A History of Management/Leadership Theories
By: Joyce Fox
Leadership/Management theories vary from decade to decade and from culture to culture. Just as these theories affected industry for good or ill, so they influenced the church for years to come.
Even though these ideas are constantly changing, none of them have ever been completely abandoned. There are still believers in each of these models and variations of them.
Throughout history, the common theory was that of the “Great Man”. This was the belief that leaders were born, not made. This model opined that leaders were singular individuals who had been given special leadership talents by God. This concept is portrayed in early twentieth century film and literature in the innately strong characters such as Citizen Kane.
In the latter part of the nineteenth century a new philosophy appeared on the horizon; that of pragmatism or, “Truth is what works”. This is where scientific inquiry came into its own. It was during this period that science was on the rise and gaining credibility as the new savior of society. This brought into being Scientific Management. This idea relies on efficiency to identify and introduce best management/ leadership practices. Anyone who was aware before or during the nineteen sixties can remember talk of “efficiency experts” coming into offices and factories to see what systems could be used to increase production. These “experts” were direct descendants of the Scientific Management model.
The biggest complaint with this theory was that it “turned humans into cogs and wheels”. In modern language, its practices were dehumanizing.
As a reaction to that dehumanization, researchers came up with the Human Relations approach. This belief relied on studying the humans involved in a venture to find what increased production best. These studies resulted in experimentation with colors and lighting in schools, factories, offices, and wherever production was expected in the hopes of increasing productivity by these environmental manipulations. Some might call this the “carrot and stick” theory.
In the 1970’s Behavioral Science was being studied in psychology and sociology courses across the country. It wasn’t long before that hypothesis became the foundation to a new model of the same name. This paradigm urges the understanding both people and processes. One of the first theories advanced under this leadership style came from MacGregor’s Theory X/Theory Y “The Human Side of Enterprise”. This book suggested that managers tend to view workers in one of two ways: either as lazy, unmotivated people who need to be controlled and governed or as basically good and self-motivated who need to have blocks to their creativity removed. Viewing this from a Christian’s perspective, we can assume that most Christian workers are “basically good” but we still need to discover ways to remove obstacles to their creativity and encourage their growth in service.
A further step came with Blake’s Managerial Grid which built on MacGregor’s work and named different management styles with explanations of the styles of each.
Beyond this form of Behavioral Science comes Systems Theory which suggests that understanding must be focused on the organizational systems through which people interact.
Leadership/Management theories vary from decade to decade and from culture to culture. Just as these theories affected industry for good or ill, so they influenced the church for years to come.
Even though these ideas are constantly changing, none of them have ever been completely abandoned. There are still believers in each of these models and variations of them.
Throughout history, the common theory was that of the “Great Man”. This was the belief that leaders were born, not made. This model opined that leaders were singular individuals who had been given special leadership talents by God. This concept is portrayed in early twentieth century film and literature in the innately strong characters such as Citizen Kane.
In the latter part of the nineteenth century a new philosophy appeared on the horizon; that of pragmatism or, “Truth is what works”. This is where scientific inquiry came into its own. It was during this period that science was on the rise and gaining credibility as the new savior of society. This brought into being Scientific Management. This idea relies on efficiency to identify and introduce best management/ leadership practices. Anyone who was aware before or during the nineteen sixties can remember talk of “efficiency experts” coming into offices and factories to see what systems could be used to increase production. These “experts” were direct descendants of the Scientific Management model.
The biggest complaint with this theory was that it “turned humans into cogs and wheels”. In modern language, its practices were dehumanizing.
As a reaction to that dehumanization, researchers came up with the Human Relations approach. This belief relied on studying the humans involved in a venture to find what increased production best. These studies resulted in experimentation with colors and lighting in schools, factories, offices, and wherever production was expected in the hopes of increasing productivity by these environmental manipulations. Some might call this the “carrot and stick” theory.
In the 1970’s Behavioral Science was being studied in psychology and sociology courses across the country. It wasn’t long before that hypothesis became the foundation to a new model of the same name. This paradigm urges the understanding both people and processes. One of the first theories advanced under this leadership style came from MacGregor’s Theory X/Theory Y “The Human Side of Enterprise”. This book suggested that managers tend to view workers in one of two ways: either as lazy, unmotivated people who need to be controlled and governed or as basically good and self-motivated who need to have blocks to their creativity removed. Viewing this from a Christian’s perspective, we can assume that most Christian workers are “basically good” but we still need to discover ways to remove obstacles to their creativity and encourage their growth in service.
A further step came with Blake’s Managerial Grid which built on MacGregor’s work and named different management styles with explanations of the styles of each.
Beyond this form of Behavioral Science comes Systems Theory which suggests that understanding must be focused on the organizational systems through which people interact.
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The Greatest Influence on my Spiritual Growth |
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By Joyce Fox
Asking me to point to a single influence within my life that was the “greatest” is like asking which coffee bean contributed the most flavor to the cup of coffee you’re drinking. However, if I must choose one, I would have to name a man I remember only as “Pastor Royal”.
My family was not the typical “Christian family” of the 50s. My father worked nights so we children barely knew him and my mother was of the “children should be seen and not heard” school who had no concern about our “self esteem”.
Like many children of the 1950s I remember sitting in church next to my mother, singing “Love Lifted Me” (I even understood at age 3 that if the man up front asked, “does anyone have a request?” I could shout out “133!” and we would sing “Love Lifted Me”.) I remember watching my father in church “twiddling his thumbs” and his embarrassment when I mentioned it after church. (I guess it was something he did when he was bored).
I remember the day the preacher (of whom I was terrified because he had a gold tooth) came to the house and all of us children were sent “out” so the adults could talk. I can remember that we never went back to that church and know now it was because of a piece of untrue gossip the pastor believed about my mother.
We moved shortly after that to a small farming community and my parents stopped going to church altogether. I was about seven at the time. That village had two churches. One was a liberal Methodist church and one was a Foursquare Gospel church. Mom said I could go to either as long as I got myself up, dressed and ready and I was willing to walk the 10 blocks (to the Methodist) or 7 blocks (to the Foursquare). Every Sunday morning I would get ready and walk to the Foursquare church and every Sunday I felt so excited to sit on the front row (a lot of children came without their parents) and be included just as if I were an adult. We could ask for prayer requests, we could testify, we could participate and that was all wonderful. Pastor Royal treated us with respect.
One week (remember this was about 1959 or 1960) the pastor showed an 8mm film strip of a child preacher. He was the same age as me! His name was Marjoe (he denounced his life as a child preacher later). After the film was over, Pastor called all the children to the altar where he laid hands on each of us and prayed for us. I still remember his prayer for me that I would, “Become the spiritual leader God intended me to be and would serve God faithfully for many years.”
It wasn’t long after that and we moved away from there, my parents began going to church again (and taking me with them), and we became “caught up” in a legalist church. Years of “striving” to be “holy” (read that, to please the members of this particular church) brought me to the place where I announced, “If that is what being a Christian is, I don’t want to be a Christian anymore!” But even in my pain and anger I never completely forgot the prayer of Pastor Royal.
Within a few years, I met a man who pastored a large (for the time) AG church who reminded me of Pastor Royal. He could call every one of his 500 attendees (member or not) by their names. He even remembered my name after a single visit! His influence won me back to Jesus.
After I came back to the faith, through the years my family and I have moved a lot and attended churches of many denominations from Nazarene through Church of God but we had never been in an area with a Foursquare Church until about seven years ago. We were looking for a church home because of a move and decided to try the Foursquare. The minute I stepped inside I knew I was home.
That’s when my childhood memories of Pastor Royal and the church that gave respect even to the smallest attendees came into focus in my mind. Over the years, I have provided music ministry, SS teaching, and informational teaching series’ to an estimated 47 churches (from one Sunday to several years) of denominations ranging from Episcopalian through Baptist to CoG. God has shown me that I have been appointed a “gap filler” and I am contented that Pastor Royal’s prayer for me has been more than fulfilled.
It was because of Pastor Royal’s faithful ministry in a “dry and barren” village that I learned that even children deserve respect and to be truly heard. It was Pastor Royal who loved a child who already knew she was an “unwelcome surprise” to her mother. It was Pastor Royal who saw this child as someone who should be prayed for and who could be a “spiritual leader” for God.
If I can be half the influence on a single child that Pastor Royal was for me, I will know that I have done well in this life.
The Relation of Church and Culture
The Relation of Church and Culture
By: Joyce Fox
During the last five years I have been a member of two different congregations of the same denomination and when I say “different” I mean different!
The first is in a strangely-mixed part of the Midwest. The town itself could be described as a typical “country-town” with a mostly Caucasian population of approximately 8,000 people who live there year around. Because the nearest town with a population above 20,000 is about an hour away, local businesses are well-patronized.
During the school year, though, the population swells to approximately 18,000 people. Many of these are students who have come from the Chicago area to attend Western Illinois University without the distractions and high costs of a big city school. Many of these students are minorities so, in the winter, the racial mix is roughly 82% Caucasian and 18% African American, Hispanic, Native American, Asian or mixed race.
Many of these students find local churches to attend and my church (which was only about 25 years old itself) was one of them. Because of this yearly influx of students the congregation is roughly 60% African American young adults (with a Caucasian pastor and an African American worship leader). The culture of this church, specifically the use of Black cultural norms (ie: the use of “First Lady” to designate the Pastor’s wife, African-American styles of music and delivery, etc.) and its expressed mission (a special emphasis on reaching the students of the University rather than the farmers and year-round residents who mostly attend the same churches their ancestors attended) is very different from the church I now attend. But it is a perfect focus for that church.
In contrast to that, consider the church I now attend. While it, too, is a rural church in a country town that has a (much smaller, Christian) college its mission and vision is far different.
The town is located only 20 - 30 miles from a large urban area and while daily marketing is done locally, it’s a common practice to “ease on down the road” to the city for shopping. The students at the local Christian college are already entrenched in their own denominations’ churches so to claim outreach to the college campus would be an insult to those churches. Instead, our church’s mission is to reach the unchurched residents of the town and the area.
The church itself was founded in the late 1920s and is approximately 90% Caucasian, simply because that reflects the population of the town. The church’s culture is, of course, more typical of an older congregation with a more varied age-range from children to seniors. It reaches out to the mostly Caucasian, middle-class, community using a mix of worship songs and old hymns.
Even so, the dominant minority of the area is not neglected since the church opens its doors every Sunday afternoon to the Hispanic community and its pastor for services.
Which one of these churches is “right”? Which one is “odd”? The answer for the first question is: both. And the answer to the second question is: neither. Both churches are responding to the cultures surrounding it and the congregations within it and this is the relationship of church and culture.
By: Joyce Fox
During the last five years I have been a member of two different congregations of the same denomination and when I say “different” I mean different!
The first is in a strangely-mixed part of the Midwest. The town itself could be described as a typical “country-town” with a mostly Caucasian population of approximately 8,000 people who live there year around. Because the nearest town with a population above 20,000 is about an hour away, local businesses are well-patronized.
During the school year, though, the population swells to approximately 18,000 people. Many of these are students who have come from the Chicago area to attend Western Illinois University without the distractions and high costs of a big city school. Many of these students are minorities so, in the winter, the racial mix is roughly 82% Caucasian and 18% African American, Hispanic, Native American, Asian or mixed race.
Many of these students find local churches to attend and my church (which was only about 25 years old itself) was one of them. Because of this yearly influx of students the congregation is roughly 60% African American young adults (with a Caucasian pastor and an African American worship leader). The culture of this church, specifically the use of Black cultural norms (ie: the use of “First Lady” to designate the Pastor’s wife, African-American styles of music and delivery, etc.) and its expressed mission (a special emphasis on reaching the students of the University rather than the farmers and year-round residents who mostly attend the same churches their ancestors attended) is very different from the church I now attend. But it is a perfect focus for that church.
In contrast to that, consider the church I now attend. While it, too, is a rural church in a country town that has a (much smaller, Christian) college its mission and vision is far different.
The town is located only 20 - 30 miles from a large urban area and while daily marketing is done locally, it’s a common practice to “ease on down the road” to the city for shopping. The students at the local Christian college are already entrenched in their own denominations’ churches so to claim outreach to the college campus would be an insult to those churches. Instead, our church’s mission is to reach the unchurched residents of the town and the area.
The church itself was founded in the late 1920s and is approximately 90% Caucasian, simply because that reflects the population of the town. The church’s culture is, of course, more typical of an older congregation with a more varied age-range from children to seniors. It reaches out to the mostly Caucasian, middle-class, community using a mix of worship songs and old hymns.
Even so, the dominant minority of the area is not neglected since the church opens its doors every Sunday afternoon to the Hispanic community and its pastor for services.
Which one of these churches is “right”? Which one is “odd”? The answer for the first question is: both. And the answer to the second question is: neither. Both churches are responding to the cultures surrounding it and the congregations within it and this is the relationship of church and culture.
The Essence of Pentecostal Discipleship
By: Raheel Rizvi
Pentecostal discipleship has its origin in the nature and mission of God. God owns everything and God desires that all people share in the blessings of God’s good creation. At the very core of existence is grace, and creation itself is permeated with God’s grace.
Wesley was convinced that the goal of Christian discipleship is holiness of heart and life. By “holiness” he means active love—to God (‘inward holiness) and to neighbor (‘outward holiness’). Holiness of heart and life describe the character of life that is dedicated to following Jesus Christ in the world and obeying his teachings.
The Christian gospel declares God’s promise to bring forth a new creation in Christ. The church can make the most difference in the world when it tends to the Word. It tends to the Word in catechesis and proclamation. Discipleship happens best when peoples’ horizons are situated and discerned through the variegated and manifold lens of Scripture.
Christ is our example as we live lives of service to others in the various offices which we hold in relation to others:
The mission of the Church to all the nations, to all human communities in all their diversity and in all their particularity, is itself the mighty work of God, the sign of the in breaking of the kingdom. The Church is not so much the agent of the mission as the locus of the mission. It is God who acts in the power of his Spirit, doing mighty works, creating signs of a new age, working sincerely in the hearts of men and women to draw them to Christ … It is impossible to stress too strongly that the beginning of mission is not an action of ours, but the presence of a new reality, the presence of the Spirit of God in power. (Newbigin, Gospel in a Pluralist Society).
Michael W. Foss author of “Six Marks of Discipleship for a Changing Church” notes that there are six crucial characteristics of discipleship:
1. Prayer
2. Worship
3. Word of God
4. Service
5. Cultivating spiritual friends/Community
6. Giving or Stewardship
These characteristics distinguish discipleship from mere church-membership. Membership is about getting; discipleship is about giving. Membership is about dues; discipleship is about stewardship. Membership is about favoring a select group; discipleship is about changing lives.
The postmodern evangelistic engagement should therefore be one of creativity, innovation, and diversity under the leadership of the Holy Spirit. The God we serve is a creative God. He believes in diversity and created diversity in the sea, among fishes, birds, mountains, valleys, and different races. Isaiah prophesies, “Behold, I will do a new thing; now it shall spring forth; shall ye not know it? I will even make a way in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert” (Is. 43:19, KJV).
The calling of God to us is never silenced, and we are always being drawn (raised up) to new possibilities. Discipleship as creativity, and discipleship as faith, commits itself equally to this. It will be about knowing that the community of faith, and ourselves as Christians, minister to each other by remaining true to what is the church’s own, and our, vocation. That is, our vocation is to keep embracing the insights of God’s presence as these lead us on, in and into discovering what it is to be human in Christ in the world around us.
To follow Christ, the Word made flesh, is to recognize that vocation is inherently part of what it is to be human, and it is to discover the vocation to our creativity and humanity in enriching our discipleship through learning.
The Essence of Pentecostal Discipleship
by Joyce Fox
To come to some conclusion concerning the essence of Pentecostal Discipleship, we first need to come to a consensus on the meanings of the terms “essence”, “Pentecostal” and “Discipleship”. Let’s just take them in that order and see what “experts” say about these words. Definitions are from Dictionary.com:
Essence: The basic, real, and invariable nature of a thing or its significant individual feature or features. 4. a perfume; scent. 5. Philosophy: the inward nature, or true substance, of anything as opposed to what is accidental, illusory, etc.
Pentecostal: noting or relating to any of various Christian groups that emphasize the activity of the Holy Spirit, stress holiness of living, and express their religious feelings uninhibitedly, as by speaking in tongues.
Disciple[ship]: a person who is a pupil or an adherent of the doctrines of [a Master]. {note: The word Discipleship does not appear in either Dictionary.com or Webster’s Online Dictionary; therefore, I have included the definition of “Disciple,” acknowledging the understanding that the unrecognized term is generally used to mean “the process of making someone an eager student of a Master.”}
So, together, this phrase could be read as: The real inward nature of creating students and/or followers of the Holy Spirit.
To understand what that inward nature is, we need to remember how Jesus collected and taught His disciples and then we need to work out a pattern to use that same technique. He called his followers from their “everydayness” to a unique life of learning by watching His example. For the most part, His life and actions were their school. To be sure, He spoke to them of what He wanted them to know, teaching them how to pray, how to live out the Scriptures with love, and even how to make more disciples. Then, He left for a while but He sent the Holy Spirit to empower their efforts.
Some churches believe that only the 12 or the 70 mentioned in the New Testament are special enough to truly be called “Disciples”, but Jesus was clear that those “special” ones were to go out and create other disciples. And those other disciples were also special because they were learners. They were students of those who had learned from the Master, Himself and they also came to know the empowerment of the Holy Spirit. Since that second generation of disciples the process, with a few ups and downs, has come down through the years.
Our job, as modern Pentecostal disciples, is to continue the Master’s teachings. Call more people from their “everydayness” to uniqueness. Draw more people by demonstrating our own eagerness to learn. Lead those we draw into a matchless intimacy with the Holy Spirit. And then send them on their way to “Disciple” more people.
If we can find the keys to each person’s hunger, then the “essence” become the “Perfume” of Pentecostal Discipleship.
Essence: The basic, real, and invariable nature of a thing or its significant individual feature or features. 4. a perfume; scent. 5. Philosophy: the inward nature, or true substance, of anything as opposed to what is accidental, illusory, etc.
Pentecostal: noting or relating to any of various Christian groups that emphasize the activity of the Holy Spirit, stress holiness of living, and express their religious feelings uninhibitedly, as by speaking in tongues.
Disciple[ship]: a person who is a pupil or an adherent of the doctrines of [a Master]. {note: The word Discipleship does not appear in either Dictionary.com or Webster’s Online Dictionary; therefore, I have included the definition of “Disciple,” acknowledging the understanding that the unrecognized term is generally used to mean “the process of making someone an eager student of a Master.”}
So, together, this phrase could be read as: The real inward nature of creating students and/or followers of the Holy Spirit.
To understand what that inward nature is, we need to remember how Jesus collected and taught His disciples and then we need to work out a pattern to use that same technique. He called his followers from their “everydayness” to a unique life of learning by watching His example. For the most part, His life and actions were their school. To be sure, He spoke to them of what He wanted them to know, teaching them how to pray, how to live out the Scriptures with love, and even how to make more disciples. Then, He left for a while but He sent the Holy Spirit to empower their efforts.
Some churches believe that only the 12 or the 70 mentioned in the New Testament are special enough to truly be called “Disciples”, but Jesus was clear that those “special” ones were to go out and create other disciples. And those other disciples were also special because they were learners. They were students of those who had learned from the Master, Himself and they also came to know the empowerment of the Holy Spirit. Since that second generation of disciples the process, with a few ups and downs, has come down through the years.
Our job, as modern Pentecostal disciples, is to continue the Master’s teachings. Call more people from their “everydayness” to uniqueness. Draw more people by demonstrating our own eagerness to learn. Lead those we draw into a matchless intimacy with the Holy Spirit. And then send them on their way to “Disciple” more people.
If we can find the keys to each person’s hunger, then the “essence” become the “Perfume” of Pentecostal Discipleship.
Transformational Leadership
By: Raheel Rizvi
Transformational leadership refers to a process whereby the leader engages the followers in a manner that creates a moral connection between them and raises the motivation and the morality of both. Transformation leaders are those who help their corporate group move upward on the stages of moral development.
Transformational leaders raise the bar by appealing to higher ideals and values of followers. In doing so, they may model the values themselves and use charismatic methods to attract people to the values and to the leader. Burns' view is that transformational leadership is more effective than transactional leadership, where the appeal is to more selfish concerns. An appeal to social values thus encourages people to collaborate, rather than working as individuals (and potentially competitively with one another). He also views transformational leadership as an ongoing process rather than the discrete exchanges of the transactional approach.
Dr. Jackie David Johns, in his work on Pentecostal formational leadership, states that at first glance transformational leadership seems well suited to Pentecostalism. There is common terminology: “charismatic,” “transformation,” “vision,” etc. the case may will be made that from its earliest Pentecostal history is replete with examples of transformational leaders, persons of vision who were willing to challenge the status quo and create form of the Church in mission. It seems only natural to wed the theory of transformational leadership with Pentecostal practice. Yet, there are issues and questions which Pentecostals must address if they are to be faithful to their heritage. How should the Church determine its missional vision? From whom does the vision come? How should it be authenticated?
I believe that there is no set pattern of leadership presented in the New Testament, but rather, there are principles that serve to guide the modern church in establishing godly and effective leadership led by the Holy Spirit as evidenced by corporate resolutions to competing visions. It was the Spirit who spoke the will of God and that to and through a discerning community.
A focus on the quality of the experience of followers as a mark of effective Christian leadership means that Christian leaders must be as much concerned with the wellbeing of community (Body of Christ) as they are with the accomplishment of the organizational vision. Further, it is argued that the organizational vision must be understood and accepted by the community it serves, rather than being simply passed down from a leader. Where a community consensus exists as a result of the Spirit’s leading in the lives of leaders and followers. In addition, the work of team building is accomplished as a natural outgrowth of the collective agreement on the organization’s purpose and goals.
Thus the model for Christian leadership should be formational rather than transformational. A formational leader validates his or her leadership most clearly by the effect he or she has on the lives of those who follow, and especially, in the Pentecostal context, on the extent to which followers are Carter, Power and Authority enriched by a deep spiritual encounter with God that results in the operation of the gifts of the Spirit in their lives.
Transformational leaders raise the bar by appealing to higher ideals and values of followers. In doing so, they may model the values themselves and use charismatic methods to attract people to the values and to the leader. Burns' view is that transformational leadership is more effective than transactional leadership, where the appeal is to more selfish concerns. An appeal to social values thus encourages people to collaborate, rather than working as individuals (and potentially competitively with one another). He also views transformational leadership as an ongoing process rather than the discrete exchanges of the transactional approach.
Dr. Jackie David Johns, in his work on Pentecostal formational leadership, states that at first glance transformational leadership seems well suited to Pentecostalism. There is common terminology: “charismatic,” “transformation,” “vision,” etc. the case may will be made that from its earliest Pentecostal history is replete with examples of transformational leaders, persons of vision who were willing to challenge the status quo and create form of the Church in mission. It seems only natural to wed the theory of transformational leadership with Pentecostal practice. Yet, there are issues and questions which Pentecostals must address if they are to be faithful to their heritage. How should the Church determine its missional vision? From whom does the vision come? How should it be authenticated?
I believe that there is no set pattern of leadership presented in the New Testament, but rather, there are principles that serve to guide the modern church in establishing godly and effective leadership led by the Holy Spirit as evidenced by corporate resolutions to competing visions. It was the Spirit who spoke the will of God and that to and through a discerning community.
A focus on the quality of the experience of followers as a mark of effective Christian leadership means that Christian leaders must be as much concerned with the wellbeing of community (Body of Christ) as they are with the accomplishment of the organizational vision. Further, it is argued that the organizational vision must be understood and accepted by the community it serves, rather than being simply passed down from a leader. Where a community consensus exists as a result of the Spirit’s leading in the lives of leaders and followers. In addition, the work of team building is accomplished as a natural outgrowth of the collective agreement on the organization’s purpose and goals.
Thus the model for Christian leadership should be formational rather than transformational. A formational leader validates his or her leadership most clearly by the effect he or she has on the lives of those who follow, and especially, in the Pentecostal context, on the extent to which followers are Carter, Power and Authority enriched by a deep spiritual encounter with God that results in the operation of the gifts of the Spirit in their lives.
Assessment
By: Raheel Rizvi
The assessment is a means of discerning if the church's ministry is on track with God's purposes and design for the church. The leaders reviews a situation evaluatively to gain a better understanding of it in order to discern the next course of action whether that be improvement, elimination, or development of a program, activity, or process. Because we belong to each other, we have reason and responsibility to hold each other accountable. And because we belong to our faithful God, we are accountable together, to our Lord.
Self-assessment, or the use of multiple sources of data about the individual to help him or her identify areas of strength and development, has played an important role in leadership development. When included strategically in a larger leadership development effort (or as the development effort itself), it can not only increase the leader’s engagement and motivation to develop, but also helps to pin point the right areas for development.
Effective leadership development involves a holistic approach, developing an emerging leader’s knowledge (head), character (heart), and skills (hands). Knowledge must go beyond the mastery of facts, creating a foundation for both wisdom and ministry practice.
Assessment begins with “weighing in” and grows from that point into multiple layers of constructive collaboration on the true picture of the Church’s current realities. Learning how to ask the right questions, listening for honest feedback, and discerning the current temperature of spirituality in congregation are essential to determining future direction for ministry. Ministry plans that grow out of the previous stages of dialogue and assessment will focus on maximizing strength and opportunities without being weighed down by weaknesses and obstacles for service. Strategic initiatives that make good sense to pursue will emerge naturally and will clearly embody the renewing work of the Spirit within fellowship. A healthy dialogue and assessment process plus the Holy Spirit’s direction equals great strategic planning for local Churches.
In order to move beyond the familiar territory in which the congregation most comfortably works, it is necessary to assess the religious education needs of the people. The term “need” simply means the difference between the present situation and a more desirable one.
To be effective in this new day the efforts in religious education, discipleship training, and spiritual development need to be more focused and directly related to the needs, goals, and styles of the people in the congregations and communities that surround the Church. With a clear sense of the needs of the people through an effective assessment.
The lack of any regular assessment of ministry affects both the church and the pastor. The church that fails to maintain, service, and assess the work of its pastor fails in a vital area of its stewardship and is bound to suffer long-term consequences.
Therefore, honest evaluation is critical and an assessment deeply anchored to Scriptural identifiers may be such a tool for the church to use not only to bring people to Christ but to fulfill the command of the Great Commission and make disciples.
By: Raheel Rizvi
The assessment is a means of discerning if the church's ministry is on track with God's purposes and design for the church. The leaders reviews a situation evaluatively to gain a better understanding of it in order to discern the next course of action whether that be improvement, elimination, or development of a program, activity, or process. Because we belong to each other, we have reason and responsibility to hold each other accountable. And because we belong to our faithful God, we are accountable together, to our Lord.
Self-assessment, or the use of multiple sources of data about the individual to help him or her identify areas of strength and development, has played an important role in leadership development. When included strategically in a larger leadership development effort (or as the development effort itself), it can not only increase the leader’s engagement and motivation to develop, but also helps to pin point the right areas for development.
Effective leadership development involves a holistic approach, developing an emerging leader’s knowledge (head), character (heart), and skills (hands). Knowledge must go beyond the mastery of facts, creating a foundation for both wisdom and ministry practice.
Assessment begins with “weighing in” and grows from that point into multiple layers of constructive collaboration on the true picture of the Church’s current realities. Learning how to ask the right questions, listening for honest feedback, and discerning the current temperature of spirituality in congregation are essential to determining future direction for ministry. Ministry plans that grow out of the previous stages of dialogue and assessment will focus on maximizing strength and opportunities without being weighed down by weaknesses and obstacles for service. Strategic initiatives that make good sense to pursue will emerge naturally and will clearly embody the renewing work of the Spirit within fellowship. A healthy dialogue and assessment process plus the Holy Spirit’s direction equals great strategic planning for local Churches.
In order to move beyond the familiar territory in which the congregation most comfortably works, it is necessary to assess the religious education needs of the people. The term “need” simply means the difference between the present situation and a more desirable one.
To be effective in this new day the efforts in religious education, discipleship training, and spiritual development need to be more focused and directly related to the needs, goals, and styles of the people in the congregations and communities that surround the Church. With a clear sense of the needs of the people through an effective assessment.
The lack of any regular assessment of ministry affects both the church and the pastor. The church that fails to maintain, service, and assess the work of its pastor fails in a vital area of its stewardship and is bound to suffer long-term consequences.
Therefore, honest evaluation is critical and an assessment deeply anchored to Scriptural identifiers may be such a tool for the church to use not only to bring people to Christ but to fulfill the command of the Great Commission and make disciples.
Setting Your Mission
Joyce Fox
Most people who feel a deep calling on their lives have some sense of what that calling is, why it is important, and how that calling will affect those who come into contact with it. Some have formalized that calling into a “mission statement” and some have not. Those who have tend to have a clearer understanding of what they are doing and why.
Praying specifically for something can clarify exactly what the petitioner is asking for (and might even change the goal of the petitioner). So, too, can creating a mission statement clarify exactly what the goals and desires of the organization is and/or should be.
A church that latches onto a generalized mission statement such as: Just as Christ has called his church to reach the lost, we will set our sights on evangelizing the culture around us and bringing to Him those who would be saved will soon find itself without any sort of goals or objectives because the mission is a sort of mind-numbing generalization that, in the end, means next to nothing.
A mission statement should clarify for the leadership of a church exactly what the goals of the church are and will be for the foreseeable future. To that end, the leadership of the church should get together and discuss setting the mission statement.
After opening prayer and during the following discussion, certain questions need to be answered. Some of those questions are:
1. What matters most to our church?
2. What can never be changed within our church?
3. What is our purpose for existence?
4. How well do we fulfill the needs we were called to fulfill?
5. How do we know we are answering God’s call?
6. Why are we different from other churches in the area?
7. Would anyone care if we closed our doors tomorrow?
After these questions are answered, the work of writing a mission statement can begin. Do you exist in an area without an evangelical message? Or perhaps you’re the only church in an evangelized area that has a Pentecostal emphasis. Why do you exist? What is the history of your church? Have you fulfilled your original goals and need to find new goals?
It’s possible that during this exercise you will realize that your church has gotten tired and has lost its zeal for its calling. Now is the time to discover whether to renew that feeling of purpose or, realizing that communities change, even consider changing the original purpose.
A mission statement is not for public consumption, it’s for you, your staff, and your boards to clarify who you are and where you are going. Pray about it, talk about it, pray about it again, write it out, give it to God, argue it out if necessary, pray about it some more, rewrite it if needed, and finally, give it to God again.
A clear and compelling mission statement is the first step toward a new commitment to answer God’s call.
Most people who feel a deep calling on their lives have some sense of what that calling is, why it is important, and how that calling will affect those who come into contact with it. Some have formalized that calling into a “mission statement” and some have not. Those who have tend to have a clearer understanding of what they are doing and why.
Praying specifically for something can clarify exactly what the petitioner is asking for (and might even change the goal of the petitioner). So, too, can creating a mission statement clarify exactly what the goals and desires of the organization is and/or should be.
A church that latches onto a generalized mission statement such as: Just as Christ has called his church to reach the lost, we will set our sights on evangelizing the culture around us and bringing to Him those who would be saved will soon find itself without any sort of goals or objectives because the mission is a sort of mind-numbing generalization that, in the end, means next to nothing.
A mission statement should clarify for the leadership of a church exactly what the goals of the church are and will be for the foreseeable future. To that end, the leadership of the church should get together and discuss setting the mission statement.
After opening prayer and during the following discussion, certain questions need to be answered. Some of those questions are:
1. What matters most to our church?
2. What can never be changed within our church?
3. What is our purpose for existence?
4. How well do we fulfill the needs we were called to fulfill?
5. How do we know we are answering God’s call?
6. Why are we different from other churches in the area?
7. Would anyone care if we closed our doors tomorrow?
After these questions are answered, the work of writing a mission statement can begin. Do you exist in an area without an evangelical message? Or perhaps you’re the only church in an evangelized area that has a Pentecostal emphasis. Why do you exist? What is the history of your church? Have you fulfilled your original goals and need to find new goals?
It’s possible that during this exercise you will realize that your church has gotten tired and has lost its zeal for its calling. Now is the time to discover whether to renew that feeling of purpose or, realizing that communities change, even consider changing the original purpose.
A mission statement is not for public consumption, it’s for you, your staff, and your boards to clarify who you are and where you are going. Pray about it, talk about it, pray about it again, write it out, give it to God, argue it out if necessary, pray about it some more, rewrite it if needed, and finally, give it to God again.
A clear and compelling mission statement is the first step toward a new commitment to answer God’s call.
Mission Statements
By: Raheel Rizvi
A shared vision is an integral part of an organization. If all members of an organization share a well-defined goal, the organization can make more strategic and targeted management and operational decisions than it could without a clearly specified vision. A vision spells out a target for change and the desired long-term goal state. Often vision statements will include elements of organizational culture such as values, philosophy, the role of the organization in relation to society and in relation to publics, and any other factors that might provide overall guidance and direction in shaping the organization.[1]
Characteristics of Vision:
Vision provides a clear picture of a preferred future according to God’s will for an individual, team, Church, or organization. The concept of vision can sometimes be difficult to grasp since it is about the future and each one is unique:
A Godly Vision:
1. Catches a glimpse of reality from God’s perspective.
2. Recognizes God’s desire to bless His people. Eph. 3:20-21.
3. Flows out of God’s redemptive purposes. Mt. 28:18-20
4. Seeks God’s specific assignment.
5. Sets standards of excellence.
6. Clarifies purpose and direction.
7. Inspires people and organization.
8. Empowers God’s people and focuses their efforts.
9. Challenges people and organizations to grow.
10. Bridges the present and the future.[2]
Effective vision provides the “north star” by which we can navigate in times of uncertainty. When the sea is crashing all around and the dark of night sets in, having a north star by which to steer the ship is a matter of life or death.
Steps To Develop Vision:
Envisioning is less a left brain logical process and more of a right brain, intuitive endeavor.
Vision gives the motivation and the momentum for the equipping ministry of the church. Vision is essential, not because of its captivating aspects, but for what those aspects do, which is to motivate and direct. Then people can be headed in the right direction for God's glory and purpose. Vision casting doesn't stop once we start strategic planning or move into action so we need to keep communicating and inviting people to partner through prayer. Consequently, we need to communicate, communicate, communicate the vision, expressing faith in God to guide and provide.
Footnotes:
[1] Robert L. Heath, Encyclopedia of Public Relations (Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage, ©2005), 35-36.
[2] Ron Cason, “Characteristics of Vision” (lecture, Pentecostal Theological Seminary, Cleveland, TN, January 14, 2015).
[3] Ron Cason, “Characteristics of Vision” (lecture, Pentecostal Theological Seminary, Cleveland, TN, January 14, 2015).
[4] Darren Cronshaw, “Churches with a Vision for the Future,” Australian e-Journal of Theology 21, no. 1 (April, 2014): 72, accessed March 27, 2015, http://aejt.com.au/2014/volume_21/vol_21_no_1_2014/?article=623884.
Characteristics of Vision:
Vision provides a clear picture of a preferred future according to God’s will for an individual, team, Church, or organization. The concept of vision can sometimes be difficult to grasp since it is about the future and each one is unique:
A Godly Vision:
1. Catches a glimpse of reality from God’s perspective.
2. Recognizes God’s desire to bless His people. Eph. 3:20-21.
3. Flows out of God’s redemptive purposes. Mt. 28:18-20
4. Seeks God’s specific assignment.
5. Sets standards of excellence.
6. Clarifies purpose and direction.
7. Inspires people and organization.
8. Empowers God’s people and focuses their efforts.
9. Challenges people and organizations to grow.
10. Bridges the present and the future.[2]
Effective vision provides the “north star” by which we can navigate in times of uncertainty. When the sea is crashing all around and the dark of night sets in, having a north star by which to steer the ship is a matter of life or death.
Steps To Develop Vision:
Envisioning is less a left brain logical process and more of a right brain, intuitive endeavor.
- Ask God to prepare your heart and open your eyes.
- Study the Scriptures to develop an understanding of the heart of God and how He has worked through history.
- Involve people and key leaders in the prayer and planning process.
- Expose yourself and your people to needs and opportunities.
- Review your core values and ministry principles.
- Understand the context of your Church and community.
- Take time to ask God for a specific vision and prayerfully discern God’s guidance. Consider fasting as the Lord leads you.
- Develop and evaluate future possibilities.
- Write a vision statement.[3]
Vision gives the motivation and the momentum for the equipping ministry of the church. Vision is essential, not because of its captivating aspects, but for what those aspects do, which is to motivate and direct. Then people can be headed in the right direction for God's glory and purpose. Vision casting doesn't stop once we start strategic planning or move into action so we need to keep communicating and inviting people to partner through prayer. Consequently, we need to communicate, communicate, communicate the vision, expressing faith in God to guide and provide.
Footnotes:
[1] Robert L. Heath, Encyclopedia of Public Relations (Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage, ©2005), 35-36.
[2] Ron Cason, “Characteristics of Vision” (lecture, Pentecostal Theological Seminary, Cleveland, TN, January 14, 2015).
[3] Ron Cason, “Characteristics of Vision” (lecture, Pentecostal Theological Seminary, Cleveland, TN, January 14, 2015).
[4] Darren Cronshaw, “Churches with a Vision for the Future,” Australian e-Journal of Theology 21, no. 1 (April, 2014): 72, accessed March 27, 2015, http://aejt.com.au/2014/volume_21/vol_21_no_1_2014/?article=623884.
A Personal Critique: Church Discipleship Program
By: Raheel Rizvi
Discipleship:
A disciple is simply someone who follows and adhere to someone belief or teachings. So for Christians, a disciple is a follower of Christ. Discipleship therefore is the process by which disciples grow in the Lord Jesus Christ and become more and more like him.
Critique:
My local Church discipleship program is known as “Bible Study Cell Group” each group size is usually within 10-15 persons. We laughed together, prayed together, studied the Bible together, and ate together.
The early church was all small groups and their life was organic, empowered from within by the Holy Spirit instead. They met in homes from house to house or wherever in order to devote themselves to the word, fellowship, communion and prayer (Acts 2:42). However, I personally feel that we’re missing something. I feel that the small group and the parent church should function as the heart. Like blood flows out of the heart, it must also pump back in. Otherwise the heart bleeds out or vice versa it explodes from too much intake with no output. To give scripture context reference. Peter who in charge of establishing the church, has the responsibility of what I would call pastoring the established church which Christ established. Paul after conversion, struggled with his new identity as did those he desired to have fellowship with, but found them to be too traditional and often closed minded. For example, the disciple James wanted only the Jews to have this gift of the Holy Ghost and then later everyone else. But Paul realizing the opportunity to step outside of the boat like Peter, did so. Peter understood this decision of Paul because he himself now the appointed bi-vocation leader who is also a husband and father cannot go where the newly redeemed Paul can go. So, together Peter taught the congregations turned disciples who were the small established groups equipping them to flow outward. And Paul vice versa being on the outside established small groups, churches and movements pumped them back to Peter or had Peter to send leaders he trained or to shepherd them.
So where do we go with respect to discipleship? To me, both the small group and the large church should be as one heartbeat. I feel that the small group has to not want to be a small group only. There should come a point where those who are members of the small group for lengthy periods of time should be disciple back to the larger church to share with those inside its walls the opportunities to explore what they’ve just experienced outside themselves. That way, no one gets comfortable. And at the same time, life will continue to flow in and out of the church and the world. Having qualified leadership is vital, but so is the gathering and execution of faith by works and commitment to God, His Kingdom and His People.
And in last, as disciples in the world, it is our calling to feed the hungry, cloth the naked, care for the sick and imprisoned. “Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me” (Matt 25:40). It is appropriate for us, as citizens of this world, to call the powers of this world to accountability on behalf of those whose wellbeing is least well-off.
Service and social action are inseparably related to the evangelistic task, and without such activities the Church’s witness in the world is incomplete.
By: Raheel Rizvi
Discipleship:
A disciple is simply someone who follows and adhere to someone belief or teachings. So for Christians, a disciple is a follower of Christ. Discipleship therefore is the process by which disciples grow in the Lord Jesus Christ and become more and more like him.
Critique:
My local Church discipleship program is known as “Bible Study Cell Group” each group size is usually within 10-15 persons. We laughed together, prayed together, studied the Bible together, and ate together.
The early church was all small groups and their life was organic, empowered from within by the Holy Spirit instead. They met in homes from house to house or wherever in order to devote themselves to the word, fellowship, communion and prayer (Acts 2:42). However, I personally feel that we’re missing something. I feel that the small group and the parent church should function as the heart. Like blood flows out of the heart, it must also pump back in. Otherwise the heart bleeds out or vice versa it explodes from too much intake with no output. To give scripture context reference. Peter who in charge of establishing the church, has the responsibility of what I would call pastoring the established church which Christ established. Paul after conversion, struggled with his new identity as did those he desired to have fellowship with, but found them to be too traditional and often closed minded. For example, the disciple James wanted only the Jews to have this gift of the Holy Ghost and then later everyone else. But Paul realizing the opportunity to step outside of the boat like Peter, did so. Peter understood this decision of Paul because he himself now the appointed bi-vocation leader who is also a husband and father cannot go where the newly redeemed Paul can go. So, together Peter taught the congregations turned disciples who were the small established groups equipping them to flow outward. And Paul vice versa being on the outside established small groups, churches and movements pumped them back to Peter or had Peter to send leaders he trained or to shepherd them.
So where do we go with respect to discipleship? To me, both the small group and the large church should be as one heartbeat. I feel that the small group has to not want to be a small group only. There should come a point where those who are members of the small group for lengthy periods of time should be disciple back to the larger church to share with those inside its walls the opportunities to explore what they’ve just experienced outside themselves. That way, no one gets comfortable. And at the same time, life will continue to flow in and out of the church and the world. Having qualified leadership is vital, but so is the gathering and execution of faith by works and commitment to God, His Kingdom and His People.
And in last, as disciples in the world, it is our calling to feed the hungry, cloth the naked, care for the sick and imprisoned. “Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me” (Matt 25:40). It is appropriate for us, as citizens of this world, to call the powers of this world to accountability on behalf of those whose wellbeing is least well-off.
Service and social action are inseparably related to the evangelistic task, and without such activities the Church’s witness in the world is incomplete.
The Greatest Influence on My Spiritual Development
By Ron Barker
As I look at my spirit shall development journey throughout my life so far, I find it interesting to see how I have grown and the people in my life that it aided me. I do not believe that anyone is entirely responsible for their own spiritual growth even if we like to think that we have stood on our own. Other than God, there have been three individuals responsible for helping me grow into a mature Christian. However, the most influential person in my life that aided my spiritual development is my Dad.
My Dad has always been a strong spiritual figure in my life. He was a pastor before I was born so I have always seen my dad as a spiritual leader to others and to myself. As I was growing up, I would watch my Dad work a secular job for much of his pastoral ministry and then turn around and give another 40+ hours to his pastoral responsibilities. No matter how busy my Dad was I can remember hearing him in the back bedroom praying and seeking God for the members needs along with spiritual guidance. These images are still clearly in my mind today. My Dad always took time to be with me and it is because of my Dad that I am a Christian and a musician today. When I was 6 years old, I received my first guitar for Christmas. Dad plays the guitar and I asked him if he would show me how to play. He would sit down with me every week and show me how to make chords and strum the guitar. Dad would often lead music at the church while playing his guitar same time. I would sit on the front pew of the church with my guitar and watch Dad for the chord changes. When I was about 8 years old, dad had a minister preacher revival at the church. I clearly remember sitting on the left side of the church on the front pew with my Dad. When the minister gave the altar call, Dad asked me if I would like to be saved. When I responded yes, he knelt down next to me and helped me pray to receive salvation.
When my wife Diana and I began pastor in our first church, I was fortunate enough to have my parents as part of the membership. When I started pastoring, I was in my early 30s, but I had a church full of ministers that were former pastors. This can be a good thing and it can also be a very bad thing. I remember talking to dad about various issues related to the operation of the church. He had been a pastor for 22 years so he had a good idea about the issues I was facing. Dad never told me how to pastor the church, but he would give me suggestions and he would pray with me. I wish Dad was a member of my local church now is I greatly miss having there.
I am now 53 years old with grown children and grandchildren. However, Dad is still a strong spiritual influence in my life. I travel quite often for my church responsibilities and yet any time I am out of town I know for certain I will receive a call from my Dad. Dad calls to check on me and he never fails to tell me that he is praying for me.
Back in the 1990s Diana and I were pastoring a church that we knew was having great difficulties before taking the pastoral position. The church had been growing, we moved into a new church building, and then a huge problem arose. Certain powerful people within the church decided they wanted to take control of the church so we were facing a church split. I was in great distress over what was happening and I had been seeking God for an answer. I remember the Dad called the night before we were going to have another church meeting concerning the problem I mentioned. I talked to dad about what was happening and as usual he told me he was praying for me. I was living about 8 hours from where my parents lived in they were in their late 60s at that time. The next day a few hours before this meeting was to occur at the church my parents pulled into the driveway at the house. My mother told me that Dad was concerned about the issue I was facing and that I needed someone there to pray with me. I told my Mom that we could have just had prayer on the phone because it was a long drive, but then I appreciated them driving over. Mom told me that there was nothing that could have Dad away.
There are many things I could tell about how my Dad has been a great influence on my spiritual development. There have been many others that have and continue to be powerful spiritual influences in my life such as my first pastor and my wife Diana. However, it is my Dad led me into music that has also had a great influence in my life. It is my Dad that taught me the importance of prayer. It is my dad that showed me how to care for the members of the church. It is my Dad that taught me how to be a pastor. Is my Dad that taught me how to be a spiritual leader for my family.
My Dad has always been a strong spiritual figure in my life. He was a pastor before I was born so I have always seen my dad as a spiritual leader to others and to myself. As I was growing up, I would watch my Dad work a secular job for much of his pastoral ministry and then turn around and give another 40+ hours to his pastoral responsibilities. No matter how busy my Dad was I can remember hearing him in the back bedroom praying and seeking God for the members needs along with spiritual guidance. These images are still clearly in my mind today. My Dad always took time to be with me and it is because of my Dad that I am a Christian and a musician today. When I was 6 years old, I received my first guitar for Christmas. Dad plays the guitar and I asked him if he would show me how to play. He would sit down with me every week and show me how to make chords and strum the guitar. Dad would often lead music at the church while playing his guitar same time. I would sit on the front pew of the church with my guitar and watch Dad for the chord changes. When I was about 8 years old, dad had a minister preacher revival at the church. I clearly remember sitting on the left side of the church on the front pew with my Dad. When the minister gave the altar call, Dad asked me if I would like to be saved. When I responded yes, he knelt down next to me and helped me pray to receive salvation.
When my wife Diana and I began pastor in our first church, I was fortunate enough to have my parents as part of the membership. When I started pastoring, I was in my early 30s, but I had a church full of ministers that were former pastors. This can be a good thing and it can also be a very bad thing. I remember talking to dad about various issues related to the operation of the church. He had been a pastor for 22 years so he had a good idea about the issues I was facing. Dad never told me how to pastor the church, but he would give me suggestions and he would pray with me. I wish Dad was a member of my local church now is I greatly miss having there.
I am now 53 years old with grown children and grandchildren. However, Dad is still a strong spiritual influence in my life. I travel quite often for my church responsibilities and yet any time I am out of town I know for certain I will receive a call from my Dad. Dad calls to check on me and he never fails to tell me that he is praying for me.
Back in the 1990s Diana and I were pastoring a church that we knew was having great difficulties before taking the pastoral position. The church had been growing, we moved into a new church building, and then a huge problem arose. Certain powerful people within the church decided they wanted to take control of the church so we were facing a church split. I was in great distress over what was happening and I had been seeking God for an answer. I remember the Dad called the night before we were going to have another church meeting concerning the problem I mentioned. I talked to dad about what was happening and as usual he told me he was praying for me. I was living about 8 hours from where my parents lived in they were in their late 60s at that time. The next day a few hours before this meeting was to occur at the church my parents pulled into the driveway at the house. My mother told me that Dad was concerned about the issue I was facing and that I needed someone there to pray with me. I told my Mom that we could have just had prayer on the phone because it was a long drive, but then I appreciated them driving over. Mom told me that there was nothing that could have Dad away.
There are many things I could tell about how my Dad has been a great influence on my spiritual development. There have been many others that have and continue to be powerful spiritual influences in my life such as my first pastor and my wife Diana. However, it is my Dad led me into music that has also had a great influence in my life. It is my Dad that taught me the importance of prayer. It is my dad that showed me how to care for the members of the church. It is my Dad that taught me how to be a pastor. Is my Dad that taught me how to be a spiritual leader for my family.
The Essence of Pentecostal Discipleship
By Ron Barker
Pentecostalism is fundamentally known for its dependence on the Holy Spirit in all aspects of worship. The Holy Spirit has an integral part in the church services and the lives of Pentecostal believers as He is welcomed to manifest His presence. It is the Holy Spirit that works in the lives of believers changing them from their once unrepentant lives into people that have had a, according to Bowers, "moral transformation."[1]
The Holy Spirit is the driving force in Pentecostal discipleship. The Spirit does more than positionally make over the believer into being holy before God, but rather alters the believer’s desires and actions so that he/she becomes more and more like Christ. Bowers states, "The Spirit leads the believer into a biblically-grounded life of love which transforms personal lifestyle and social reality."[2] Bowers believes the Holy Spirit so fully changes a person that every aspect of his/her life is fully surrendered to God and that they experience the already-not-yet reality of God's dominion. The spiritual change produced by the Spirit in the believer's life brings about a state of holiness and then, according to Bowers, the believers "commitment to holiness has implications for the ethical life of the Spirit-filled Christian."[3]
Since the Holy Spirit plays such an essential part in Pentecostal believer’s lives and holiness as the manifestation of the Spirit in one's life (holiness should not be viewed through a legalistic lens), other aspects can be examined as to how this plays out in Pentecostal believer's lives. Johns looks at "Characteristics of the Pentecostal Worldview"[4] that can also be used to help us understand Pentecostal discipleship. Johns states, "Scripture holds a special place and function in the Pentecostal worldview."[5] Scripture is always been an extremely important part of Pentecostal lives. Early Pentecostals searched the Scripture to find biblical doctrine by which they would live their lives which is carried on well over 100 years later. Scripture continues to be of major importance to Pentecostals because it is through the Scriptures they find a holy model of living.
Johns understands Pentecostal’s search of the Scripture to be not only "concerned with truth,"[6] but the seeking of truth that is more than a mere suggestion. Pentecostals are seeking truth that, according to Johns, is formed around their model of, "orthodoxy, orthopraxy, and orthopathy."[7] Pentecostals want every aspect of their lives to reflect the Spirit working in their lives and leading them into a greater state of holiness.
Pentecostals expect the Spirit to guide them as they study the Scriptures so that they not only discover the doctrines of the Bible, but there orthodoxy must be rooted "in both the sense of giving glory to God and in the sense of correct belief."[8] The way in which they live the biblical doctrines, their orthopraxy, must also be done in such a way that they are able to take part in the Holy Spirit's work of reaching the world. Also, their orthopathy, or the way they express the work of the Holy Spirit in their lives must be correct. In all of these aspects Pentecostals lean on the Holy Spirit to guide every aspect of their lives so they can be true living disciples.
Bibliography
Bowers, James P. “A Wesleyan-Pentecostal Approach to Christian Formation.” Journal of Pentecostal Theology 6 (1995): 55-86.
Johns, Jackie David. “Pentecostalism and the Postmodern Worldview.” Journal of Pentecostal Theology 7 (1995): 73-96.
[1] James P Bowers, “A Wesleyan-Pentecostal Approach to Christian Formation,” Journal of Pentecostal Theology 6 (1995): 55-86.
[2] Bowers, “A Wesleyan-Pentecostal Approach to Christian Formation,” 55-86.
[3] Ibid., 55-86.
[4] Jackie David Johns, “Pentecostalism and the Postmodern Worldview,” Journal of Pentecostal Theology 7 (1995): 73-96.
[5] Ibid., 73-96.
[6] Ibid., 73-96.
[7] Ibid., 73-96.
[8] Ibid., 73-96.
The Holy Spirit is the driving force in Pentecostal discipleship. The Spirit does more than positionally make over the believer into being holy before God, but rather alters the believer’s desires and actions so that he/she becomes more and more like Christ. Bowers states, "The Spirit leads the believer into a biblically-grounded life of love which transforms personal lifestyle and social reality."[2] Bowers believes the Holy Spirit so fully changes a person that every aspect of his/her life is fully surrendered to God and that they experience the already-not-yet reality of God's dominion. The spiritual change produced by the Spirit in the believer's life brings about a state of holiness and then, according to Bowers, the believers "commitment to holiness has implications for the ethical life of the Spirit-filled Christian."[3]
Since the Holy Spirit plays such an essential part in Pentecostal believer’s lives and holiness as the manifestation of the Spirit in one's life (holiness should not be viewed through a legalistic lens), other aspects can be examined as to how this plays out in Pentecostal believer's lives. Johns looks at "Characteristics of the Pentecostal Worldview"[4] that can also be used to help us understand Pentecostal discipleship. Johns states, "Scripture holds a special place and function in the Pentecostal worldview."[5] Scripture is always been an extremely important part of Pentecostal lives. Early Pentecostals searched the Scripture to find biblical doctrine by which they would live their lives which is carried on well over 100 years later. Scripture continues to be of major importance to Pentecostals because it is through the Scriptures they find a holy model of living.
Johns understands Pentecostal’s search of the Scripture to be not only "concerned with truth,"[6] but the seeking of truth that is more than a mere suggestion. Pentecostals are seeking truth that, according to Johns, is formed around their model of, "orthodoxy, orthopraxy, and orthopathy."[7] Pentecostals want every aspect of their lives to reflect the Spirit working in their lives and leading them into a greater state of holiness.
Pentecostals expect the Spirit to guide them as they study the Scriptures so that they not only discover the doctrines of the Bible, but there orthodoxy must be rooted "in both the sense of giving glory to God and in the sense of correct belief."[8] The way in which they live the biblical doctrines, their orthopraxy, must also be done in such a way that they are able to take part in the Holy Spirit's work of reaching the world. Also, their orthopathy, or the way they express the work of the Holy Spirit in their lives must be correct. In all of these aspects Pentecostals lean on the Holy Spirit to guide every aspect of their lives so they can be true living disciples.
Bibliography
Bowers, James P. “A Wesleyan-Pentecostal Approach to Christian Formation.” Journal of Pentecostal Theology 6 (1995): 55-86.
Johns, Jackie David. “Pentecostalism and the Postmodern Worldview.” Journal of Pentecostal Theology 7 (1995): 73-96.
[1] James P Bowers, “A Wesleyan-Pentecostal Approach to Christian Formation,” Journal of Pentecostal Theology 6 (1995): 55-86.
[2] Bowers, “A Wesleyan-Pentecostal Approach to Christian Formation,” 55-86.
[3] Ibid., 55-86.
[4] Jackie David Johns, “Pentecostalism and the Postmodern Worldview,” Journal of Pentecostal Theology 7 (1995): 73-96.
[5] Ibid., 73-96.
[6] Ibid., 73-96.
[7] Ibid., 73-96.
[8] Ibid., 73-96.
Management and Leadership Styles in the Church
By Ron Barker
Pentecostal types of churches have had a curious relationship with church government and management styles throughout its history. The church organization with which I am associated has its roots going back to A. J. Tomlinson. As I have read books and articles concerning A. J. Tomlinson, it seems that he was an aggressive energetic leader that attempted to motivate his leaders from a top-down method of management. The church took on an Old Testament form of leadership based upon the Moses model with one main person at the helm with other various leaders being given different amounts of leadership responsibilities. A. J. Tomlinson was an influential person as he established the Church of God along with its government and management style. Cheryl Johns states that, "Tomlinson … set a precedence for pragmatic, efficient bureaucracy which has at times conflicted with our ideal of New Testament Christianity …"[1] While this type of management can reap large results, the effect is that the church is then being driven by one person rather than a group of people seeking God's will for the church's course. The results cannot be denied which unfortunately tends to breed more of the same type of management when in fact the church needs Spirit led leaders instead of results oriented managers.
The term management is not often heard within the ranks of church leaders and it would seem that Pentecostal churches struggle with the idea that their church officials are also managers in the context of their ministry. In the early 20th century the Church of God saw a need to train their workers to be more efficient to accomplish the church's function. Therefore, the church developed a school to deal with this issue. Even though the church was attempting to take on more modern methods of management so that the church could more effectively handle its various tasks, the church was still struggling with a well-established top down management style. While it can be argued as to whether this style of management was an effective method of ministerial management for the church, this method is still being widely used. Certainly the denomination I am associated with is highly top-down oriented. I find this to be a stifling form of management from which even secular businesses are attempting to veer away.
Jackie Johns states that, "Wielding power over others is not leadership; it is control."[2] Power is intoxicating draw that many managers and leaders struggle with even in the church. The church needs leaders that are empowered by the Spirit and by the laity. It is through the three-way relationship of the leader, the Spirit, and the laity that true power should be realized in the church that will also enable God's work to be accomplished. Johns refers to the relationship between a leader and the laity when he states, "Leadership is a relationship based upon the values and motives, wants and needs, aspirations and expectations of both leaders and followers."[3]
Managers attempting to be leaders have filled many of the Pentecostal churches leadership positions. The church needs leaders that are truly working with the laity and actively leading them through their words and actions. Many more leaders are needed in the church, but leaders usually cannot be formed from a top-down management style that is demanding of his/her people. Formational leadership comes from leaders that are being lead of the Spirit and are actively engaged with the laity.
[1] Cheryl Bridges Johns, “Management or Ministry: A Critical Analysis of Contemporary Theories of Conflict Management,” 1-12.
[2] Jackie David Johns, “Formational Leadership: A Pentecostal Model for Using the Decision-Making Processes of the Congregation to Nurture Faith” (presented at the Twenty Ninth Annual Meeting of the Society for Pentecostal Studies, Cleveland, Tennessee, March 16-19, 2000), 1-36.
[3] Johns. “Formational Leadership: A Pentecostal Model for Using the Decision-Making Processes of the Congregation to Nurture Faith.” March 16-19, 2000.
The term management is not often heard within the ranks of church leaders and it would seem that Pentecostal churches struggle with the idea that their church officials are also managers in the context of their ministry. In the early 20th century the Church of God saw a need to train their workers to be more efficient to accomplish the church's function. Therefore, the church developed a school to deal with this issue. Even though the church was attempting to take on more modern methods of management so that the church could more effectively handle its various tasks, the church was still struggling with a well-established top down management style. While it can be argued as to whether this style of management was an effective method of ministerial management for the church, this method is still being widely used. Certainly the denomination I am associated with is highly top-down oriented. I find this to be a stifling form of management from which even secular businesses are attempting to veer away.
Jackie Johns states that, "Wielding power over others is not leadership; it is control."[2] Power is intoxicating draw that many managers and leaders struggle with even in the church. The church needs leaders that are empowered by the Spirit and by the laity. It is through the three-way relationship of the leader, the Spirit, and the laity that true power should be realized in the church that will also enable God's work to be accomplished. Johns refers to the relationship between a leader and the laity when he states, "Leadership is a relationship based upon the values and motives, wants and needs, aspirations and expectations of both leaders and followers."[3]
Managers attempting to be leaders have filled many of the Pentecostal churches leadership positions. The church needs leaders that are truly working with the laity and actively leading them through their words and actions. Many more leaders are needed in the church, but leaders usually cannot be formed from a top-down management style that is demanding of his/her people. Formational leadership comes from leaders that are being lead of the Spirit and are actively engaged with the laity.
[1] Cheryl Bridges Johns, “Management or Ministry: A Critical Analysis of Contemporary Theories of Conflict Management,” 1-12.
[2] Jackie David Johns, “Formational Leadership: A Pentecostal Model for Using the Decision-Making Processes of the Congregation to Nurture Faith” (presented at the Twenty Ninth Annual Meeting of the Society for Pentecostal Studies, Cleveland, Tennessee, March 16-19, 2000), 1-36.
[3] Johns. “Formational Leadership: A Pentecostal Model for Using the Decision-Making Processes of the Congregation to Nurture Faith.” March 16-19, 2000.
Appreciative Inquiry
By Ron Barker
Change is a difficult endeavor to pursue even at the best of circumstances. Children seem to handle change better than adults and the older we get the less comfortable we are with change. Children adapt to change much easier because they have not become set in their ways and they are used to being instructed so therefore change is a part of their lives. As we become adults, we deal with less and less amounts of change because we generally take on greater amounts of responsibility in our personal and professional lives that allows us to become more static in our behaviors.
Children that are forced to change through negative circumstances or domineering and demanding guardians seem to struggle with change. Children, young people, and even older people that have had mostly negative influences struggle with following managers instructions and the laws of the land because this involves change that does not match up with their personal desires. Children that have been raised with positive reinforcement more easily adapt to difficult circumstances because they have been trained how to accept instruction as a natural part of life.
Appreciative Inquiry (AI) is a method of acquiring change that looks at how to make changes from a positive perspective. So often, when a secular business or a church wants to make changes to enhance whatever it is they are trying to achieve, generally a list of what has been done wrong is developed and ways to repair the wrong elements are analyzed. Thomas states, "AI starts from the positive perspective … It is the art and practice of asking the unconditional positive questions that stream than a system's capacity to apprehend, anticipate, and heighten positive potential."[1] Instead of looking at all of the wrong things a church is been doing, Appreciative Inquiry tells us to look at the positive things that have been happening within the church. We should instead find the people that have been doing a great job and develop a model from their positive actions.
Thomas explains that, "AI assumes that human systems, e.g., organizations and groups, are not like machines that can be taken apart and fixed, but rather our social systems."[2] If we treat people like they are machines, we will expect them to work like machines. I can remember as a young man working on several different jobs in which I felt like I was being asked to work like a machine and was treated with about as much in difference as a machine. There was no social nature to the job, there was no interaction with the managers in I did not feel that they were interested in any input I may have to share with them even though I can see areas where we could improve. Appreciative Inquiry reinforces the positive social nature of people. By looking at the positive in people, it will begin to pull the positive out of them.
Just like people that have been taught and treated in negative ways, negative is returned because that is what the people know. When positive has been implanted in a person, it is reasonable to expect a positive result. The old saying goes, "garbage in, garbage out" and I believe we can also say "positive in, positive out."
In our churches today, if we want to see a change in how the people of our church are responding to the needs of the community and visitors to the local church, a positive approach to change can be the answer that everyone is seeking. We can easily look for the problems and begin to assign blame, but rather is much more productive to look for the positive aspects of our churches and begin reinforcing those aspects. As we reinforced the positive people in aspects of our local churches, if there are people in our churches are struggling to fulfill the roles they have been given, they will likely desire to be like the positive role models that are being promoted. People can be drawn to either negative or positive ideas. Let's supply positive models for our churches.
[1] Edwin C. Thomas, “Appreciative Inquiry: A Positive Approach to Change,” 1-6.
[2] Ibid., 1-6.
Children that are forced to change through negative circumstances or domineering and demanding guardians seem to struggle with change. Children, young people, and even older people that have had mostly negative influences struggle with following managers instructions and the laws of the land because this involves change that does not match up with their personal desires. Children that have been raised with positive reinforcement more easily adapt to difficult circumstances because they have been trained how to accept instruction as a natural part of life.
Appreciative Inquiry (AI) is a method of acquiring change that looks at how to make changes from a positive perspective. So often, when a secular business or a church wants to make changes to enhance whatever it is they are trying to achieve, generally a list of what has been done wrong is developed and ways to repair the wrong elements are analyzed. Thomas states, "AI starts from the positive perspective … It is the art and practice of asking the unconditional positive questions that stream than a system's capacity to apprehend, anticipate, and heighten positive potential."[1] Instead of looking at all of the wrong things a church is been doing, Appreciative Inquiry tells us to look at the positive things that have been happening within the church. We should instead find the people that have been doing a great job and develop a model from their positive actions.
Thomas explains that, "AI assumes that human systems, e.g., organizations and groups, are not like machines that can be taken apart and fixed, but rather our social systems."[2] If we treat people like they are machines, we will expect them to work like machines. I can remember as a young man working on several different jobs in which I felt like I was being asked to work like a machine and was treated with about as much in difference as a machine. There was no social nature to the job, there was no interaction with the managers in I did not feel that they were interested in any input I may have to share with them even though I can see areas where we could improve. Appreciative Inquiry reinforces the positive social nature of people. By looking at the positive in people, it will begin to pull the positive out of them.
Just like people that have been taught and treated in negative ways, negative is returned because that is what the people know. When positive has been implanted in a person, it is reasonable to expect a positive result. The old saying goes, "garbage in, garbage out" and I believe we can also say "positive in, positive out."
In our churches today, if we want to see a change in how the people of our church are responding to the needs of the community and visitors to the local church, a positive approach to change can be the answer that everyone is seeking. We can easily look for the problems and begin to assign blame, but rather is much more productive to look for the positive aspects of our churches and begin reinforcing those aspects. As we reinforced the positive people in aspects of our local churches, if there are people in our churches are struggling to fulfill the roles they have been given, they will likely desire to be like the positive role models that are being promoted. People can be drawn to either negative or positive ideas. Let's supply positive models for our churches.
[1] Edwin C. Thomas, “Appreciative Inquiry: A Positive Approach to Change,” 1-6.
[2] Ibid., 1-6.
The Local Church Working Together to Determine the Goals
By Ron Barker
Whether we're looking at a secular business or at a church, it is difficult to overstate the importance of goals. Businesses and churches that do not have goals do not have an idea of what they are trying to achieve. The management or leaders may have some idea of where he/she is attempting to steer their organization, but if the goals have not been written down, shared, put into action, and continually analyzed for their effectiveness, a mere goal in someone's mind will not drive an organization forward.
Many churches struggle to survive financially and therefore their goal setting up any more than just how to survive for that week, that month, or maybe as long as one quarter. Too often there are no goals that extend out to a year or more and five-year goals are rare. Goal setting can help churches survive, but they can also do more than that for church. Church leaders should meet with the church members and discuss their ideas for the local church. Church members should become a part of the development of the purpose statement, vision statement, and the mission statement. Church leaders that develop the church's goals along with the purpose, vision, and mission statements without involving the church members are short-circuiting the powerful effect that goal setting can have upon a local church. Church members that have been made up part of the goal setting process of the local church become vested in the operation of the local church and therefore are more likely to actively take a role in helping the church achieve the stated goals.
Rather than church leaders presenting the local church with the goals for the next quarter, year, and next five years, a more effective method is for the pastor and church leaders to help guide the goal setting process so that goals better able to be realized are established along with goals that are more far-reaching and likely not attainable within a short time. Churches that have been living in survival mode can present missional ideas, facts and figures from the treasurer, educational needs, along with many other needs of a local church and begin to allow the church members to formulate goals to achieve the needs of the local church as guided by the church leaders. Using this method can help to bring church members to feel a sense of responsibility for the needs of the local church rather than being people that merely attend the church without ever taking any responsibility. Too often I see church members that come to church faithfully that take no responsibility for the church whether in the cleaning of the church, the finances of the church, the leadership of the church, or in the goal setting of the church.
Church leaders want and need church members to take part in the functioning of the local church. To help aid people in taking a greater responsibility in the operation of the local church, it will help if they know where the church is going and have been made up part of helping decide where the church is going. This concept may go directly against some church leaders ideas because they believe God has spoken directly to them concerning the course the local church should take and therefore they feel in need to tell the people of the church what they believe God has spoken to them about the goals of the church. If a leader truly believes that God has shown him/her the passing goals for the local church, he/she should communicate this to the other church leaders and then to the local church as a whole. The entire church can then pray and work at how to develop the various goals of the church.
Local churches that see God for the purpose of that local church and for the ultimate vision that God wants to do with the church position themselves in a place of becoming a unified body. Once a church has collectively discovered their purpose and ultimate vision, the development of their mission statement or how they will go about achieving these goals becomes less difficult to determine because they have learned how to work together. The mission of the church is how they are going to work together to accomplish the other goals of the church that God has given them.
Many churches struggle to survive financially and therefore their goal setting up any more than just how to survive for that week, that month, or maybe as long as one quarter. Too often there are no goals that extend out to a year or more and five-year goals are rare. Goal setting can help churches survive, but they can also do more than that for church. Church leaders should meet with the church members and discuss their ideas for the local church. Church members should become a part of the development of the purpose statement, vision statement, and the mission statement. Church leaders that develop the church's goals along with the purpose, vision, and mission statements without involving the church members are short-circuiting the powerful effect that goal setting can have upon a local church. Church members that have been made up part of the goal setting process of the local church become vested in the operation of the local church and therefore are more likely to actively take a role in helping the church achieve the stated goals.
Rather than church leaders presenting the local church with the goals for the next quarter, year, and next five years, a more effective method is for the pastor and church leaders to help guide the goal setting process so that goals better able to be realized are established along with goals that are more far-reaching and likely not attainable within a short time. Churches that have been living in survival mode can present missional ideas, facts and figures from the treasurer, educational needs, along with many other needs of a local church and begin to allow the church members to formulate goals to achieve the needs of the local church as guided by the church leaders. Using this method can help to bring church members to feel a sense of responsibility for the needs of the local church rather than being people that merely attend the church without ever taking any responsibility. Too often I see church members that come to church faithfully that take no responsibility for the church whether in the cleaning of the church, the finances of the church, the leadership of the church, or in the goal setting of the church.
Church leaders want and need church members to take part in the functioning of the local church. To help aid people in taking a greater responsibility in the operation of the local church, it will help if they know where the church is going and have been made up part of helping decide where the church is going. This concept may go directly against some church leaders ideas because they believe God has spoken directly to them concerning the course the local church should take and therefore they feel in need to tell the people of the church what they believe God has spoken to them about the goals of the church. If a leader truly believes that God has shown him/her the passing goals for the local church, he/she should communicate this to the other church leaders and then to the local church as a whole. The entire church can then pray and work at how to develop the various goals of the church.
Local churches that see God for the purpose of that local church and for the ultimate vision that God wants to do with the church position themselves in a place of becoming a unified body. Once a church has collectively discovered their purpose and ultimate vision, the development of their mission statement or how they will go about achieving these goals becomes less difficult to determine because they have learned how to work together. The mission of the church is how they are going to work together to accomplish the other goals of the church that God has given them.
A Personal Critique of a Current Age-Specific Discipleship Program
By Ron Barker
The discipleship program I am examining is for ages 18-30. This program has both saved and unsaved people attending and some of the people are married while others are single. The group meets once a week on Wednesday nights. There are approximately 8-10 people in this group.
This discipleship group meets to talk about issues related to the Bible, how these issues impact our personal Christian lives, and how to tell others about Jesus Christ. This program does not have a preset course that is following for its teaching, but rather teaches book studies sometimes, teaches topically sometimes, and randomly picks things in the Bible to discuss. While they do stay on a particular topic for many weeks at a time, there is no set date for a particular study to end and can therefore continue on a topic until the people in the program are bored with the topic. This may be one of the reasons that this group is not growing. Since there is no set end date for whatever is being studied, it is easy for the discussion to chase many rabbit trails. This age group has a lot of questions concerning the Bible and various other topics and after the group has been on a topic for many weeks, rabbit trail questions begin to appear frequently causing the group to be off topic regularly.
This group's lack of structure seems to be detrimental to being able to train effective disciples. First, it would be helpful to develop a program that was quarterly based. By putting a time frame on this program it might help them stay more focused on the topic. Second, since there is no set curriculum, the leaders do not know if they are actually teaching the people how to be disciples or if they are just giving random biblical knowledge. The development of the curriculum for growing disciples would aid this discipleship group and would also keep them from chasing so many rabbit trail questions. Because the instructor and the students do not know where they are going from week to week, or quarter to quarter, along with no stated in and to the program, the leaders are struggling to know what to do. Third, the church leadership should meet to determine what the discipleship program should look like and what they want their people to know at the end of the program. The development of a certificate for their discipleship program may give incentive for more church members to attend this discipleship program and to invite new people to the program.
The people running this discipleship program love the Lord and have a desire to teach people about Jesus Christ. However, just having a desire to teach people is not enough. We have to find effective ways of teaching people so they can gain the information they need. In Luke 14.28, we are told to count the cost. Many people may believe that this passage is only talking about the monetary cost, but we need to count the costs of discipling people such as how are we going to deliver the information, what information are we going to teach, how long will we teach on each topic, what format we used to deliver the teaching, and other costs.
This discipleship program is really more of a loosely run Bible teaching program that has been given no parameters. The people attending the program are gaining some information about Christian living, but it is questionable as to what they are gaining and if they are learning how to share this information with others. This discipleship program needs a well-developed curriculum with a set timetable to help solidify their desire to teach about Jesus Christ.
This discipleship group meets to talk about issues related to the Bible, how these issues impact our personal Christian lives, and how to tell others about Jesus Christ. This program does not have a preset course that is following for its teaching, but rather teaches book studies sometimes, teaches topically sometimes, and randomly picks things in the Bible to discuss. While they do stay on a particular topic for many weeks at a time, there is no set date for a particular study to end and can therefore continue on a topic until the people in the program are bored with the topic. This may be one of the reasons that this group is not growing. Since there is no set end date for whatever is being studied, it is easy for the discussion to chase many rabbit trails. This age group has a lot of questions concerning the Bible and various other topics and after the group has been on a topic for many weeks, rabbit trail questions begin to appear frequently causing the group to be off topic regularly.
This group's lack of structure seems to be detrimental to being able to train effective disciples. First, it would be helpful to develop a program that was quarterly based. By putting a time frame on this program it might help them stay more focused on the topic. Second, since there is no set curriculum, the leaders do not know if they are actually teaching the people how to be disciples or if they are just giving random biblical knowledge. The development of the curriculum for growing disciples would aid this discipleship group and would also keep them from chasing so many rabbit trail questions. Because the instructor and the students do not know where they are going from week to week, or quarter to quarter, along with no stated in and to the program, the leaders are struggling to know what to do. Third, the church leadership should meet to determine what the discipleship program should look like and what they want their people to know at the end of the program. The development of a certificate for their discipleship program may give incentive for more church members to attend this discipleship program and to invite new people to the program.
The people running this discipleship program love the Lord and have a desire to teach people about Jesus Christ. However, just having a desire to teach people is not enough. We have to find effective ways of teaching people so they can gain the information they need. In Luke 14.28, we are told to count the cost. Many people may believe that this passage is only talking about the monetary cost, but we need to count the costs of discipling people such as how are we going to deliver the information, what information are we going to teach, how long will we teach on each topic, what format we used to deliver the teaching, and other costs.
This discipleship program is really more of a loosely run Bible teaching program that has been given no parameters. The people attending the program are gaining some information about Christian living, but it is questionable as to what they are gaining and if they are learning how to share this information with others. This discipleship program needs a well-developed curriculum with a set timetable to help solidify their desire to teach about Jesus Christ.
Team Ministry
By: Raheel Rizvi
A Christian ministry team is a manageable group of diversely gifted people who hold one another accountable to serve joyfully together for the glory of God by:
Prerequisites for Team Ministry:
To build an effective team ministry, the pastor and board need to understand the foundation for mutual cooperation. They need to recognize that in order to develop teamwork, they must build upon the right relationship.
1. Effective teams build upon a biblical theology of team ministry. Working together as a team is not the latest management fad, but springs from the heart of the biblical concept of leadership within the church.
2. Effective teams understand the nature of leadership within the small church. They realize that leadership is not vested by position but by relationships.
3. Effective teams understand the importance of mutual submission. Paul commends all believers to submit to one another (Eph. 5:21).
4. Effective teams understand the importance of mutual trust. The hallmark of love is continual trust in the other person (1 Cor. 13:7). Just as God has entrusted the leadership of the church to selected individuals (1 Cor. 4:2), so also we must learn to trust one another.
5. Effective teams love the church. Effective leaders love the church. They are motivated to service, not to get more recognition or influence, but because of their passion to see the church become all God designed her to be.
6. Effective teams are built upon spiritual maturity. Paul, in addressing the qualifications of leadership, places the emphasis upon spiritual maturity (1 Timothy 3:17; Titus 1:5-9).
Conclusion:
Healthy churches operate with a team. Establishing effective ministry teams involves much more than adding a new program or changing the names of existing committees. team ministry is ownership and self-initiated vision in which members carry out plans they themselves have conceived or have had a part in conceptualizing.
There is a further distinction between teams in the marketplace and teams in the church. Our convictions about humility and brokenness come from God, not popular psychology. The study of God’s Word and prayer, not management theory books, create the passion for team ministry and prompt our desires to yield to his will. It’s God who is the instigator and sustainer of healthy functional team relationships.
By: Raheel Rizvi
A Christian ministry team is a manageable group of diversely gifted people who hold one another accountable to serve joyfully together for the glory of God by:
- Sharing a common mission
- Embodying the loving message of Christ
- Accomplishing a meaningful ministry
- Anticipating trans formative results
Prerequisites for Team Ministry:
To build an effective team ministry, the pastor and board need to understand the foundation for mutual cooperation. They need to recognize that in order to develop teamwork, they must build upon the right relationship.
1. Effective teams build upon a biblical theology of team ministry. Working together as a team is not the latest management fad, but springs from the heart of the biblical concept of leadership within the church.
2. Effective teams understand the nature of leadership within the small church. They realize that leadership is not vested by position but by relationships.
3. Effective teams understand the importance of mutual submission. Paul commends all believers to submit to one another (Eph. 5:21).
4. Effective teams understand the importance of mutual trust. The hallmark of love is continual trust in the other person (1 Cor. 13:7). Just as God has entrusted the leadership of the church to selected individuals (1 Cor. 4:2), so also we must learn to trust one another.
5. Effective teams love the church. Effective leaders love the church. They are motivated to service, not to get more recognition or influence, but because of their passion to see the church become all God designed her to be.
6. Effective teams are built upon spiritual maturity. Paul, in addressing the qualifications of leadership, places the emphasis upon spiritual maturity (1 Timothy 3:17; Titus 1:5-9).
Conclusion:
Healthy churches operate with a team. Establishing effective ministry teams involves much more than adding a new program or changing the names of existing committees. team ministry is ownership and self-initiated vision in which members carry out plans they themselves have conceived or have had a part in conceptualizing.
There is a further distinction between teams in the marketplace and teams in the church. Our convictions about humility and brokenness come from God, not popular psychology. The study of God’s Word and prayer, not management theory books, create the passion for team ministry and prompt our desires to yield to his will. It’s God who is the instigator and sustainer of healthy functional team relationships.
Delegation
By: Raheel Rizvi
Whether a Church is large or small, delegation of some nature will be evident. It may be haphazard, it may be unsystematic but it will be present. In so far as two or more persons are involved in carrying out a program, there will be process of delegation, however limited it may be. Even in the simple for certain common tasks. Delegation, in short, cannot be avoided in any organization regardless of size. The only question to be answered is whether it is to be done well or poorly.
The larger an organization becomes, the more important it is for an administrator to apply the principles of delegation. To elaborate more fully upon the criteria for delegation, a delegator would do well to think about the following categories of decision-making for a delegate:
1. Decisions of a routine nature
2. Decisions to be reported
3. Decisions requiring consultation.
It is not possible for one person to conduct all of the business of a Church. One of the basis reasons for delegation within the context of the Church is that it is Biblical. Moses found himself strained almost to the breaking point under the responsibilities that were his as the single leader of the children of Israel in the wilderness. Such unilateral responsibility was unnecessary, however, and at the suggestion of Jethro it was divided among some of the other men who were capable of assuming the assignment of such duties (Exodus 18). In the New Testament the Lord Himself certainly used a classic pattern of delegation.(Matthew 28 and John 20).
Generally the literature on delegation argues that the leader delegates everything that he does not absolutely have to do himself. This may be an overstatement, but it generalizes the enormity of importance placed upon delegation in sound administrative theory. Delegation builds the future leadership of the Church. Its elements include responsibility, authority, and accountability, all of which must be reckoned with in proper perspective in the delegation process. Someone has said that with all the evidence to commend it, failure to delegate is an emotional problem, not a rational one. The Church leader who can effectively delegate tasks to people and then effectively supervise them in those tasks is demonstrating the gift of administration and is contributing much to the overall ministry of his local Church.
Delegation includes a variety of levels:
Which of these is the most appropriate? It all depends upon the situation, the person, and his or her skill level and qualifications.
Delegation demonstrates trust and confidence in employee ability. It’s stimulates employee motivation and commitment to the organization. The early Church experienced rapid growth because its leadership was willing to delegate.
The Church leaders should keep in mind that unless they learn to delegate effectively they are nothing more than a hired hand – a full-time Christian workers holding a leadership positions that should be filled by full-time Christian manager. Every leader needs to work at delegating more. He needs to learn to use delegation effectively, making sure he understands the value of delegation and then picks the right people for the job.
"If we don’t delegate, good leaders will leave and our ministries will stagnate," says Doug Franklin.
By: Raheel Rizvi
Whether a Church is large or small, delegation of some nature will be evident. It may be haphazard, it may be unsystematic but it will be present. In so far as two or more persons are involved in carrying out a program, there will be process of delegation, however limited it may be. Even in the simple for certain common tasks. Delegation, in short, cannot be avoided in any organization regardless of size. The only question to be answered is whether it is to be done well or poorly.
The larger an organization becomes, the more important it is for an administrator to apply the principles of delegation. To elaborate more fully upon the criteria for delegation, a delegator would do well to think about the following categories of decision-making for a delegate:
1. Decisions of a routine nature
2. Decisions to be reported
3. Decisions requiring consultation.
It is not possible for one person to conduct all of the business of a Church. One of the basis reasons for delegation within the context of the Church is that it is Biblical. Moses found himself strained almost to the breaking point under the responsibilities that were his as the single leader of the children of Israel in the wilderness. Such unilateral responsibility was unnecessary, however, and at the suggestion of Jethro it was divided among some of the other men who were capable of assuming the assignment of such duties (Exodus 18). In the New Testament the Lord Himself certainly used a classic pattern of delegation.(Matthew 28 and John 20).
Generally the literature on delegation argues that the leader delegates everything that he does not absolutely have to do himself. This may be an overstatement, but it generalizes the enormity of importance placed upon delegation in sound administrative theory. Delegation builds the future leadership of the Church. Its elements include responsibility, authority, and accountability, all of which must be reckoned with in proper perspective in the delegation process. Someone has said that with all the evidence to commend it, failure to delegate is an emotional problem, not a rational one. The Church leader who can effectively delegate tasks to people and then effectively supervise them in those tasks is demonstrating the gift of administration and is contributing much to the overall ministry of his local Church.
Delegation includes a variety of levels:
- Do it and don’t report back.
- Do it and report back immediately.
- Do it and report routinely.
- Investigate and make recommendation to me, and we will decide together.
- Gather data for me, and I will decide.
Which of these is the most appropriate? It all depends upon the situation, the person, and his or her skill level and qualifications.
Delegation demonstrates trust and confidence in employee ability. It’s stimulates employee motivation and commitment to the organization. The early Church experienced rapid growth because its leadership was willing to delegate.
The Church leaders should keep in mind that unless they learn to delegate effectively they are nothing more than a hired hand – a full-time Christian workers holding a leadership positions that should be filled by full-time Christian manager. Every leader needs to work at delegating more. He needs to learn to use delegation effectively, making sure he understands the value of delegation and then picks the right people for the job.
"If we don’t delegate, good leaders will leave and our ministries will stagnate," says Doug Franklin.
Critique of a Church's Discipleship Program
at the Intersection of Form and Function
By Ron Barker
For this paper I will be examining the young adult discipleship program of my local church. This small group of 8 to 10 people meets on a weekly basis in one of the classrooms of the local church. The ages of the people in this group span from 22 to 28 years old. This group is very self-sufficient is and does not require many materials and they seem to adapt well if they are asked to move into a different room for teaching.
The room that the young adult’s discipleship program uses is approximately 15 feet wide by 20 feet long with four large windows looking to the outside. The room has approximately 30 stacking chairs, and eight-foot long folding table, a pulpit, a piano, a projector, an overhead projector, and a large whiteboard. This classroom has been set up so that the teacher and the students can use a multiplicity of teaching tools. The room has not been specially painted, but rather just has white paint on the walls and good lighting. There are couple of pictures on the walls that blend in and seem bland.
This class has two teachers that rotate teaching the class. Each of the teachers has a different style of teaching and uses different tools from the classroom while also using some of the same tools. Teacher #1 uses the whiteboard during almost every class while also distributing photocopied handouts. This teacher generally teaches from the pulpit with the students sitting in rows just as if they were in a church setting. The students respond well to the use of the whiteboard and the handouts.
Teacher #2 sets up the classroom differently by putting the chairs in a circle. In this way the students are able to look at each other as they discuss the topic. This has proven to be a very popular way of setting up the classroom and the students preferred this method. However, even though they ask teacher #1 if they can set the chairs in a circle, this teacher is uncomfortable with that method and the students do not push the issue. Even though teacher #1 has a good discussion and the students seem to enjoy the class, there seems to be a greater satisfaction from the students after they have been in class with teacher #2 having the chairs formed in a circle. The discussion that takes place when the chairs are formed in a circle is not more lively, but instead it seems to go to a more intimate nature. By this I mean that the students are willing to discuss the topic from a more personal perspective and empathize with each other as they are able to look into each other's faces.
Teacher #2 will also use teaching methods such as the projector to use PowerPoint presentations, the whiteboard, handouts, and the piano so that the students can incorporate music during their class. The use of music during the class is another aspect that the students greatly enjoy. While the students do not seem to care which classroom they use, because sometimes they do get moved to other rooms, they like it when they are in a classroom that has musical instruments and allows them to worship with songs as a part of their class.
It appears that the students appreciate the more interactive use of the chairs being incorporated into a circle so that they can see each other and also be allowed to incorporate music into the classroom setting. Well the use of power points, handouts, whiteboards, and other aspects that aid in the teaching of the class, it seems to be these elements that caused the students to open up the most to each other.
The room that the young adult’s discipleship program uses is approximately 15 feet wide by 20 feet long with four large windows looking to the outside. The room has approximately 30 stacking chairs, and eight-foot long folding table, a pulpit, a piano, a projector, an overhead projector, and a large whiteboard. This classroom has been set up so that the teacher and the students can use a multiplicity of teaching tools. The room has not been specially painted, but rather just has white paint on the walls and good lighting. There are couple of pictures on the walls that blend in and seem bland.
This class has two teachers that rotate teaching the class. Each of the teachers has a different style of teaching and uses different tools from the classroom while also using some of the same tools. Teacher #1 uses the whiteboard during almost every class while also distributing photocopied handouts. This teacher generally teaches from the pulpit with the students sitting in rows just as if they were in a church setting. The students respond well to the use of the whiteboard and the handouts.
Teacher #2 sets up the classroom differently by putting the chairs in a circle. In this way the students are able to look at each other as they discuss the topic. This has proven to be a very popular way of setting up the classroom and the students preferred this method. However, even though they ask teacher #1 if they can set the chairs in a circle, this teacher is uncomfortable with that method and the students do not push the issue. Even though teacher #1 has a good discussion and the students seem to enjoy the class, there seems to be a greater satisfaction from the students after they have been in class with teacher #2 having the chairs formed in a circle. The discussion that takes place when the chairs are formed in a circle is not more lively, but instead it seems to go to a more intimate nature. By this I mean that the students are willing to discuss the topic from a more personal perspective and empathize with each other as they are able to look into each other's faces.
Teacher #2 will also use teaching methods such as the projector to use PowerPoint presentations, the whiteboard, handouts, and the piano so that the students can incorporate music during their class. The use of music during the class is another aspect that the students greatly enjoy. While the students do not seem to care which classroom they use, because sometimes they do get moved to other rooms, they like it when they are in a classroom that has musical instruments and allows them to worship with songs as a part of their class.
It appears that the students appreciate the more interactive use of the chairs being incorporated into a circle so that they can see each other and also be allowed to incorporate music into the classroom setting. Well the use of power points, handouts, whiteboards, and other aspects that aid in the teaching of the class, it seems to be these elements that caused the students to open up the most to each other.
Planning
by Ron Barker
Businesses, families, governments and churches along with a list too long for this paper develop plans. Planning is an intricate part of almost everything that we do. When my children were young, my wife and I decided to take a vacation without making any specific plans. My eight-year-old son kept asking, "Where are we going?" and "When will we arrive?" We continued to tell him that we did not know where we were going, but that we would drive until we felt like stopping. This lack of planning greatly distressed our son and he asked, "If we don't know where were going, how will we know when we get there." This is how people feel in our churches when the leadership does not take the time to work with the laity to develop a plan for the local church. The people do not know where they are going and therefore, they have no way of knowing when they are arriving because there is no destination.
Bob I. Johnson in his paper, "How to Plan and Evaluate,"[1] states that, "planning allows for the expression of faith."[2] Some people may say that planning is the opposite of faith. However, when we first seek God for his direction for our churches and then make plans accordingly as we believe God is directing us, it is a step of faith to continue forward with a plan. Many people, including many Christians, believe that our Christian walk is built upon blind faith. They make plans according to blind faith built upon nothing other than their personal wants and desires. First Thessalonians 5:21 states, "Prove all things; hold fast that which is good." This term "prove" is defined in Greek as "test."[3] If everything we do and believe as Christians is based upon blind faith, why does the Scripture encourage us to test all things? Hebrews chapter 11, which is known as the faith chapter, tells us in 11:1 that faith has "substance and evidence." There are many other Scriptures showing that we do not have blind faith. Just like our faith is not blind, neither should our planning be blind. Church leaders and the laity need to sit down and plan together by looking at where churches been, where the church currently is, and where they hope the church will be in the future. This type of planning cannot be done by wishing and hoping, but rather it takes effort to search out the needs and abilities of a local church and then a plan can be put together that can be operated by true godly faith.
Concerning planning, Johnson also states that, "Planning helps the church to maintain an awareness of purpose."[4] Churches are busy places with many individuals and each of them having a different idea about what the church should be doing. As a pastor, I know only too well how often people can approach a pastor with a new idea for the church to implement. The church may already have a program in place similar to this idea or this idea may not be a viable option at this point. Churches that have plans set in place can more easily stay on track and not deviate from their intended goals just because someone comes up with an idea that sounds good. Ideas that are implemented without solid planning can cause greater harm to a local church than any of the good that may have been accomplished.
Even though many church leaders and laity may not like to go through the planning process, it is a necessary part of the operation of a local church. While it may be difficult to incorporate all of the laity in the planning process, the pastor and all church leaders should be involved in the process and then the church leaders should be responsible for making sure that the church laity understands the church's plan so they will not be blind as to where the church is going. Churches do not need church leaders and laity asking, "Where are we going?" and "When will we arrive?" This leads to churches that are on vacation with no destination point.
[1] Bob I Johnson, “How to Plan and Evaluate,” Christian Education Handbook: 46-59, accessed May 3, 2015, http://courses.ptseminary.edu/files/805986/How%20to%20Plan%20and%20Evaluate%20-%20Johnson.pdf?lmsauth=69691e6821fbc60eb168e30e62bea3bc560fe967.
[2] Johnson, “How to Plan and Evaluate,” 46-59.
[3] James Strong, Strong's Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible, with Hebrew, Chaldee and Greek Dictionaries (McLean, Virginia): Riverside Book and Bible House, 1980), 24.
[4] Johnson, “How to Plan and Evaluate,” 46-59.
Bob I. Johnson in his paper, "How to Plan and Evaluate,"[1] states that, "planning allows for the expression of faith."[2] Some people may say that planning is the opposite of faith. However, when we first seek God for his direction for our churches and then make plans accordingly as we believe God is directing us, it is a step of faith to continue forward with a plan. Many people, including many Christians, believe that our Christian walk is built upon blind faith. They make plans according to blind faith built upon nothing other than their personal wants and desires. First Thessalonians 5:21 states, "Prove all things; hold fast that which is good." This term "prove" is defined in Greek as "test."[3] If everything we do and believe as Christians is based upon blind faith, why does the Scripture encourage us to test all things? Hebrews chapter 11, which is known as the faith chapter, tells us in 11:1 that faith has "substance and evidence." There are many other Scriptures showing that we do not have blind faith. Just like our faith is not blind, neither should our planning be blind. Church leaders and the laity need to sit down and plan together by looking at where churches been, where the church currently is, and where they hope the church will be in the future. This type of planning cannot be done by wishing and hoping, but rather it takes effort to search out the needs and abilities of a local church and then a plan can be put together that can be operated by true godly faith.
Concerning planning, Johnson also states that, "Planning helps the church to maintain an awareness of purpose."[4] Churches are busy places with many individuals and each of them having a different idea about what the church should be doing. As a pastor, I know only too well how often people can approach a pastor with a new idea for the church to implement. The church may already have a program in place similar to this idea or this idea may not be a viable option at this point. Churches that have plans set in place can more easily stay on track and not deviate from their intended goals just because someone comes up with an idea that sounds good. Ideas that are implemented without solid planning can cause greater harm to a local church than any of the good that may have been accomplished.
Even though many church leaders and laity may not like to go through the planning process, it is a necessary part of the operation of a local church. While it may be difficult to incorporate all of the laity in the planning process, the pastor and all church leaders should be involved in the process and then the church leaders should be responsible for making sure that the church laity understands the church's plan so they will not be blind as to where the church is going. Churches do not need church leaders and laity asking, "Where are we going?" and "When will we arrive?" This leads to churches that are on vacation with no destination point.
[1] Bob I Johnson, “How to Plan and Evaluate,” Christian Education Handbook: 46-59, accessed May 3, 2015, http://courses.ptseminary.edu/files/805986/How%20to%20Plan%20and%20Evaluate%20-%20Johnson.pdf?lmsauth=69691e6821fbc60eb168e30e62bea3bc560fe967.
[2] Johnson, “How to Plan and Evaluate,” 46-59.
[3] James Strong, Strong's Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible, with Hebrew, Chaldee and Greek Dictionaries (McLean, Virginia): Riverside Book and Bible House, 1980), 24.
[4] Johnson, “How to Plan and Evaluate,” 46-59.
Reflection on My Theology of Leadership
by Ron Barker
My theology of leadership first begins with a person that has a relationship with Jesus Christ. To be an effective leader a person needs to be saved, sanctified and baptized with the Holy Ghost. There are many types of leaders in this world, but when we are talking about leadership within the Body of Christ, the leaders must be forgiven, dead to sin, and filled with the Holy Ghost so that they can be led by the Spirit. We cannot lead God's people unless we are being led of the Spirit.
Second, all leaders should have an attitude of openness. I have seen secular business managers that will not allow the general workers to speak with him/her, but rather they can only speak to their immediate supervisor. Unfortunately, I have seen pastors emulating this type of attitude. Not only do I believe it is wrong in the secular business world, but it is offensive to think that Spirit filled pastors would withhold themselves from the church members because they have an attitude of superiority. Of course, I know that all pastors need time to be alone to pray and study, but the church members should never feel that they cannot come and talk to the senior pastor of the church. The senior pastor would do well to have an open door policy and invite suggestions that are taken seriously from all church members. When the church members do not feel as if their voices important, they will begin to look for a place where they can feel included.
Third, all leaders should live transparent lives that can be evaluated at any moment. My dad has been in the ministry for about 60 years and thankfully I still have him with me at 83 years old. He told me when I first entered the ministry about 30 years ago that I would be living in a transparent glass house for the remaining of my life because people would be continuously evaluating my life as a minister. It did not take me long to realize that my dad was absolutely correct. When leaders feel like there are things in their life that they have to begin hiding, it is time for them to start evaluating themselves and discovering what has gone wrong in their lives. I well understand that it is difficult for leaders to feel as if they have privacy. Even leaders need an element of privacy in their lives. However, when we enter the world of leadership, we must accept the fact that privacy is a commodity that we will be short on the rest of our lives and that the people in which we are ministering to trust that we are living according to that which we are teaching. When it is discovered that ministers have fallen in this sin, not only is it the pastor and his family that suffer, but it is those people that have put their trust in this leader.
Fourth, all leaders must be accountable. No matter what position a leader may hold within a church, it is absolutely necessary that he has a person or a committee with which she is held accountable for his actions. In my denomination, there are no leadership positions that are not held accountable. Church members are held accountable by their cell leaders, their pastor, and the local church. Cell leaders are held accountable by their pastor, and their local church. Pastors are held accountable by their local church, and by the Presbytery. The Presbytery is held accountable by the Presbytery and the General Assembly. The General Overseer is held accountable by the Presbytery and by the General Assembly. Leaders that are not held accountable are likely to fall into sin because there are no checks and balances placed in their life. We are not able to hold ourselves accountable because we are experts at rationalizing. Even though we may know something we are doing is wrong, we will rationalize it and convince ourselves that it is okay that we have done this wrong, but if someone else did it they would have to be held accountable. Leaders must be held accountable so that we can remain upright and holy before God and the people we serve.
Leadership cannot be taken lightly. If we are to be effective leaders for God and his church, we must be willing to surrender our lives to God and also be willing to be examined by those around us. God's leaders are dealing with something much more precious than money, which the Bible says will pass away (1 John 2:17). Since we are dealing with people's souls, we must know that our life is right before God and that we are leading God's people in a way that is pleasing to the Lord.
Second, all leaders should have an attitude of openness. I have seen secular business managers that will not allow the general workers to speak with him/her, but rather they can only speak to their immediate supervisor. Unfortunately, I have seen pastors emulating this type of attitude. Not only do I believe it is wrong in the secular business world, but it is offensive to think that Spirit filled pastors would withhold themselves from the church members because they have an attitude of superiority. Of course, I know that all pastors need time to be alone to pray and study, but the church members should never feel that they cannot come and talk to the senior pastor of the church. The senior pastor would do well to have an open door policy and invite suggestions that are taken seriously from all church members. When the church members do not feel as if their voices important, they will begin to look for a place where they can feel included.
Third, all leaders should live transparent lives that can be evaluated at any moment. My dad has been in the ministry for about 60 years and thankfully I still have him with me at 83 years old. He told me when I first entered the ministry about 30 years ago that I would be living in a transparent glass house for the remaining of my life because people would be continuously evaluating my life as a minister. It did not take me long to realize that my dad was absolutely correct. When leaders feel like there are things in their life that they have to begin hiding, it is time for them to start evaluating themselves and discovering what has gone wrong in their lives. I well understand that it is difficult for leaders to feel as if they have privacy. Even leaders need an element of privacy in their lives. However, when we enter the world of leadership, we must accept the fact that privacy is a commodity that we will be short on the rest of our lives and that the people in which we are ministering to trust that we are living according to that which we are teaching. When it is discovered that ministers have fallen in this sin, not only is it the pastor and his family that suffer, but it is those people that have put their trust in this leader.
Fourth, all leaders must be accountable. No matter what position a leader may hold within a church, it is absolutely necessary that he has a person or a committee with which she is held accountable for his actions. In my denomination, there are no leadership positions that are not held accountable. Church members are held accountable by their cell leaders, their pastor, and the local church. Cell leaders are held accountable by their pastor, and their local church. Pastors are held accountable by their local church, and by the Presbytery. The Presbytery is held accountable by the Presbytery and the General Assembly. The General Overseer is held accountable by the Presbytery and by the General Assembly. Leaders that are not held accountable are likely to fall into sin because there are no checks and balances placed in their life. We are not able to hold ourselves accountable because we are experts at rationalizing. Even though we may know something we are doing is wrong, we will rationalize it and convince ourselves that it is okay that we have done this wrong, but if someone else did it they would have to be held accountable. Leaders must be held accountable so that we can remain upright and holy before God and the people we serve.
Leadership cannot be taken lightly. If we are to be effective leaders for God and his church, we must be willing to surrender our lives to God and also be willing to be examined by those around us. God's leaders are dealing with something much more precious than money, which the Bible says will pass away (1 John 2:17). Since we are dealing with people's souls, we must know that our life is right before God and that we are leading God's people in a way that is pleasing to the Lord.