teachers build on the foundation laid by the apostles and prophets (1 Corinthians 3.10). All those who function in the five-fold ministry must be “able to teach” (1 Timothy 3:2).

Each of these gifted ministries has an important part within the body of Christ in regards to the laying on of hands. I will share more on this later. For now and briefly, it is through the laying on of hands that many who became ministers had their gift imparted or recognized through those who were part of the five-fold ministry before them. (editor’s note: Artist Ron DiCianni has a great rendering of what this might look like) We have seen how the laying on of hands separates a person to the call of God. The laying on of hands will help the five-fold ministry continue as anointed leadership recognizes the calling and separates through the laying on of hands those God ordained for ministry. More on the laying on of hands later. Let us examine the calling, preparation and ordination of leadership.

The Calling of the Five Fold Ministers

God divinely calls those whom He has chosen for leadership. Out of His many disciples, Jesus chose only twelve to be apostles (Luke 6:13). At the beginning of the book of Romans, Paul said that he was also “called to be an apostle” (Romans 1:1). This divine call is an absolute prerequisite for leadership. The five-fold ministry is not something that you just volunteer for. There are far too many who were not sent; they just went. These volunteers usually result in much more harm than good, both to the individual and the Church.

An example of this can be seen in the life of Moses (Exodus 2). God had divinely saved him from death and was preparing him for leadership. However, Moses took matters into his own hands and ended up causing trouble for himself and all of Israel. It took God forty years to fully prepare him for his call (Acts 7:22-30). Likewise, God desires us to be ready before we are called into leadership.

All believers are called to minister unto the Lord in prayer, worship and giving; to minister to the body in exhortation, comfort and love; and to minister to the world by witnessing of the saving grace of Jesus Christ. We all have enough to do without volunteering for leadership. When God truly calls us we will have a definite“knowing” and so will a praying, seeking church. Acts 13:1-3 “Now in the church that was in Antioch there were certain prophets and teachers: Barnabas, and Simeon who was called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Mansen who had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch, and Saul. As they ministered to the Lord and fasted, the Holy Spirit said, ‘Now separate to Me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.’ Then, having fasted and prayed, and laid hands on them, they sent them away.”

When God calls someone to a work, He will reveal it to the church leadership. We do not have to continually ask to be sent out or try to work our way into a position. Where God guides, He provides! All we must do is obey Him in doing what is set before us, rest in Him and allow Him to open doors for leadership. In doing so, our gift will make room for us (Proverbs 18:16).

THE PREPARATION OF THE FIVE FOLD MINISTERS
Those whom God divinely called are also divinely equipped and prepared. God always prepares before He sends out, and this takes time. Jesus called twelve men and then prepared them for the work of the ministry. Their only call was to follow Him (Matthew 4:19). A disciple is simply one who follows another’s teaching. Many times the disciples just sat and listened to Jesus. Likewise, we must sit down before we can be sent out. We must learn before we can teach. We must be disciples before we can be apostles. We must follow before we can lead.

Jesus prepared His twelve disciples in three basic ways. They were called to be with Him, to obey and to follow His example. The disciples were called to “be with Him” (Mark 3:l4) so that He might pour Himself into them. Can you imagine what an education they received by living with Him for three years? They ate together, walked together, worked together, lived together and, by simply being with Him, they were constantly being prepared.

The disciples were also called to obey Jesus. Obedience is a great teacher. In fact, without obedience it is impossible to learn from Jesus (John 7:17). The Lord continually prepares us as we continually obey Him.

Lastly, the disciples were called to follow Jesus’ example. The Lord did not just give a few commands to obey, but He lived His life for all to see. He is our supreme example (John 13:15). To learn to pray we must look to Jesus. To learn to witness we must look to Jesus. Not only is He our example, He also gives us the power to live as He did (Acts 1:8).

One who is fully prepared for leadership will know God and himself. God often prepares us by revealing our weaknesses, as He did with Moses. We must learn to trust fully in Him, not in our own natural strengths and weaknesses. A leader will also have a thorough knowledge of God’s Word. A list of qualifications for leadership is given in the following passages: 1 Timothy 3:1-7 “This is a faithful saying: If a man desires the position of a bishop, he desires a good work. A bishop must be blameless, the husband of one wife, temperate, sober-minded, of good behavior, hospitable, able to teach; not given to wine, not violent, not greedy for money, but gentle, not quarrelsome, not covetous, one who rules his own house well, having his children in submission with all reverence (for if a man does not know how to rule his own house, how will he take care of the church of God?); not a novice, lest being puffed up with pride he fall into the same condemnation as the devil. Moreover he must have a good testimony among those who are outside, lest he fall into reproach and the snare of the devil.” Titus 1:7-9 “For a bishop must be blameless, as a steward of God, not self-willed, not quick tempered, not given to wine, not violent, not greedy for money, but hospitable, a lover of what is good, sober minded, just, holy, self-controlled, holding fast the faithful word as he has been taught, that he may be able, by sound doctrine, both to exhort and to convict those who contradict.”

The Ordination of the Five Fold Ministers

When a person has been called and fully prepared by God, the Holy Spirit will lead the Church to ordain him into the ministry. He will have proved his faithfulness and ministry in his local church (2 Timothy 4:5). The elders of the church will seek the Lord as to when to ordain him. They will not ordain a novice, or a new Christian (1Timothy 5:22). The Bible gives no technical terms to describe the way to be admitted to the ministry. Ordination involves appointing and “setting in” ministry by the laying on of hands and prayer. This publicly confirms God’s call and approves a ministry. The laying on of hands imparts the spiritual strength and gift to be a leader (1 Timothy 4:1,4; 2 Timothy 1:6).

Our Response to the Five-Fold Ministry
Now that we understand the five-fold ministry, what should our response be?

First, we need to pray for these ministers (1 Timothy 2:1-2; Hebrews 13:18). (Here is a great 30 day guided challenge to help you pray for your pastor.)

Second, we must submit ourselves to their oversight (Hebrews 13:17). Submission is an attitude of yieldedness and love.

Third, we must esteem and respect our leaders (1 Thessalonians 5:12-13).

Fourth, we should not gossip about leaders, but go directly to the source in the presence of witnesses to straighten gossip out (1 Timothy 5:19-20). We need to be loyal and faithful to the elders.

Lastly, we must financially support the five-fold ministers (Corinthians 9:9-14). The laborer is worthy of his hire (1 Timothy 5:17-18).

The five-fold ministers were given by Jesus for the Church. We need every minister that God has provided. One or two are not enough; we need all of the five-fold ministries. As God restores these ministries to the Church, we must correctly respond to them. God’s purposes will not be fulfilled outside of His divinely appointed leadership.

What You Should Know about Pastoral Counseling

1. Counseling requires a three-dimensional Bible.

No one enjoys a flat, one-dimensional story with static characters, a predictable plot, and an unsatisfying conclusion. Why? Because it doesn’t ring true to human experience, which is deep and multifaceted. Many folks shy away from Bible-based counseling because they assume the Bible is like a bad story, flatly giving instruction about behavior instead of offering a rich, colorful picture of human life.

The best counseling uses Scripture as God intended: as a living perspective of a dynamic world that holds authority over our own. It is not one-dimensional, but three-dimensional, able to address the many factors of life—from relational dynamics to self-perception to circumstantial difficulties. The Bible delights us even as it instructs us; it challenges the core commitments of our hearts even as it lifts our perspective above our sorrows.

The Bible attests to itself three-dimensionally. Just read Psalm 119 if you want to see a long, lingering view of how Scripture functions in the swirling currents of life.

2. Counseling requires a three-dimensional view of human life.

Just as we honor the Bible by using it as God intended, so we honor human life when we recognize it as God intended. He designed us to dynamically respond to the situations around us, and that response is multifaceted.

In life, people do not just think, they also want and choose. They need their minds instructed, but also their hearts captured. They need to make new choices, but also need to be shown a vision of what those choices will do for them. They need help understanding how their private thoughts affect the way they relate to the important people in their lives, or how the events that happened to them in the past affect their assumptions about the future.

In sum, counseling helps connect the dots between various aspects of a person’s experience. It helps them understand themselves better in light of what Scripture says. Using the Bible three-dimensionally allows counselors to show Christ’s loving authority over every dimension of human life.

3. You are more capable than you realize.

A living Christian with a living Bible is a powerful tool for change. You may think there is a category of person out there who is able to hear people describe their problems and automatically understand what to say in response. No such super-listener exists. So relax. You can’t auto-fill a person’s trouble—but neither can anyone else. You should not assume a paid professional is needed for a struggling person’s problems.

Don’t get us wrong. Doctors and professional counselors are a wonderful source of help. We are simply pointing out that your first impulse should not be to shy away from addressing the complexities of another person’s troubles. Your first impulse should be to serve them in those troubles. Why not be willing to step into the mess yourself? Why not partner with your struggling friend as she walks through the process of getting help?

If God has given you his Word and his Spirit dwells within you, there is much more you can do than you probably realize. Do not shy away from speaking truth into the life of a troubled friend.

If God has given you his Word and his Spirit dwells within you, there is much more you can do than you probably realize.

4. You are less capable than you realize.

Yes, the relationship between the third and the fourth points is paradoxical. With the first, we want every Christian with a Bible and the Spirit of humility to be confident that he can help a troubled friend in some significant way. But with the second, we want every Christian to acknowledge the limits of his own wisdom.

You will come across problems you’ve never heard of, situations you know only some of the facts about, relationships you don’t have the capital to speak into yet. Humility is the best protection from hurting someone when getting involved in a delicate situation. Humility recognizes the limitations of your own perspective and experience.

Some Christians tend to think that knowing the Bible means they will automatically apply it wisely in complex situations. But this is not the case. We need the Spirit to grow us in both love and knowledge so that we can discern what is pleasing to God in the dynamic situations before us (Philippians 1:9-11). Sometimes, the right thing to do is to encourage a struggler to seek out someone else who is further along than you, particularly as it relates to specific troubles. This doesn’t mean you say nothing. It only means that you should be quick to listen and slow to speak.

5. Counseling is problem-initiated.

The nature of counseling is that people come in only when they are struggling with a problem. When your car breaks down, you take it to the shop to get it fixed; when a Christian is not doing well, she seeks out a pastor or a counselor for help. Counseling is arranged in response to perceived trouble in a person’s life.

This perceived trouble is important to address if you are going to love someone well. Many times, Christians want to get straight into familiar territory when having conversations with people in trouble. They don’t quite understand everything going on, so they quickly move to portions of Scripture that they do understand well. The result is often a faithful-but-not-very-pertinent application of the Bible.

We should respect the problems that people face by listening carefully and seeking understanding.

6. Counseling is not problem-focused, but Christ-focused.

Having acknowledged that counseling is problem-initiated, we need to point out that it is not problem-focused. The focus should be on Jesus Christ and how the person’s heart should respond to him amidst the sorrows they are facing. Counseling is not primarily about fixing problems, though we do a lot of that. It’s first about reorienting worship from created things to the Creator by means of the gospel of Jesus Christ. The most important question in counseling is not, “How do I get better?” but “What is my heart worshipping?”

If a single woman is fighting to free herself from patterns of promiscuity in her relationships, certainly lust is involved. But if you dig deeper, you’ll find that she may wrestle with a longing for safety and security, seeking it in the arms of men who take advantage of her. Or if a married couple is in constant conflict, on the surface it might seem like they are debating their finances. But if you plunge below the surface, you’ll often find that his fear of failure has a choke-hold on their home. His heart, designed to worship God, is using that functionality to seek his identity elsewhere.

7. Counseling is for everybody.

Because counseling is about the heart responding rightly to the complex problems of life, every Christian should acknowledge his need for help. Discerning how to respond faithfully to uninvited feelings of depression or intrusive fears often can’t be done alone.

Every Christian is living her life in a world marked with futility and difficulty; none of us should assume we can navigate through such a world without the honed skills of other Christians. Counselors are often those whose skills have been honed to discern the interplay between difficult circumstances and heart responses. A few conversations with a battle-tested counselor can sometimes do wonders.

8.Counseling is not for everybody.

Another paradox for you. The last point was that counseling is for everybody, but this point is giving another layer of nuance. Counseling is not needed when a person has the basic ability to understand how he ought to be responding to the situation he finds himself in.

The regular Christian life is marked with difficulty, but it is also marked with the regular means of grace in the preaching and teaching ministries of the Word, in the fellowship and accountability of intentional friendships, and in the prayerful seeking of God as a body. These regular means of grace keep a person clear-headed and clear-hearted in their approach to life, enabling many Christians to go through long seasons when counseling is not necessary.

In the mystery of God’s providence, some Christians will be spared from the worst kinds of griefs or given the best kinds of church community and thus not need counseling for the most part. Others will have different routes. In light of this, Christians should think of counseling as neither the universal ideal for everyone nor as unpleasant rehab for the particularly unfortunate.

9. Counseling is time-limited.

Counseling is not a permanent state of being. Often, it’s not even all that long. Often, a struggling Christian establishes better patterns of response and starts to see his problems from the broader perspective of God. And as he gets better in these ways, he won’t need counseling anymore. He will not need to continuing coming in because the depression is lightened, the porn addiction is not overwhelming, he’s learned to sacrificially love in his marriage, she’s eating normally again, or she’s able to rest from her anxieties. The original problem that drove them to counseling has abated.

Good counselors try to work themselves out of a job, entrusting folks to the broader ministries of the Word in the context of the church.

10. Even the worst situations have hope.

Jesus Christ does not abandon anyone to the complexities of life. In the

regular life of a church, the number of difficulties in the body can at times be overwhelming. But this is no surprise to Jesus, who told us that this world would be trouble. But he also told his people to take heart, for he has overcome the world (John 16:33).

The word Jesus speaks in the churning trouble of this world is peace. So even the worst situations have hope—though not because there is an easy way out. Jesus’s promise is that he is able to insert a foreign virtue into the suffering. The peace of knowing God as a worshipper changes the whole dynamic of a person’s life. The gospel of Jesus Christ has turned countless addicts, prostitutes, abusers, and arrogant fools into worshippers of the one true King. We’ve seen it, and it is amazing to behold.

Five Principles of Effective Biblical Counseling

One of the most frequent and often unnerving tasks for the pastor is counseling. Anxiety levels often rocket when pulled to the side and someone whispers, “I need to talk to you”. Pastors want to help and welcome the opportunity to be available but instantly the unnerving questions of “what will they say and how will I respond?” runs through the mind like a pinball machine.

There are five principles to consider when engaging in pastoral counseling.

Keep your counseling public.

That does not mean always in an open-air place where anyone can walk up and interrupt the conversation or not keeping confidentiality in counseling sessions. Keeping your counseling public means that counseling is conducted in a room with a window in the door. The public side of counseling ensures that appointments are not kept off your calendar and that your wife knows about the appointment. Not the details of the session but that there was an appointment. This is especially crucial for the health of a pastor’s marriage and church when counseling women.

Know your limits.

Many pastors have some level of formal training in biblical counseling but most pastors are not trained to be counselors. A great pastor knows his limits and when to seek further help.
A good general policy to establish and explain at the first meeting is when a counseling situation requires more than three deep level conversations then outside help will be sought together. Outside help could be a marriage conference, someone in the church who has dealt in a healthy way with a similar situation and even someone who is solely trained in biblical counseling. This is the loving pastoral step to take.
Gather as much training as possible, read as many books as available and but know your limits.

Listen.

Pastors are really good a talking, not so good at listening. In a counseling session it is important to learn to listen and based on what is heard practice asking open-ended questions. Often in counseling sessions the counselee just needs to hear their thoughts out loud in a safe environment and will frequently come to conclusions on their own after articulating the issue.
Learn to ask open-ended questions to help explore why they needed to come talk to you.

Point to the scripture.

In the counseling session listen and think narratively. While hearing their story ask the Holy Spirit to bring to mind what story, what person, what situation, or even what principles in the Bible does this person’s situation most connect with?
When that has been brought to mind by the Comforter share the story or the passage with them. Once you’ve shared the story or that passage ask two questions. 1) Does that story relate to your situation? 2) Tell me why it does, or tell my why it does not.
A great service is done for the kingdom in biblical counseling when the Bible is lifted up as the authority for our lives.

Pray.

Even if the conversation feels that it resolved nothing, pray. Pray for them, commit to pray for them. It is greater to speak to the Father about men then to speak to men about the Father.
Pastoral counseling can easily become complex. The kingdom is greatly served when we keep boundaries, know our limits, and drive people to the Word and prayer.

Decision Making in Leadership

One of the key responsibilities of church and ministry leaders is to make decisions—and usually lots of them. But even though it’s a daily occurrence, all leaders know learning to make wise choices is a life-long learning process. NBA coach Pat Riley says, “Leadership is defining the reality of the day.” It is being able to identify and understand situations and contexts, personalities and circumstances, and involves choices and decisions. Making these choices and decisions astutely is what tests the leader’s mettle.

For Christian leaders, making wise decisions requires some critical fixed reference points, or we’ll be prone to making foolish and catastrophic ones. Wise decision making involves knowing:

Who God is. Although God is absolutely sovereign, He is also interactive. He has a big picture plan, but desires for us to actively involve His participation as we ascertain that plan. Now, we all know leaders make large and small decisions everyday without the slightest concern about God’s purposes in the matter. As a result of this spiritual blindness, we see abuses in businesses, governments, even churches. When making decisions from the perspective that God does indeed have a plan, the Golden Rule becomes the framework for our choices: “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” Disregarding the God’s ordained rule brings distress.

Who I am. Socrates once wisely advised, “Know thyself.” When making decisions, we need to consider our own personal experiences, successes, and failures. For many, our decision-making pattern is to ponder the consequences of a decision without taking time to consider how our past life-lessons can guide us in the present scenario. Those experiences should have revealed our weaknesses and strengths to us. EQUIP’s CEO John Hall explains it this way, “All of us should know what size the shoes are that fit our feet of clay. Where are we vulnerable? Where do we need improvement? Where do I excel? What are my assets?”

How it works. A key part of making wise decisions involves acquiring the pertinent facts of the situation. This is not a passive process, but requires time and effort. The what, why, where, when, who, and what if questions need to be answered. A shortcut in this phase of decision making seriously raises the risk of making a regrettable decision. Mr. Hall gives us this example: “When Nehemiah had to make decisions on the job site when he led the reconstruction of the walls of the city of Jerusalem, he knew who God was: faithful and forgiving. He knew who he was: a man who was called by God to do a specific job at a specific period of time. And he knew how things worked: he built relationships, gathered facts, gathered funding, and rallied personnel.”

And as we know, the rest of the story is Nehemiah made some very wise choices in the midst of enormous opposition and criticism. Someone once said, “The choices we make dictate the lives that we lead.”

Every leader understands that decision-making is a central part of leadership, but rarely are the hardest decisions in the most convenient moments. In fact, sometimes the circumstances surrounding a decision can leave leaders little time to consider the foundational values for their decision-making. Because of this, biblical leaders must proactively seek to lay a foundation for decision-making that will equip them to respond biblically in critical situations.

“Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. 25 And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock. 26 And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. 27 And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it.” - Matthew 7:24-27

BUILD UPON A FOUNDATION OF INTIMACY WITH GOD

Biblical decision-making should be built upon a foundation of intimacy with God. Throughout Scripture, we are reminded of the deep importance of building and maintaining a deep relationship with God. In John 15, we’re reminded that the fruit of our lives is rooted in abiding with Christ. In James 1 we’re told to seek God’s wisdom and He will provide it. As leaders, we face difficult and often critical decisions regularly. Preparing for these decisions must begin with an ongoing, authentic relationship with God. Consistent prayer (1 Thess 5:17), faithful study of the Word (Psalm 119), and wise counsel (Proverbs 15:22) each provide a biblical leader with a firm foundation for making any decision.

CONSIDER THE DECISION IN LIGHT OF YOUR VISION, MISSION, AND GOALS

APPLY THE DECISION AND MOBILIZE OTHERS TO SEE IT CARRIED OUT

The wise accept instruction, but fools argue and bring trouble on themselves. - Proverbs 10:8

Fools find no pleasure in understanding, but delight in airing their own opinions. - Proverbs 18:2

The final measure of success for most decisions rests in the outcomes of that decision. As biblical leaders, we should seek to examine the implementation of a decision prior to making a choice. This by no means implies the decision should be planned out in totality, nor does it suggest that all possible outcomes must be considered. Instead, as a leader, we must consider three key implementation and mobilization practices prior to making a decision.

First, when considering a given decision, how effectively could the vision for this decision be communicated? Effective mobilization requires the ability to communicate the vision clearly. Likewise, when leaders make a decision, this decision will need to be articulated clearly to others. Second, a decision should recognize the strengths and weaknesses of those who will be mobilized to accomplish it. If those who will carry out the decision lack the time, resources, or ability, it may be the wrong decision. Finally, a leader should consider if the decision can be evaluated after the fact in light of the stated goals. Learning and growing as a leader means evaluating the outcomes of a decision. Take time to recognize the ease or difficulty with which the decision could be evaluated after the fact.

Biblical decision-making is founded on an intimate relationship with God, guided by a biblical commitment to goal setting, and accomplished through effective mobilization of others. When the moment for a decision comes, let’s be leaders who are well rooted in our decision-making and who see it through a biblical framework. In the hardest moments of leadership, our firm foundation of intimacy with God will give us hope and peace. When we are faced with choosing between many good options, we will know and practice effective goal-setting so that we can choose the best over the merely good. As we lead and make decisions, we will remember our role as leaders and mobilize others to help see the vision accomplished.

JETHRO AND THE ART OF DELEGATION

A young public leader recently told us “We see delegation as a failure…we feel inadequate as we don’t have the gifts to do every single bit of it”.

Delegation is a crucial part of leadership. It is simply not possible to do everything yourself. I have written previously about the importance of having a support network for your vision. But delegation isn’t just about support; it’s about utilizing the gifts of others – gifts you may not have – to advance your shared vision.

In Romans 12:6 – 8, Paul writes of the different gifts God has given to each of us. These include serving, teaching, encouraging, and leading. You might be an excellent visionary leader, but not so good at encouraging your supporters or staff in their day-to-day work towards the vision. You might be dedicated to ensuring that you take a turn at serving the coffee, but useless at teaching anyone how to write a blog about your vision. This is not a flaw in you – God planned it like this!

We think of Moses as a standing-apart-from-the-crowd leader of the Israelites after they fled from Egypt, but even he had a support group: his brother Aaron, Sister Miriam, apprentice Joshua. And in Exodus 18, he receives some invaluable advice on delegation from his father-in-law, Jethro. After spending a day watching Moses work, Jethro sees that the system in place simply isn’t sustainable. No doubt drawing upon his experience as a priest in Midian, he gives Moses a few top tips:

Ultimate praise goes to the Lord, not the human actors through whom He has acted (v9-12)

“He said, ‘Praise be to the Lord, who rescued you from the hand of the Egyptians and of Pharaoh, and who rescued the people from the hand of the Egyptians.”

Don’t let work take over — don’t micromanage and exhaust yourself (v14-18)

“Why do you alone sit as judge, while all these people stand round you from morning till evening?… The work is too heavy for you; you cannot handle it alone.”

Appoint talented, faithful people of integrity who can support you in taking the workload (v18-23)

“But select capable men from all the people – men who fear God, trustworthy men who hate dishonest gain – and appoint them as officials”

When things get tough, don’t leave your team to work everything out, but be there to step in (v26)

“They served as judges for the people at all times. The difficult cases they brought to Moses, but the simple ones they decided themselves.”

“Don’t just delegate tasks to the next generation. If you delegate tasks, you create followers. Instead, delegate authority to create leaders.” – Craig Groeschel

It takes trust to delegate, particularly if we are working towards a vision that it is important and personal to us. But it’s the only way to make that vision into a reality and when you delegate the things you can’t do – whether because of your skill set, your time availability, or other reasons – it frees you up to do the things that you are uniquely called to do.

Delegating is particularly important if you want your vision to outlive you. In Matthew 10, Jesus sends out the 12 disciples – he delegates responsibility to them, and they are able to heal and minister in his name. Later, after his death and resurrection, they are trained and experienced to continue his ministry; because they shared his vision, and shared his authority, they were able to spread his ministry.

Delegation can be as simple as asking a talented friend to write a professional letter to the council that formalises your enthusiasm and passion, recruiting a fellow parent to create an artistic banner for your event. Or it could be hiring a new member of staff to take some of the workload from your shoulders.

But how much better if, rather than simply asking for some help, you share the vision for what you intend to do and give them the authority to extend the movement? You may find that they perform the task, project or job you would give them with extra passion, urgency and understanding.

Perhaps you will recruit not just a one-time helper but a committed partner, someone that will take the vision in new and exciting directions.

What gifts do you know you don’t possess? Where can you find trustworthy people to join your team and fill in these missing pieces? How can you delegate authority so that others feel part of your vision and have the desire, passion and urgency to move it forward?

WAYS FOR LEADERS TO BECOME EFFECTIVE DELEGATORS

I’ve met many leaders who are in a rut because they do not effectively delegate. They quickly become the bottleneck of their team or organization, because they don’t know how to delegate or they don’t trust their team to own the responsibility.

Tired leaders are likely not delegating properly, if at all. Effective and energetic leaders have learned the art of delegation.

The definition of delegate is to entrust a task or responsibility to another person. The key word there is trust. If you can’t trust your team, then you might have the wrong people in the wrong seat on the bus. If you do have the right people in the right seats.

Here are six questions to help you become an effective delegator and take your team to the next level.

1. Is this something only I can do?

If there is a project or a task that only you can do, than of course it makes sense for you to do it. However, this should be a clue that you either need to develop someone on your team to be able to accomplish this or hire someone who can. If you’re filling your time with only things you can do, than you become the bottleneck of your organization.

2. Is there someone on my team or in my church that can do this better or quicker than me?

Many people are terrible delegators because they never stop to think if there is someone who can achieve this task more efficiently than themselves. No one wants to look like a failure, and many people view delegating a task as a failure that they can’t do themselves. However, quite the opposite is true. Effective leaders surround themselves with people who can do certain things better or more efficiently than themselves and give them the freedom to own that responsibility. This allows the organization to grow and scale.

If you’re doing something that someone else can easily do that is within your reach, delegate and spend your time on point #1: only the things you can do.

3. Is it more cost and time effective for me to do this or to outsource it?

There’s a point in every organization where it’s more cost and time effective to outsource a project or task than to do it in-house. This is especially true for quickly-growing organizations. Today’s world is overly-saturated, which means people are more specialized than ever.

An example of this is design. If you are wanting a graphic design for your upcoming sermon and don’t have a graphic designer on staff, it’s likely more cost and time effective for you to outsource this project to a company who can produce a high quality graphic design in a short amount of time. This frees you up to focus on the sermon content and not spend hours creating a lower quality graphic design.

4. What is my end goal and does what I’m doing right now help me achieve that end goal?

Have you ever left a work day thinking, “I was busy all day and got a lot done, but I didn’t get anything on my to-do list done." In a world of disrupting email, many of us spend our days responding to emails instead of proactively working on projects.This means you spent your day being reactive instead of proactive.

If you’re feeling overwhelmed, stop and ask yourself if what you are doing helps you achieve your end goal in your ministry. If it doesn’t, stop doing it completely or delegate to someone else.

WHAT WE SAY NO TO IS JUST AS IMPORTANT AS THE THINGS WE SAY YES TO.

5. Is it scalable for me to do this task or project?

Similar to point #1, effective leaders are constantly thinking about scale. Is it scalable for you to do the things that only you can do? It might be for a time, but long-term, think about who you can develop or hire to help you scale your own responsibilities as you take your team to the next level.

6. Does this project give me energy or drain my energy?

As I think about the influential leaders in my life, they all have one thing in common: they figured out what kind of projects drained their energy and delegated them to someone or something else. As a leader, if you are spending your days accomplishing things that drain your energy, you will burn out quickly.

JESUS LEADERSHIP STYLE

Jesus Christ was a leader, if ever there was one. He had a lot to say about authentic leadership. We need to understand the principles He taught and take them back into our day-to-day work and family arenas.

Jesus, Leaders and “Sheep”

Much of the content of Jesus’ teaching was drawn from daily life in his time. Growing up around Middle Eastern shepherds, he likened men and women to sheep, in terms of the needs and decisions they faced, and the search for a secure “place” to find protection against storms and predators.

No one likes to be called a “sheep”. The term sounds pejorative. Sheep are “dumb”, aren’t they? They blindly follow other sheep. They belong to a “mob” and typically don’t think for themselves. Their lives are short, sharp and seemingly meaningless: they eat grass, produce wool that others peremptorily take from them and then die, due to disease, being ravaged by wolves or dingoes, or end up on the dinner table. However, Jesus had another view. He saw sheep (and people) as individuals, thriving on relationships, needing to be able to trust those they follow, and doing so if the circumstances are right. Try to force them to go one way, against their will, and they will run away.

Facing down his strongest opponents in Jerusalem, in the lead-up to his betrayal and crucifixion, Jesus drew on the shepherd/sheep analogy to test the attitudes of those who came to Him: those who made life-long commitments to follow Him; and those who felt threatened and sought to put Him out of business. John records one such encounter in Chapter 10 of his Gospel account. Jesus’ comments in this passage have a lot to say about personal relationships and the nature of leadership, whether in the family, church, work, or more broadly in the community.

Bearing in mind that those who confronted Jesus in the passage cited were fundamentally antagonistic to His mission, his response is challenging and contains lessons for all of us, especially those who lead teams. Consider the following.

1. Those who rely on “back door” access to leadership roles and management of people cannot be trusted

"I tell you the truth, the man who does not enter the sheep pen by the gate, but climbs in by some other way, is a thief and a robber.”

Jesus’ comment at this point is quite confronting.

Going through the front door poses logistical problems for some would-be leaders. The front door is too obvious, too meritocratic, too much of a leveller; that’s the way everyone else goes in. So, they look for the back door, the short-cut, people in power who can give them a “leg up”. Jesus called such people “thieves and robbers”. Instead of approaching people and problems in a transparent way they come in through the side window, like burglars (Jude verse 3 is instructive here – in fact the Greek language uses the same analogy).

All too often, leaders depend on behind-the-scenes politics and “deals” to get what they want. They gain positions of power and influence, but not enduring confidence. They consider it a matter of honour to be known as “a numbers man” or a “toe cutter”. Those closest to them know they cannot be trusted (there are no true friends in politics), so they are wary of committing themselves, unless they stand to gain some of the benefits - then they become complicit. This occurs in business, politics, even religious organizations and families; anywhere hierarchies and power structures are located. Candidates for pre-selection in election campaigns are often forced on local branches because they have close links to national leadership or funding sources. Christian organizations, and their cliques and dynasties, are not immune. What I find scary is that those who live like this often do not perceive any ethical conflicts.

If there are burglars in the house, whom do you trust? How can you be sure those who lead or follow you are not self-seekers simply interested in what they can extract from the relationship? I believe Jesus is warning all of us to be careful.

2. Authentic leadership enters through the front door

^“The man who enters by the gate is the shepherd of his sheep. The watchman opens the gate for him.”

For the genuine man or woman of God there is no need for secret agendas, no cabals or behind-the-scenes deals (see Acts 26:26). Their lives are open, accountable, as transparent as possible; what you see is what you get. They believe that God opens and closes doors according to His will

“You yourselves are our letter, written on our hearts, known and read by everybody. You show that you are a letter from Christ, the result of our ministry, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts.” (2 Corinthians 3:2, 3).

Authentic leadership is “who we are”, not the “spin” we sometimes put on our circumstances and relationships. Such leadership is not common, but it is what the majority of followers crave.

3. Everyone needs leadership

“The watchman opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice.”

For millennia, Eastern shepherds have walked ahead of their sheep. When I lived in the Middle East I studied Bedouin shepherds in Jordan, who walked well-worn trails with small flocks of sheep in their wake, sitting with them in the cool of the day, leading them by pools of water, treating them tenderly, calling them by name and speaking to them, as a father would a group of small children. At the end of the day they would lead them home to shelter from the elements. Bedouin shepherds love their sheep.

Everyone needs good leadership. Everyone needs heroes, people to believe in, to follow, to adopt as credible life models.

The authentic shepherd goes ahead of the sheep. He (or she) does not bark orders, but asks the flock to go where he has already gone. People respect leaders who are prepared to empathize and get their hands dirty, do the hard yards and speak from experience, not just articulate aspirational targets or theory. This is the leap from action planning to action. Followers respect integrity. They shy away from leaders who do not “walk the talk”.

Good leadership is paramount. Everyone needs effective, constructive, confident, communicative, godly leadership. Students and street vendors need leadership. So do Prime Ministers, community organizers and business leaders.

4. People (“sheep”) are much more discerning than many leaders realise and do not easily follow leaders they do not know

^“But they will never follow a stranger; in fact, they will run away from him because they do not recognize a stranger's voice."

The trap for those involved in leadership is avoiding what has loosely been called the “hero syndrome”, where the accolades of others get inside our heads, where they reside, echoing in our inner chambers. Heroes are important, but when we begin to think we are heroes it can subtly convince and then destroy us.

This is when we start to believe that we have all the answers for everybody and are indispensable, when we believe our own rhetoric. Jesus said we should be careful when everyone appears to speak well of us (Luke 6:26). People and circumstances change, as easily as the direction of the wind.

The best of leaders cannot meet everyone’s expectations; they disappoint their followers from time to time. I have found that, when this happens, only leadership relationships that are based on integrity endure the hard knocks and harsh reverses. False and calculating leadership gets caught out. Leaders who are not prepared to admit mistakes forfeit the trust of others. When we need to be liked and appreciated to feel validated, lack of support, indifference, or criticism on the part of others can undermine us. When the recognition and approval of our friends, family members and work colleagues are all consuming, we become blinded to what is really important, and durable. The tragic thing is that some heroes do not realise others do not esteem and need them as much as they think. Negative feedback ends up eroding their confidence and undermining the leadership they aspire to model.

^“Jesus used this figure of speech, but they did not understand what he was telling them.”

Why didn’t the leaders of Jesus’ day understand His anecdote? Ironically, some were so ensconced in the political and religious systems of their day that they simply did not grasp His message. It didn’t dawn on them that He was speaking about them. Or they were so filled with pride, presumption and prejudice that the truth did not penetrate the shells they had constructed around themselves. It is easy for leaders to believe they have the skillsets and knowledge to do the job, but not be self-aware enough to realise that they are being high-jacked by their own rhetoric.

The Pharisees were “experts” in the law, which they used to justify narrow pettiness and judgemental attitudes. The Sadducees were close to the political power structures in Jerusalem, which they leveraged to their advantage. Neither party was ready for an outsider like Jesus to challenge the status quo and highlight their bankrupt spirituality. In their hearts they had already rejected His message; some were active members of a conspiracy to arrest and execute Him. Their response was to call him mad, or demon possessed, and makes every Endeavour to undermine His message and ministry. Getting rid of Jesus was like taking the irritating stone out of their shoes.

Jesus is our shepherd (1 Peter 2:25). The religious leaders of His day were not His “sheep”. By choice. They did not belong to Him. So they opposed Him.

4. Good Shepherds lay down their lives for the sheep

“I lay down my life—only to take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again. This command I received from my Father."

Anyone who has read Jesus’ description of leadership (Matthew 20:25-27) knows that His model was diametrically opposed to that of the world. He taught that authentic leadership must stem from (and be demonstrated by) acts of service. The prevailing secular model is ultimately based on relationships of power.

How often have you heard someone described as “Machiavellian”? Nicolo Machiavelli (1469-1527) was an adviser to the Medici family in Florence; he famously taught that, “A prince never lacks legitimate reasons to break his promise.”

In Machiavelli’s world view, “Those princes who have done great things have held good faith of little account, and have known how to circumvent the intellect of men”. To Machiavelli and his disciples, leadership was synonymous with the amoral exercise of power, secured by “whatever it took”.

The challenge for Christian leaders today is not to imbibe these kinds of values, but to follow in the footsteps of one who said that genuine leadership is not about driving, manipulating, using and discarding others, but making the ultimate sacrifice, at personal cost, for their ultimate good. Only by putting others first (even within strict hierarchies) can leaders impact their lives. This applies in marriage, business, church and public life.

What makes all of this compelling reading is that Jesus was under no obligation to lay down His life for any sheep.

He came as the creator, the Eternal Logos, the expression of the Father. Demons recognised Him as the Son of God. He raised the dead, healed sickness, performed every kind of miracle, but espoused the principle that the only standard of leadership that truly counted in the long run was placing others at the head of the queue and serving them. Jesus nowhere demanded His rights. He did not raise His voice above the clamour, just to be heard. He did not engage in self-aggrandisement, but became poor, and a servant, for our sakes.

Such a contrast is challenging; it is revolutionary. If God’s standard of leadership were to become mandatory there would be few candidates. No automatic honours, no rewards, no perks, nothing, in this life, only service and sacrifice. I can hear people saying, “But I didn’t sign up for this. I didn’t study and work hard so that my reputation could be of no account. Look at me. Be impressed. Listen to the words of wisdom that come out of my mouth. But don’t ask me to give it all up and go back to the bottom of the greasy pole”.

Jesus declared that He had come to lay down His life for the world. Not for a creed, or a doctrinal statement. Not even for the reputation of Israel and its Law and prophets, but for people like you and me (Philippians 2:5-11).

5. Effective leadership engenders a sense of security in followers

^“My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father's hand.”

Are you a leader worth following? Have a look around and see who is following you. Who values your opinions and judgement? Why should they? Whom do they really trust with their future?

Do you have the courage to put yourself in Jesus’ shoes and engage those who look to you with an eye to serve, not just getting your own way to achieve your personal or professional goals?

Lead well and others will grow. They will give above and beyond, not out of a sense of fear or obligation, but because you bring out the best in them. Protect them, like a flock entrusted to your care, but not in an overbearing way. Give them space to be themselves, as individuals, with hopes and aspirations, mixed with occasional disappointments. Ask the Holy Spirit to help you lead with attitudes that promote stability, security, fruitfulness and mutual commitment. If you lead like Jesus you will be in a minority, but you will not be alone. Follow Him and those who follow you will be transformed by His life.

JESUS LEADERSHIP: A MODEL FOR MINISTRY

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Numerous experts throughout the years have claimed to have the secrets to successful leadership. Whether in religion, business, or politics, leadership is a pertinent topic, with opinions (all claiming statistical data to prove their arguments) varying from essential characteristics to new breakthrough techniques. Famous leaders are cited as models; but is there a better example of leadership than we can find in Jesus?

Many have searched His parables and sayings for insight on leadership; rarely, however, are His actions examined for His actual leadership style. By focusing on Jesus as a Person (through reading the black rather than red print), we can learn the essential principles of our Lord’s leadership style.

JESUS AS LEADER

Chronologically, the first key aspect to Christ’s leadership was His calling. Centuries of prophecies were fulfilled in a small Babe,who grew in “wisdom and stature” (Luke 2:52, KJV), and had His calling supernaturally confirmed at His baptism.This teaches us that upbringing and affirmation are vital to the formation of leaders. Their talents and characteristics are nurtured and encouraged by others.₃

Next, leaders require followers, and Jesus had plenty, which leads to the second aspect of Jesus’ leadership—His disciples. From the beginning of Jesus’ ministry, He not only gathered a crowd of followers, He called specific individuals in order to mentor them in a smaller setting. This discipling apprenticeship involved private instruction and question-and-answer sessions as well as on the job observation and delegation. He empowered His followers through this instruction and leadership, both encouraging and disciplining them.

Empowering others is a part of Jesus’ servant-leadership model. Through His miracles, Jesus freed people from their infirmities and empowered them to start a new life, physically and spiritually.

Jesus also led with integrity by His example. Respected leaders live what they preach, relying on principles, not popularity. Jesus could have won the nation through popularity. He did not. Effective spiritual leaders should do the same.

Texts on leadership speak of leaders requiring a vision they can “sell” to their followers.⁴ Jesus passionately believed His message, and, with integrity, He taught with authority. He was so committed to His vision that He died for it. Vision with commitment is a winning combination,5 which inspires others to action.

LOVE AND ACTION

Action is the key; a true leader wants to draw others to act upon the vision and see it to fruition.Jesus set the vision, preached the message, and demonstrated the vision through miraculous healings. Once people caught the passion, they were inspired to sacrifice everything for it. If leaders today could inspire such passion for service, the miraculous church growth of the Day of Pentecost would be repeated.

Jesus had charisma⁷ and a perfect character⁸ that resisted all forms of temptation⁹ and weakness. He faced the hard issues of inequality, power, and suffering head on, and rebuked His followers when they did not do the same. Jesus’ character was revealed through His consistency: He refused to advance Himself and publicly maintained often unpopular teachings.

Personally upholding the highest principles, He commanded His followers to do likewise. What higher principles exist than those outlined in the Sermon on the Mount, which embodies true love? (How interesting, too, that love is absent from even Christian lists of leadership qualities.) Love was behind every aspect of Christ’s life. It was central to His vision and His mission. Love drove His service and led Him to His death.

Jesus’ compassion flowed from this love. In humility, He met people where they were. He met their immediate needs. When crowds followed Him, though tired, He was moved to heal them, feed them, and teach them. Christian leaders must have compassion10; yet some prestigious voices in leadership training omit it from their lists of “indispensable qualities.”¹¹

There can be misconceptions that compassion and humility are signs of weakness. Christ, however, personified love and encouraged everyone to embrace compassion and humble servant leadership as the only Christian leadership style.¹³ Modesty is both admired¹⁴ and negatively viewed as a self-effacing weakness. The key to Christ’s humility was the source of His confidence. It was based in God, not ego, thus He remained competent, powerful, yet approachable (approachability is a prerequisite for pastoral leadership).

BALANCE

Jesus not only taught, demonstrated, and delegated, but also took time out for Himself and His disciples. Leaders need time to recharge, particularly if their personality types become drained by interaction.¹⁷ Rest time is not only healthy, but also allows time for planning, dreaming, and reflecting on problems. Jesus took time out of His ministry to stop, rest, recharge, and pray, particularly during times of stress or anticipated difficulties. Examples include Jesus’ withdrawal following the death of John the Baptist (Matt. 14:13, 23; 15:21), times of prayer before important decisions (Luke 6:12), and before His death (Luke 22:39–41).¹⁸

LEADING WITH CONFIDENCE

Jesus was called by God to be a Leader. His only purpose was to obey God’s will and glorify His Father. Continual time spent with God enabled Him to maintain His focus on His ultimate purpose and prevented Him from being distracted or tempted. Jesus led with authority in that He believed, not so much in Himself, as in God’s power to work through Him.

Jesus taught His followers to have faith and confidence in God’s power to work through them. Only through faith and prayer could they receive the power to heal and receive healing. Peter provided a tangible example of a faith slowly growing, then faltering, only to grow stronger than before. When faith was exercised and a job was well done, Christ did not hesitate to offer praise.

Independent learning, which has a risk of failure, is a necessary requirement to attaining leadership skills. When this occurred, Jesus did not hesitate to offer feedback on essential aspects of leadership.Leadership is lonely, but this does not mean the leader must work alone. Shared responsibilities benefit both leaders and followers. A true leader is not afraid to ask for help; it is a sign of humility. Leaders also benefit from feedback on their leadership, even as Jesus, the perfect Leader, asked those He trusted for personal feedback.

From His actions to His words, every aspect of His life was marked with incredible wisdom. Jesus not only lived His life for His personal calling, He lead others to fulfill theirs. Jesus gave purpose to the lives of His followers. He gave them a message, a task, and a hope. Jesus was people-focused. He lived for others and yet His esteem was based in God, and not in pleasing humans.

CONCLUSION

Christ came, transformed, and expanded leadership beyond the humanistic figure often depicted in textbooks. He was the Model of perfection in every area, including Christian leadership. Any leadership author will tell you to model yourself on the best.

Hence, who else should be that Model but, of course, Jesus?

Theology of Leadership

Theology of Leadership in the United Monarchy

Israel desperately wanted a king to be like the other nations. God knew that this time would come and made provisions in the law. But the law mandated that Israel’s king not be like the other nations. Their king must be submitted to the one true God. He must not view himself above his brothers, but serve as one of them. Together, fearing God and obedient to his ways, the king and the nation would prosper together. The three portraits we have studied lead to the following theological principles regarding royal leadership.

Motivation: Salvation or Fear

To lead God’s people, the king must not seek to provide for his own salvation, or seek his salvation through the people. Instead, he must place his faith solely in God’s saving grace. This faith that salvation only comes from God must drive how the king views his kingship, how he leads in battle, and how he deals with the word of God. If God is the source of salvation, then obedience to his word is the only real option. Kings who abandon this approach to leadership will inevitably lead from a position of fear instead of faith. Godly leaders must be motivated by their faith in God as the sole source of salvation.

Discipline: Obedience and Repentance

As we saw in each of the three portraits, leaders will fail and sin. Although leaders must strive not to sin, when they do, how they respond will dictate the course of their leadership. Saul never truly accepted rebuke and correction. Instead he made excuses, confessed without genuine repentance, and continued in the same sin. Solomon, in his three encounters with God (1 Kgs 3:14; 9:3-9; 11:11-13) was warned what would happen should he choose to follow other gods. Yet, even though he knew the word of the Lord, he failed to take it to heart. He allowed it to be mere knowledge disconnected from a renewing relationship with the Lord. As a result he mired himself deeper, and deeper in sin, failing to respond to the Lord’s correction. Like Saul and Solomon, David sinned greatly. Yet at each occasion, when confronted with his sin, he responded with humility and true repentance. Even when it took some time as in the episode with the ark, David did not stop following the Lord. He worked through the discipline until he could once again lead the people obediently, and joyful before the Lord. Godly leaders must not despise the discipline of the Lord. They must welcome it as a sign of the Lord’s love for them.

Wisdom: Knowledge and Relationship

God’s people need wise leaders. But wisdom flows not out of mere knowledge, but out of a deep relationship with the living God. Solomon was wise, accomplished, and well-regarded internationally. He was by every observable external measure successful. And yet, he was a fool. He traded the wonder of a relationship with the Lord for gold, women, and fame. He treated the word of the Lord as an object to be studied instead of a path to knowing the God of the universe more intimately. True wisdom is godliness. It is founded on the fear of the Lord. It is a relational knowledge of God, not just knowledge about God. True wisdom leads away from sin not to it. God’s people will only flourish when their leaders are godly. Human greatness is not enough. Only godliness—true wisdom—will lead to a flourishing people.

Leadership Significance

Royal Leadership?

Where does this idea come from? Initially we see it in Genesis 1. The language and imagery related to God’s creation of humanity are royal. Humanity was created to be God’s vicegerents. That is to say, humanity was created to exercise delegated authority given to us by the sovereign ruler, YHWH. As his royal representatives, we are given a representational reign. We display our connection to God, and reflect God to the world. We can extend this idea that we as the people of God are royal leaders by considering Peter’s metaphor for the church. Peter declares, “you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light” (1 Pet 2:9 ESV). Humanity in general was created with a royal task to exercise dominion over the world on God’s behalf, and we as the church were called out of darkness into the light to be a royal priesthood. That is, we are to be a people who are connected to God and reflective of God in the world. So we are royal leaders and as such need to learn from the theology of royal leadership found in the narratives of Samuel and Kings.

Our Representational Reign: Connected to God and Reflective of God

Godly leaders must be motivated by faith in God as the sole source of salvation and leadership.

It is easy for leaders to subtly shift away from trusting in God to trusting in themselves, their plans, their past successes, and the accolades of observers. One sure sign that this has begun to happen is when fear becomes the motivation for actions. Just like Saul who acted in the name of expediency when Samuel was late, and who sought to please the people when they wanted to save what was devoted to destruction, leaders who cease to view God as the sole source of not just their salvation, but their leadership, will be motivated by fear. When we act out of fear we allow those who evaluate us to serve as the measure of what is right. Keeping followers is the most significant good for a leader driven by fear.

So as we seek to learn from Saul’s successes and failures we can employ two diagnostic questions. First, what is our reaction to those who openly question our leadership? Second, what do we fear? When we are consumed by whether or not people might abandon us instead of whether we are faithfully connected to and reflective of God, then we have likely shifted from faith to fear. We must trust in God alone, like Christ who was willing to entrust himself to the one who judges rightly (1 Pet. 2:23-34) instead of demanding to defend his own reputation.

Saul when leading out of faith that God was working salvation, that God was the origin and power behind his leadership, was willing to face adversity with peace and silence. He was able to handle the temptation of others to retaliate. He was able to lead others away from sin by refusing to act out of fear that the group opposed to his leadership might grow. When acting out of fear he did whatever people demanded to preserve his following at all costs.

This leadership principle does not reject communal wisdom, a plurality of leadership, or the priesthood of all believers. It does not set us on a trajectory of solitary leadership disconnected from those we lead. This is proven through David’s example where we learn that godly leaders must not despise the discipline of the Lord, which often comes through those around us.

Godly leaders must not despise the discipline of the Lord

Seminary was a wonderful time. I learned so much from godly professors who knew and loved the word and who had deep and meaningful ministry experience from around the globe. But perhaps the greatest thing I learned in seminary was how critical accountability is. A friend in school asked me at the beginning of our time there if I would be willing to meet regularly. I assumed he wanted to study together, or to go over ministry plans. I thought perhaps he might even want me to help him with some of the academic things that were a struggle for him.

To my surprise (and if I’m honest, my shock and horror) he wanted an accountability partner—and he wanted to be my accountability partner! Each week we would gather to ask four simple questions. What Scripture have you been meditating on? How have you reached out to others to share the gospel? Have you put your mind, hands, or eyes somewhere you should not have this week? And how can I pray for you? The prospect frightened me because for me sin was something to be hidden, wrestled with, and finally defeated so that if it ever came out publicly, it was in testimony of how I had struggled with that now conquered sin.

David’s life teaches us that sin never stays hidden and that we need others in our lives to regularly challenge us with the discipline of the Lord. We are, as James instructs us, supposed to confess our sins to one another, so that we might be healed. This is especially important for leaders. It is so easy to realize how the word teaches, corrects, instructs, and reproves others without seeing how it does that for us. David shows us that leaders will sin, but that sin can be overcome if we are willing to embrace discipline.

God’s people will only flourish when their leaders are godly

Another way to state this principle would be great leadership is not enough. It is not enough that plans are accomplished, that awards are given, that numbers increase, that everyone acknowledges success. If there is not godliness, then the greatness is a mirage. It is success built on a foundation of sand that will ultimately crumble, either in this life, or under the weight of divine evaluation (1 Cor. 3:10-15). Solomon was wise and he accomplished more than the greatest leaders, yet he became a fool and ultimately the people he led did not flourish, they floundered. As punishment for their idolatry, the nation was torn in two and set on a path towards exile.

Knowing a lot, even a lot of Scripture or theology, is not the same as having a vibrant and living relationship with the God of the universe. One of the most frightening realizations I had as a young scholar was meeting men and women who knew the Scriptures better than I likely ever will, but who also actively rejected Christ. They could quote extended sections in Greek and Hebrew, but had no love for God. Knowledge of the word is no substitute for a relationship with Christ.

The royal leadership that God has created us for, is a relational leadership. As we get to know him better and better, we become more faithful representatives of him in this world. Yes, to do this we will come to know more and more about him through his word, but this knowledge is not abstraction, it is intimacy. It is coming ever more to know God, not to know about him.

The church, our families, our communities do not need great leaders. They need godly leaders through whom God might accomplish the great act of reconciling people to himself. This is the grand task of our representational reign. We come as ambassadors of the great king, whom we know personally, and we invite others to see and taste the goodness of his kingdom where they too might become citizens. Godliness in leadership, not greatness, leads to flourishing among the citizens of the kingdom.

In traditional Christian theology, there are four main pillars, or types. These four types are foundational in terms of providing specific areas of reflection. When you study theology, you may choose to focus on one of them. Each can provide a deeper understanding of faith and religion.

What Is Systematic Theology and Why Do We Need It?

Many Christian “ologies” exist: pneumatology, Christology, soteriology, ecclesiology, missiology, eschatology, hamartiology, bibliology, and others. Most notable is Theology-the study of God. Within Theology exist certain subsets which include but are not limited to: Biblical theology, exegetical theology, historical theology, and the umbrella under which all the others subsist, systematic theology.

Systematic theology is best defined by Professor John Frame (retired) and recorded for us by Dr. Wayne Grudem in his 1994 edition of Systematic Theology: “Systematic Theology is any study that answers the question, ’What does the whole Bible teach us today?’ about any given topic’” Systematic theology is comprised of the compilation and comprehension of all the pertinent passages in the Bible and then the encapsulation of them in a clear, teachable form so we have a firm foundation for our beliefs. Systematic theology interacts directly with Scripture and not with extant sources.

Systematic Theology differs from historical theology in that historical theology looks at how Christians of different periods of time have regarded Scripture. In addition, philosophical theology studies biblical topics largely without the use of the Bible. Instead, it uses logical reasoning and the observation of the universe and nature to know God.

What Is the History of Systematic Theology?

Most scholars agree systematic theology has existed since the earliest days of the church, although it did not get titled as such until the term originated with German theologian Bartholomäus Keckermann (1572–1609).

The Bereans practiced systematic theology when they examined the Scriptures daily to see if what Paul and Silas told them was so (Acts 17:10-12).

The early church fathers most probably were systematic theologians as they researched and answered questions about the Way. In Medieval times, John of Damascus (675-749 AD), a Greek Orthodox theologian, sought to develop instruction for the Church. He compiled four theological books, which, although cited as authoritative, did not receive approval by any church council.

By the 17th century, the Westminster Confession of Faith became the most highly advanced version of systematic theology. To this day, it continues as an essential statement of faith by many Presbyterian churches.

The Enlightenment (late 17th and early 18th century) caused a falling away from the faith for many until the 1800s with the publication of Charles Hodge’s Systematic Theology (1872-1873). It remains in print and, next to Calvin’s Institutes, is the most referenced textbook (Reformed).

The most recent generations of Evangelicals are regarded as the most intellectual Christians, and systematic theologies are highly regarded (and used) by a good percentage. A quick survey of bookstores (brick & mortar and online Christian and secular) reveals numerous books on systematic theology and its subsets.

What Is the Difference between Biblical and Systematic Theology?

Systematic theology, as we have defined, makes use of the entire Bible to discover doctrines about biblical topics (The doctrines of the word of God, God, man, Christ, the Holy Spirit, the church, and each of the subsets within each topic). It looks at all passages that pertain to any given topic, whether in the Old Testament or in the New Testament.

Biblical theology falls under systematic theology in that it is part of it. Biblical theology organizes its topics according to the order they are found in the Bible. It includes both the Old and New Testaments, but it may do a search on the Holy Spirit with the proviso of asking what the Old Testament has to say about the Holy Spirit. The study expanded to the New Testament may ask, what does Paul have to say about the Holy Spirit? Unlike Systematic Theology, biblical theology is not all-encompassing (covering the entire Bible). It spotlights the teachings of individual authors within sections of Scripture and places the instruction within its historical context and the development thereof.

A more complete list of theologies includes historical theology (how Christians of different eras have understood biblical topics), philosophical theology (theology studied largely without the use of the Bible, but instead looking at God through the lens of His creation), and apologetics (a defensive posture used to convince unbelievers of the biblical truths).

Why Is Systematic Theology Important for Us Today?

Systematic theology is like everyday rationalizations in that we rely on how the Bible speaks to us according to God’s character, His Word, and how He ordered history.

If I want to learn all I can about the doctrine of man (his creation, gender, sinful nature) and his relationship with God, I need to search throughout the whole of the Bible (this is where the Bible tools of a concordance, dictionary, lexicon, and indeed a Systematic Theology reference book are necessary). Another prodigious asset is a website such as the Blue Letter Bible, which includes cross-references, commentaries, topical indexes, and many other useful aids.

Why, though, should we study theology in a systematic way? Why is it important?

Obedience. The preeminent One (Colossians 1:18)—Jesus—gives a commission to all believers in Matthew 28:19-20. How are we to teach all He commanded if we have no knowledge of His commands (1 John 5:2)? His directives begin in the Old Testament (Genesis 2:24, Colossians 1:16, Deuteronomy 34:28) and continue through Revelation 1:1-3, 19; 22;18-19). As an illustration, the whole Bible is necessary for a complete assessment of a topic, we’ll look at a few things done by Jesus. He quoted the Old Testament both to refute the devil (Matthew 4:1-11) and to substantiate His authority (Luke 4:16-21, John 4:25-26; 8:24; 18:6). The Gospels are replete with Jesus’ commands, and they are encapsulated and expanded in the books of Acts through Revelation. As Christians, to know His commands is to follow them in obedience.

To learn about God and love Him more. What better tutorial about our Creator than the one He Himself wrote (2 Peter 1:21). Our love for Him will grow as we read what He has done (John 3:16, 1 John 4:19), is doing (John 14:3; 17:9, 20, 26), and will do for us (John 14:1-3).

To know why we believe. This is huge, and it encompasses an apologetic ministry along with evangelism. If we do not know the whys of our faith, we will falter when faced with the world’s trials and temptations.

To understand our history. In the beginning (Genesis 1:1)…That’s where our history began. The Bible gives us the whole boundary of who we were, are, and will be (in glory).

To learn where we will go. The Bible, while not expansive in its communication about heaven, is definitive in that believers will be there with Jesus (John 14:1-3).

To follow the red thread through the Bible. The red thread is a reference to what the Bible has to say about our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, throughout Scripture. From Christophanies in the Old Testament to prophecies of His Second Advent, Jesus is the gist of Scripture.

To facilitate our lessons as we teach others. Since we are students of the Word, it only makes sense that we should know what we teach. Whether it’s a one-on-one discipleship study or a presentation to hundreds, our knowledge of Scripture buttresses our lessons.

To rejoice in our Savior with praise. As we pray and then study the word, the Lord opens our eyes and hearts (and oft-times, our lips) to what He reveals to us. With the guidance of the Holy Spirit, we understand and apply with joy all He is and who we are because of Him. Don’t be surprised if He brings hymns to mind as you study. Do take the time to sing in praise of Him.

When we undertake a systematic study of the Bible, it’s good to remember this wisdom:

Pray and enlist the help of others. None of us has reached the point of total knowledge. God has given us His church for mutual edification and encouragement. Find someone who is more mature in the faith. If something stumps both of you, seek counsel from another who is more seasoned.

With reason. In everything, go forth with wisdom from the Lord (Proverbs 2:6; 3:5-6;9:10, James 1:5-6).

Theological study is not for the faint in diligence. It’s hard work, yet the rewards exceed our human imaginations and take them to the heights of heaven. Those who have gone before us bequeathed us with wisdom regarding the study of God’s Word:

If you are ignorant of God’s Word, you will always be ignorant of God’s will. —Billy Graham

I never saw a useful Christian who was not a student of the Bible. —D. L. Moody

In fact, the devil is delighted when we spend our time and energy defending the Bible, as long as we do not get around to actually reading the Bible. —R. C. Sproul, Jr.

I believe the Bible is the best gift God has ever given to man. All the good from The Savior of the world is communicated to us through this Book. —Abraham Lincoln

And this nugget from C.S. Lewis: We come to Scripture not to learn a subject but to steep ourselves in a Person.

The Bible has been referred to as God’s love letter to us (John 3:16). As we study Him, His Son (John 1:1), and His Holy Spirit in His Word, we acknowledge and welcome His love for us with emotion and intellect. Study the Bible with a combination of both and enter your study with joyful expectancy of what the Lord will teach you. Then apply it in your life. Your love for Him will grow with every deep journey into the Bible.

SO, WHAT ARE THE FOUR TYPES OF THEOLOGY?

Biblical studies

This pillar of theology is the critical examination and interpretation of theological texts. In Christian theology, this refers primarily to the Bible – but can also be extended to other texts that provide comment on the Bible.

Where does the name come from? Dr Jeffrey Aernie, Head of the School of Theology at Charles Sturt University, explains.

“Christian theology is rooted in the Bible – the Old and New Testament. Biblical studies allows us to learn how to read a passage of scripture and discern its implications. This process is called exegesis.”

To study theology through exegesis means connecting deeply with a text and explore meaning within it. As a theologian, you also investigate how the historical period in which the Bible was written may have influenced the text and its interpretation.

Church history

As the name suggests, this is the study of how Christian theology has changed over time. How has it interacted, shaped and been influenced by historical events across the world. After all, Christianity has shaped a great deal of human civilisation’s recent history.

This strand of investigation looks at that influence – and how Christianity has adapted to a changing world. As Dr Aernie puts it: “This historical engagement gives us an opportunity to study theology in our own contexts and communities in light of what has come before.”

Systematic theology

This type of theology looks at how to formulate a coherent system from the doctrines of Christian theology. Dr Aernie explains best what this means when you study theology in this area.

“Christian theology is rooted in doctrine – the core set of beliefs that make up Christian theology. Systematic theology allows us to organise our beliefs into a coherent system. As a result, systematic theology helps Christians to consider how their beliefs about God relate to one another. Christians throughout history have created formulations of teaching (creeds) and resources for teaching others (catechisms). Systematic theology helps to explore those ancient resources. Subsequently, we can apply them to contemporary life and study.”

For example, how, as a Christian, does one understand and act (or not) with regard to the concept of sin? How has doctrinal teaching changed on key theological topics – and how, therefore, does that affect how a Christian person lives their life? What system or framework of faith informs behaviour?

Practical theology

How is Christian theology put into action? How does it engage with culture and society? In many ways, practical theology is where various strands of theological thinking come together. University research, religious leaders, faith groups, theologians and seminaries can all contribute learning in this area. And it helps to guide ‘living faith’. Indeed, this is arguably the type of theology into which the work of Charles Sturt’s Centre for Public and Contextual Theology fall. The team at the centre focuses on several research areas, including:

§ the intersection of faith and culture

§ the impact of public theology

§ the outworking of Christian ethics.

Natural Theology

Knowledge about God which is derived primarily from nature. Natural theology usually places a heavy emphasis on reason and philosophy.

Biblical Theology

Knowledge about God which is derived primarily from the Bible. The structure will often be arranged around major events of people of Scripture (e.g., Theology of Early Israel, Theology of the Prophets, Theology in Psalms, Theology of Paul, etc.).

Historical Theology

Knowledge about God which is derived from studying the development of ideas over time. The structure will often be arranged around the major periods of history which brought changes to theology (e.g., Theology of the Early Church, Theology of the Imperial Church, Theology of the Middle Ages, Theology of the Enlightenment and Reformation, etc.).

Systematic Theology

Knowledge about God which attempts to incorporate and combine all of the theological sources above. The structures is often arranged around major topics or categories of ideas which theologians have agreed upon over the centuries (e.g., Bibliology, Christology, Pneumatology, Ecclesialogy, Soteriology, etc.).

Dogmatic Theology

Knowledge about God which includes everything above, but with an emphasis on those teachings and ideas which have the authoritative stamp of approval from the church.

Practical Theology

Theology which is built upon any of the previous types of theology, but which emphasizes the practical ways of living out these ideas in our own lives today.

United Christian Bible University