The Week in Review

Foundations of Ministry

Written April 5, 2006

Church Leadership

Church leadership requires one to dedicate him or herself to the work of God. To minister in a leadership capacity with success, one must understand what they are being called upon to do. Two web sites, www.bible.org and www.biblebb.com try to help the leader understand what they are being called upon to do.


The first web site, www.bible.org writes about leadership development. Kenneth Boa, Th.M.; Ph.D., is the writer of the article, Leadership Development. In his article, he uses Jesus as the example to use as a guide for being a successful leader. Boa explains that Jesus picked his disciples and then for the next three and a half years, he taught them and empowered them for ministry (1). He explains that God did not need man as a part of the plan, but it was God’s purpose to use men from the start.


“First, they were well-trained” (2). When Jesus sent out the seventy-two they were given instructions on what to do and how to handle things if there were not received well. Jesus did not leave anything out of their training. Their training was what had the seventy-two rejoicing when they returned with good news of their success. The devil’s powers were stopped because of God’s power working through them. This is important to know and understand that it is through God’s power that all work is done. When one prepares God’s way, the work can be done.

“Second, they had a clear vision: They were impelled by Jesus’ urgent declaration that ‘The harvest is plentiful’” (2). A great leader must take the responsibility to define a clear picture of the mission. “Leadership is not merely a cognitive grasping of concepts…Leadership, like most things, is more caught than taught” (2).

An important fact mentioned is that Jesus took time to prepare for his mission. “Our Lord developed as a servant leader through personal discipline, through ‘reverent submission’…Jesus never invites us to do something he has not done for us first…He doesn’t ask us to love unlovely people without having first loved us in our unlovely state. He does not ask us to serve others without having first served us” (3).

“God has called us into being and is preparing us for a purpose” (3). God is in fact calling us to a purpose but the process is not guaranteed to be an easy one. “The hardships and struggles we endure during the transformation process will eventually provide us the strength we will need to accomplish the tasks our transformed nature will require” (4).

The last point Boa mentions is mentoring is mandatory. “Leadership development should be an ongoing process in our own lives as well as in the lives of those we seek to prepare. We should have multiple mentoring relationships” (5). These relationships consist of the one being mentored, to also reach out and teacher someone else. In these mentoring relationships, the one being mentored will be able to learn from one-on-one contact and experience. This is what Jesus did for his disciples. He took them with him and showed them how to be great leaders.

This article was different than what I thought it would be. This article did not give a list of things one should do. The article instead, calls for the reader to examine one’s self to determine if you are first being mentored and then are you mentoring someone else. It also encourages one to count the cost of leadership. It is not an easy path to take, but all the things one faces are to better them.

The second web site, www.biblebb.com, has an article written by Dr. John F. MacArthur Jr. The article, The Call to Church Leadership, calls for the leader to first be sure of their calling. MacArthur states, “leadership is not won by promotion, but by many prayers and tears. It is attained by confessions of sin, and much heart-searching and humbling before God; by self-surrender, a courageous sacrifice of every idol, a bold deathless, uncompromising and uncomplaining embracing of the cross, and by an eternal, unfaltering look unto Jesus crucified” (1).

MacArthur’s purpose is to help the leader understand the importance of being sure of their call. He states “A man must sense the calling of God as a consuming desire in his heart. He is not fit for ministry if he hasn’t sensed the call or if sin in his life is muffling the call” (2). The desire of the leader has to be the work and not the title or the perceived benefits of the position. Leadership training may help one to be a better leader in application of processes, but it cannot replace the dedication or desire within the heart of the leader. That desire to do the work has to come from God. This is the only desire that will enable a leader to stand in the difficult times.

MacArthur states, “The pastor must understand the responsibility of ruling, preaching, teaching, caring for, loving, and building up leadership in the church. He must set a pattern by example” (3). Boa also states this in his article.

MacArthur states, “the office of church leadership—specifically a pastor or a elder—is limited to men…Although women such as Deborah and Miriam occasionally spoke for God, none of them had an ongoing prophetic ministry” (2). While I agree with several of the points MacArthur states in his article, on this one I disagree.

When I looked up women in the Bible I found several interesting entries. In Exodus 15:20, Miriam is named a Prophetess. The amount of times she spoke does not determine her use unto God. How often one speaks for God is not what determines they are called for the mission. Romans 16:1-2 mentions Phoebe, a servant (and some versions say deaconess) of God. Luke 2:37 writes about the unknown woman that preached in the temple. The fact that her name is not listed, does not remove the fact that she was important enough to list in scripture so that her deeds were forever known. The woman at the well that has been preached about and taught about became one of the first evangelists as she eagerly went to tell others about Jesus (John 4:29).

I included the information regarding women for this purpose; God wants all his children; men and women to prepare themselves for his service. Everyone will not be called to be a Pastor or a minister, but even if you are working with the nursery or the Sunday school children, these same skills apply. You must count the cost of doing the work of God with a cheerful heart. It is important to seek wisdom from those that have gone before you and to impart wisdom to those that come behind you.

Work cited

Boa, Kenneth, Th.M.; Ph.D. Leadership Development. 2005. 4 April 2006. http://www.Bible.org.

MacArthur, John F., Dr. The Call to Church Leadership. 1986. 4 April 2006. http://www.biblebb.com.

Thompson, Frank Charles, D.D., PH.D. The Thompson Chain-Reference Bible, 5th ed. Indianapolis, IN: B. B. Kirkbridge Bible Co., Inc., 1988.

The Week in Review

Book Review – Radically Unchurched (part 3)

Personal Reflections

As I have reflected on this book along with the other information from this class, I have sought to find ways that I can improve my personal evangelizing. Along with many of the students from this class, fear was one of the barriers that kept me immobilized. As I have read the material from this class the first step that I plan to take is one of prayer. I need to continue to pray for God’s direction and help as I seek to do his will. I have often found myself freezing up when faced with opportunities to present the gospel to individuals. This course has helped me to see that I have not been alone in how I felt. This has been an encouragement to know that what I am facing is something that I can overcome. The material has helped me to understand the rejection I once ran from is not a rejection of me. An individual not accepting what I share does not mean I am not a success. Success is being willing to present the gospel message and leaving the results to God.

My current situation requires me to think creatively about how to reach others. I spend majority of my day indoors. I work from home as well as take my classes on line. This challenge has not been a discouragement but something that has excited me because of the new ways I believe the Lord is showing me to reach out to others. Some of the sites we looked at had tracts that could be used on line or sent through the mail. I will look into either using those or writing my own. One of the sites had a downloadable presentation that could be added to a website.

I added this presentation to my blog and have had some interest about the information featured. My website, http://home.comcast.net/~inhisword/site/, Williams Innovative Network (W.I.N) was originally started because I had a desire to touch the lives of people that were at work that might not be able to study the Bible as much but had a desire to read something that would encourage them through the day. I created two other blogs where I share the word of God. One of the sites is http://www.tri-productions.blogspot.com/ and is called Tri-Productions. The other site is for youth, http://gemsofjewel.blogspot.com/ and is called Fearfully and Wonderfully Made. I added the downloadable presentation of the gospel to this blog.

The class has also helped me to be more attentive to the concerns of others. Several of the former youth I was a youth leader over are in college and complain they cannot find churches to attend. While I cannot plant a church in those areas, I am praying about something God showed me just recently. I call it, “C.O.M.E.” It means College Online Ministry and Encouragement. I plan to send a link to each of my college students every Sunday with a message/study either through youtube or using the upload capabilities within the blogger account I have. I will give them the scripture and a brief background in the written area and then they can click on the link to watch the message. I am currently asking youth ministers to help my by allowing me to record them giving a message to upload. Several are excited about the opportunity to reach our youth in this way.

I do not expect this to replace church, but I do see it being a tool that can be used two ways. The first way is to help the college student have access to sound teaching when they are not able to catch the shuttles or get to the churches that are often a distance from the campuses. Secondly, I will ask the youth to participate in evangelizing their college roommates or friends. I plan to ask them to share the message with others around them. I have not worked all the details out, however I am in prayer now for God to show me how to complete this task. I believe this became a burden upon my heart in part because of the reading I have had in this class as well as in my class on missions. I was also excited after reading Reid’s statement that spiritual revival often started with our youth. This helped me see that what I desire to do is something that could make a difference. I will be working with three Christian teens this summer to prepare the look and feel of the site. I plan to record these youth before they go back to college to use their messages as the first presented when we go live.

I plan to incorporate evangelism in my teaching. I was recently appointed as the teacher for the New Membership class. I have been given the freedom to create the curriculum, as I feel led. One thing that I believe was missing in the current curriculum was evangelism. I believe if this is taught initially it will be something new members will be more comfortable doing. I have taken ideas if not the actual plans from all the material we have used. I liked the scripture memorization and I believe this would be something helpful. I plan on making scripture cards for each of the new members. They will be printed on card stock and can easily fit in ones pocket or purse. I believe from this class the overarching message has been to make sure the gospel message has been given clearly. I plan to make sure I present the gospel message clearly to the class so they will be able to do the same.

Finally, I am asking God to use all of my talents and gifts to witness as effectively as I can. I believe he is doing this, as with the creation of the on line messages for the college students. I am excited about being able to share the message of Christ with others. I walk away from this class with a greater desire for a change. The first change I asked God to do was to change me. If there is anything inside of me that is hindering me from doing as he commands, then I seek him to release me from that. Then I seek to be a change agent. I seek God to use me to love people so they can see Christ in me. I want to invade this world for Christ. I seek to live an incarnational life even greater than before. I will also seek more ways of living out servanthood evangelism. I will seek ways of touching people in tangible ways that might open up an avenue to present the gospel. I desire to be a radically changed person touching the lives of the radically unchurched and making an impact for the kingdom.