INTRODUCTION
A three and one-half-year span of time compared with the total scope of human history is very insignificant. This was the length of time Jesus used to bring the most important message the world would ever hear. “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish but have everlasting life” (John 3:16).
How could one man – born in an insignificant stable, grow up in a carpenter shop and die an early death – so affect the world as no other person who has ever lived? How fragile this moment of ministry is to the betterment and deliverance of mankind. This would be a one-shot effort that carried the greatest consequences of history. It could not fail or we would all be doomed.
What would be the best way to package this message? The modernized man was a thing far in the future. Telecommunications were beyond the imagination of the times. The printing press was 1600 years from development. Mass media of the day was not sufficient to spread such a world changing message. The only advantage was that Rome had developed a road system that enhanced travel between geographic regions, which would make it easier to spread the Gospel message.
Jesus had a plan. After conferring with John the Baptist, three disciples began to follow Him. Gradually, the number rose to twelve. These twelve ordinary men carried the life giving truth of redemption for mankind. Twelve men became the focus of Jesus’ ministry. He was with them. He mentored them; He taught them, and He sent them out to perform His works. Even though He was surrounded by the masses He focused on the twelve.
I am amazed at the short time they had for preparation. It is difficult to explain His choice of such ordinary men for such a task. From a natural standpoint, this strategy would fall far short of impacting a world beyond what no other man had ever achieved.
Scripture reveals the methods of Jesus. He was with them. He chose to pull Himself away from the masses as He concentrated on meeting the needs of the twelve. Jesus realized that it would be impossible to nurture and care for all those who followed Him, but He could impact this small group in a special way. They could feel His gentle touch and learn by being ministered to. Then they would be equipped to do the same with others.
His strategy worked. Within one hundred years the known world was exposed to the Gospel. Succeeding disciples have followed the pattern. Many harsh things have happened to believers along the way but nothing has been able to stop them. Today Christians number over 3 billion world-wide, yet we can trace it all to one Man and the twelve leaders—the disciples He developed.
We are entering into a new era. The number of converts is being outstripped by population growth. Trend forecasters have called our times the Post-Christian era. We are told that 50% of the churches in North America are declining. Some areas of the world, such as Europe, will no longer have a Christian majority within only twenty years. The church is in desperate need of revival to stem the tide and bring a new sense of purpose.
The good news is that God is moving in many areas of the world: Africa, Asia, South America and Central America are emerging as the leaders in a renewal that is streaking the world.
THIS PRESENT WORLD
Church growth demands that we study and understand the times. Revival is taking place around the world. Korea continues to experience revival as churches respond to the needs through small groups. Multitudes are finding Jesus Christ in Indonesia, the world’s largest Moslem nation. In the midst of persecution, the church is experiencing phenomenal growth. Bogotá, Columbia is an example of the great revival taking place in South America. Europe, Africa, and former Communist states are all experiencing revival.
In the U.S.A. and Canada, there seems to be a lull. We are not experiencing growth as we have in the past. We have been taught that everything rises and falls on leadership. That an organization will not rise above its leaders. Statistics reveal that there is a leadership crisis in the American Church. Is it any wonder that revival tarries? God called leaders are in crisis. As a result, the Church is in crisis. WHAT IF there was a better way.
Pastors in the United States are facing crisis. Statistics reveal:
- 50 percent of all congregations in the United States are either plateauing or declining.
- 33 percent of pastors confess “inappropriate” sexual behavior with someone in the church.
- 80 percent believe that pastoral ministry affects their families negatively.
- 33 percent say that being in ministry is an outright hazard to their family.
- 75 percent say they have had a significant stress-related crisis at least once in their ministry.
- 50 percent feel unable to meet the needs of the job.
- 90 percent feel they are inadequately trained to cope with ministry demands.
- The typical pastor has his greatest ministry impact at a church in years 5 through 14 of his pastorate; unfortunately, the average pastor lasts only five years at a church.
- 25 percent of pastor’s wives see their husband’s work schedule as a source of conflict.
- 13 percent of pastors have been divorced.
- The clergy has the second highest divorce rate among all professions.
- 80 percent of pastors say they have insufficient time with spouse.
- 48 percent of pastors think being in ministry is hazardous to family well-being.
- 70 percent say they have a lower self-esteem now than when they started out.
- 20 percent of pastors say they view pornography once a month.
- 20 percent of pastors admit to having had an affair while in the ministry.
- 37 percent of pastors admit that internet pornography is a current struggle.
- 33 percent of clergy and 36 percent of the laity have visited a sexually explicit website; of that number, 53 percent of the clergy and 44 percent of the laity say they have visited the sites a few times in the past year.
- More than 1300 pastors each month are forcibly terminated without just cause.
- A church that has fired a pastor has a 70 percent probability of doing the same to the following pastor.
- Each month more than 1200 pastors leave the ministry due to stress, church related issues, family issues, or burnout.
- 50 percent of seminary graduates leave the ministry after 5 years.
How can you build healthy, growing, churches when pastors are crumbling like sandcastles on the beach?
There is a ministry crisis. How can we overcome the current crisis and lead the church to fulfill the purpose of God?
WE MUST HAVE A 21ST CENTURY STRATEGY
Genuine church growth begins with a visionary leader who is willing to see beyond obstacles, tradition and peers to embrace the mission and vision of God. Gene Wilkes states, “Leadership begins when a God-revealed mission captures a person. This person becomes leader as he becomes servant to the mission.”[ii] Leadership for Moses began on Horeb, the mountain of God. He saw the bush that burned with fire and was not consumed. He heard the voice of God and turned to see. Moses had been a leader of sheep. When he met God on Horeb, his mission and vision changed. His mission or purpose in life was transformed through his encounter with God. He no longer was just a herder of sheep. Instead, he became consumed with the deliverance of the people of God. No longer would he be held captive by his weaknesses. Instead, he would learn to depend on God. He overcame his weaknesses through the promise of God’s presence. In Exodus 4:10-12 we read:
Then Moses said to the Lord, ‘O my Lord, I am not eloquent, neither before nor since You have spoken to Your servant; but I am slow of speech and slow of tongue.’ So the Lord said to him, ‘who has made man’s mouth? Or who makes the mute, the deaf, the seeing, or the blind? Have not I, the Lord? Now therefore, go, and I will be with your mouth and teach you what you shall say.’
Leadership that reaches the 21st century must begin with an encounter with God.
Our mission for the 21st century is not complicated. Jesus clarified the mission in Matthew 28:18-20:
All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the world (Matthew 28:18-20).
The original text implies that having been with Jesus, the disciples were to go win souls and make disciples. The mission for the 21st century leader is not to impress the masses but to win people to Jesus and develop them into leaders. The mission goes beyond making converts. The mission for 21st century leaders is win souls and develop leaders. Gene Wilkes said, “If Jesus was a servant to His mission, He led with a vision of what things would look like when He completed that mission.” Jesus poured Himself into twelve disciples. He called them, spent time with them, taught them, modeled leadership for them, interacted with them, empowered them and sent them to win souls and make leaders.
What if Mission…
We accept the mission to build healthy, growing, praying ministers that build healthy growing, praying churches.
What if Vision …
We build communities of Twelve, who through training duplicate themselves by prayer, evangelism and discipleship.
Andy Stanley notes four things vision weaves into the fabric of our daily experience: passion; motivation; direction and purpose. He states:
Honoring God involves discovering His picture or vision of what our lives could and should be. Glorifying God involves discovering what we could and should accomplish. We were created and re-created with His purposes in mind. And until we discover His purpose–and follow through–there will always be a hole in our soul.[iii]
Discovering mission and vision from God is foundational for 21st century leaders.
The School of Leaders is designed to provide leadership training in the areas of leadership, organization, relationship, spiritual authority, and lifestyle evangelism.
Visionary leadership demands that we invest in training leaders and releasing them to fulfill the purpose of God. Releasing trained leaders to fulfill the purpose of God moves from addition growth to multiplication growth. Jesus trained the disciples and released them into service trusting them to fulfill the vision. Andy Stanley identifies the two best-kept secrets of leadership as:
- The less you do, the more you accomplish.
- The less you do, the more you enable others to accomplish.[iv]
The challenge for 21st century leaders is to follow the model of Jesus training leaders and releasing them in service to train other leaders.
Robert Coleman states, “Men were His method. It all started by Jesus calling a few men to follow him. This revealed immediately the direction His evangelistic strategy would take. His concern was not with programs to reach the multitudes, but with men whom the multitudes would follow.”[v] Coleman states further:
His only hope was to get leaders inspired by His life who would do it for Him. Hence, He concentrated on those who were to be the beginning of this leadership. Though He did what he could to help the multitudes, He had to devote Himself primarily to a few men, rather than the masses, so that the masses could at last be saved. This was the genius of his strategy.[vi]
Jesus invested His time in developing a few men for leadership. Coleman notes that the pattern of Jesus teaches that, “The first duty of church leadership is to see to it that a foundation is laid in the beginning on which can be built an effective and continuing evangelistic ministry to the multitudes. This will require more concentration of time and talents on fewer people in the church while not neglecting the passion for the world.”[vii] The challenge is for Christian leaders to focus on training student leaders who will train other student leaders. The process of leadership development is one of multiplication. This article mentions your favorite at super low prices. Choose from same-day delivery, drive-up delivery or order pickup.
If one pastor has the great commission vision, the church will be transformed into a mighty army fulfilling the plan of Jesus to win souls and make disciples. If one pastor truly disciples twelve people who are committed to the vision the results will be 144 disciples fulfilling the great commission to win souls and make disciples. 144 believers committed to the vision will produce 1728 vibrant Christians to fulfill the great commission. If each of the 1728 believers won and discipled 12 people the results would be 20,736 believers committed to the mission and vision of Jesus. If each of the 20,736 believers won and discipled 12 people the results would be 248,832 soul winners committed to the great commission. What if . . .
Every leader must grasp the great commission vision. The leadership development process must include leadership training. John Maxwell states that, “Leadership is influence–nothing more, nothing less.”[viii] Yes, leadership is influence. However, a study of the Gospels reveals that leadership development is an intentional process that is dependent on a leader committed to investing in the training and development of others.
A study of the leadership development process of Jesus reveals the priority of servant leadership. Jesus taught His disciples by example. Gene Wilkes states, “The essential lesson I learned from Jesus on leadership was that He taught and embodied leadership as service.”[ix] Paul’s greeting in Romans 1:1 states that he is a servant of Jesus Christ. Servant is from the Greek word dou`lo”, a slave. [x]Oswald Chambers notes that, “When Jesus used the term, however, it was a synonym for greatness. And that was a revolutionary idea.”[xi] Jesus said, “Whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever want to be first must be slave of all” (Mark 10:43-44). Jesus was the example of spiritual leadership. “He humbled Himself and became obedient, even to death on the cross” (Philippians 2:8). Jesus taught, “A disciple is not above his teacher, nor a servant above his master. It is enough for a disciple that he be like his teacher, and a servant like his master” (Matthew 10:24-25). Jesus took a towel, girded Himself, and washed His disciple’s feet modeling servant leadership (John 13:1-17).
Leaders understand the mission and vision. Leaders must be people of prayer. Leaders must be led and empowered by the Holy Spirit. Leaders must understand the times. Leaders must understand and be committed to spiritual authority. One of the great tragedies of leadership in the modern church is failure to understand spiritual authority. The Apostle Paul states, “Let every soul be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are appointed by God. Therefore whoever resists the authority resists the ordinance of God, and those who resist will bring judgment on themselves” (Romans 13:1-2). The scriptures are clear. God appoints leaders and calls on us to honor and submit ourselves to spiritual authority. Rebellion against spiritual authority opens the door to division and satanic attack.
A pastor asked the question, “Why are my people rebellious?” Why are they so cynical and critical? It is possible that they are modeling behavior they have observed in pastoral leadership? An important attribute of a great leader is his submission to spiritual authority.
Every leader should be encouraged to part of a covenant group. Leaders must be accountable. The mentoring fellowship group will provide a vehicle to bring congregations a radical new approach to winning souls and making disciples that has been neglected by most of the church world. Each group exists to provide nurture, education, edification, accountability and support for every leader.
Nurture is critical in the development of Christian communities. People are like sheep they need to be cared for. Too often we make the mistake of trying to care for the masses. Pastors’ health and homes are in shambles when they try to be everything to everybody. Jesus’ primary focus was on the twelve. He talked with them, He fed them, He affirmed them, and he communicated his vision to them and they shared with others.
More than nurture there must be an outward focus. Too many cell concepts have been introspective and self-serving, but, when the major emphasis is on the original twelve finding twelve and becoming 144, etc., this limits the ability of one to get attached to a personality and constantly point toward expansion. It makes “the main thing” “the main thing,” winning souls and making disciples. In a nutshell, it is an evangelistic strategy.
The team approach leads to accountability. In the secular world “report back” is critical to growth and development. Lack of accountability is in my opinion the reason we do not pray, read the Bible, become good stewards, in short disciples. Jesus required accountability on the part of the disciples. We could save ourselves much agony if we would submit to each other in accountability. Not only do we set our goals, but we report our progress or the lack there of to those who hold us responsible.
The mentoring group process is based on the concept that we are not growing until the entire group is growing. The team/mentoring approach becomes an educational tool. Twenty-five members share their knowledge, they edify and build up each other. This becomes an information pipeline that passes on knowledge. We stand on each others shoulders. Paul said the “same commit thou to faithful.”
Leaders must know what they believe. Truth was attacked by modernism. Postmodernism declared that there is no absolute truth. Christian leaders must know what they believe. Every leader must be a lifetime learner. We must commit ourselves to the study of God’s Word. Winning souls and making disciples cannot be accomplished unless we know what we believe. French Arrington authored a book, Exploring the Declaration of Faith, challenging every believer to know what they believe. The world may struggle with absolute truth but we cannot. We must know the Word of God and the God of the word.
Finally:
What if – Our Mission was to build healthy, growing, praying ministers that build healthy, growing, praying churches?
What if – Our Vision was to build communities of twelve, who through training, duplicate themselves by prayer, evangelism, and discipleship?
We would then be involved in fulfilling the Great Commission, Jesus’ mandate to each of us personally.
What if . . .
- H. B. London, Jr., Neil B. Wiseman, Pastors at Greater Risk, (Ventura, CA: Regal Books, 2003).
- [ii] Gene C. Wilkes, Jesus on Leadership, (Wheaton: Tyndale House Publishers, 1998), 19.
- [iii] Andy Stanley, Visioneering, (Sisters, Oregon: Multnomah Publishers, Inc., 1999), p. 9-13.
- [iv] Andy Stanley, The Next Generation Leader, (Sisters, Oregon: Multnomah Publishers, Inc., 2003), p. 15.
- [v] Robert E. Coleman, The Master Plan of Evangelism, (Grand Rapids: Fleming H. Revell, 1993).
- [vi] Ibid.
- [vii] Ibid.
- [viii] John C. Maxwell., The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership, (Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1998), 20.
- [ix] Gene C. Wilkes, Jesus on Leadership, (Wheaton: Tyndale House Publishers, 1998), 9.
- [x] Enhanced Strong’s Lexicon. (Oak Harbor, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc., 1995), [Online] Available: Logos Library System.
- [xi] Sanders, Spiritual Leadership, 21.