Leadership training is essential for ministry. It’s not only
for the purpose of running a ministry we’d like to start up, it’s connected to
discipleship. Our goal is to develop mature Christians who model and teach
Christian living in any context. Just in case you missed it, this is a massive
investment to make.
Most
churches invest for NEED. If there is a gap on the roster then we fill it. There is no guarantee of training and we don’t
need to divert our eyes from preaching, pastoring or administration.
It’s incredibly
short-term.
A conscious
decision must be made to regularly invest in people. That requires time and
intentional input.
1) Time.
I think
ministers should be meeting with someone every day. To pull this off we need to
schedule it.
Decide on
whether it’s a breakfast, lunch, afternoon or dinner. Call people and organise
it.
2) Intentional input
There are 3
ingredients that develop leaders:
* Knowledge
This is
generally the area most ministers feel confident. You either work through a
book of the Bible or work on systematics. Can I say that I think if that’s out
goal then we’ve fallen short?
The goal of
knowledge is to help them develop a Christian worldview. When they realise that
Jesus is Lord over all, that a day is set for His return and that this time is
for calling people to follow Christ, it shapes the way you live. A Christian
worldview doesn’t come naturally. You have to teach it. And you can teach it by
going through a book of the Bible or teaching systematic theology. What’s
important is that you remember the goal
*Experience
Archie
Poulos has a motto- take someone with you. To be honest, I don’t do this
enough. But when you take someone with you they get to experience the joy of ministry.
They also experience ministry on a larger scale than some entry point activity
and realise the importance of prayer.
* Coaching
Proving
feedback, encouragement and skills develops confidence that people need.
Coaching also keeps people focused on the “Why?” of ministry. It’s easy to get
caught up in activity. We need to remember the gospel of grace that changes
lives and fuels our ministry. Our job is to cultivate grace as the motivation
and source of our ministry.
So these are
the key elements to establish leadership training. More nuts and bolts are to
come.
