Tuesday 24 February 2015

Church Leaders is it a biblical concept?

One of the topics that came up at a recent editorial meeting for Country Way was the nature of church leadership.  We were essentially thinking about leadership in rural church situations.  I raised a question regarding whether the polity of our different denominations was a factor in determining leadership style.  Watch out for a forthcoming issue of Country Way to see how this is further explored.

Here I want to ask the question, “Is leadership the appropriate word?”  It certainly is a contemporary term across the denominations.  The recent guidance given to training Bishops in the Church of England also highlights the subject.  But the term “leader” is not one that you will find in ant of the three New Testament passages where gifts and ministries are listed[1].  Indeed the term is used sparingly within the New Testament of the early churches.  Barsabbas and Silas are described as leaders from within the church at Jerusalem.  The only other references are in Hebrews 13. Even these must be considered in the light of the words of Jesus whose only reference to leaders among his disciples is in Luke 22:26 “the leader must be like the one who serves”.

Leadership has become a generic term as there has been growing realisation of the limitation in the pastor/teacher model that served churches well in the past. But unfortunately the term carries with it certain images and expectations that are unhelpful within a Christian context.  That said, I am reminded of a conversation that I had with the late Dr Donald McGavran many years ago.  He had been emphasising the importance of good leadership for church growth.  I had pointed out that many rural churches were lacking in leadership.  He then asserted that in any social group leaders naturally emerge and that to identify them you only have to see who gets listened to.

Of course there are various models of leadership.  When I did my university studies in management we even considered Jesus as one model for contemporary leadership. Some leaders are more assertive while others are more consultative in style.  Contemporary gurus on the subject will point out the need to adapt an appropriate style of leadership dependent upon the circumstances at the time.  That is to say that the one leader might sometimes need to be assertive at important moments but might otherwise be consultative.

As a minister within a Congregational tradition my own understanding of leadership style is tempered by the fact that I am under the authority of our Church Meeting.  My congregation might expect clear leadership from me but that must remain balanced by limited authority at all times.

I would much prefer a clear return to an understanding of ministry within our churches as relating to the diverse charisms or gifts that are mentioned in Scripture.  No one should be expected to exercise any kind of ministry beyond that which has been given by God and proved within the churches.  Let pastors care, evangelists proclaim, teachers teach, etc.   Leadership should never be one size fits all.
The biblical ‘offices’ within the churches of elders/bishops and deacons are about service and not about status.  We must never forget that Jesus taught that in the kingdom of God there is no such thing as rank!  I regularly hear lip service being given by church leaders regarding being like servants.  But it is not about acting it is about accepting the role of a servant.  It is what we are and we must never forget that.

Within one short list of ministries in 1Corinthians 12: 27-29 Paul refers to what the AV translates as ‘governments’ and most other modern translation present as ‘administration’.  But the Greek word which is translated here is ‘kybernesis’ and comes from the sense of piloting a ship (the noun can be found in Acts 27:11). This particular gift (among the many) carries a sense of true leadership.  It is about understanding the journey and how to make progress safely until the desired destination is reached.  As one of my university lecturers said, a good team leader is someone who is like a helicopter and can rise above a situation to take in the wider picture and implications, but then descend again to show the way ahead.

So, if you are defined as a ‘church leader’ I urge you to know your real gift and stay true to that.  Do not let your own or another’s expectations force you into a non-biblical role that could lead to burn out and frustration.  If you are among the led rather than the leaders please do not place this non-biblical expectation upon others.  Leadership will always exist and take various forms, but what really matters is that the many gifts that God has given within his Church are allowed space to be exercised for the common good and growth of his Church.

From the Diary:
Thank you for your prayers.  The chest infection is slowly clearing up and I am getting back into work after a two weeks break.  Please continue your prayers for a complete healing and also for my colleague Monica who needs God’s touch at this time.

“Faith through other eyes”, our Lent series at Yelvertoft got off to a good start last Thursday when the Senior Pastor of the Elim Pentecostal Church spoke of his particular tradition and what he values within it.  The meeting was well attended and well received. We have an interesting diversity of representatives of other Christian traditions and other faiths over the coming five weeks.  For more details click here.

We had a great “Get Messy in Yelvertoft” meeting this Saturday morning, using the theme of love.  Please pray for the children and parents who attended that we do not see on other occasions.  Give thanks for the excellent and willing team.  Click here for more information

Sunday 22nd February I will attend the Parish Communion Service in Great Bowden, Leics and speak about our summer outreach programme, “Holiday at Home”.  We are seeking to enlarge the team and appoint a new co-ordinator.

Tuesday 24th February I hope to be fit enough to go to HMP Gartree for my regular work with a group of lifers in the prison choir.

Thursday 26th February the second in our Lent series at Yelvertoft.

Saturday 28th February Congregational Federation Mission and Society Committee meeting in Nottingham

Sunday 29th February Yelvertoft Congregational Church

During this week I will be following up two request received recently to provide guidance on appropriate and effective evangelism.  I hope also to set the date for the deferred Rural Mission Webinar.

Thank you so much for your faithful fellowship.

Barry




[1] There are lists of ministries and gifts to be found in Romans 12:1-8; 1Corinthians 12:  Ephesians 4: 7-16.  There is no suggestion that these provide an exhaustive list, but they do identify God’s gifts to the Church.

Wednesday 18 February 2015

What Might Revival Look Like?

Since the moment God took hold of my whole heart when I was seventeen I have maintained an interest in the subject of Revival.  This was partly because I had grown up in a church where I had been taught the gospel faithfully in Sunday School but where, it seemed to me, there was no real experience of the presence or power of God within the church.  The minister of the church was a good man but was being careful what he preached as he didn’t want to split the congregation.  For me, as a critical teenager, the church seemed pretty dead.  Together with some other Christian young people we decided to do something about this and started a weekly prayer meeting for revival.

Over the following few months the church changed radically.  Many of the teenagers who attended youth club made commitments to Christ.  The weekly church prayer meeting attendance grew and there was new passion in the prayers.  The minister and deacons experienced an outpouring of the Holy Spirit.  There was new life in the church services.  God heard and answered prayer.

Our prayers at this time were based upon Habakkuk 3:2

“O Lord, revive thy work in the midst of the years, in the midst of the years make known;
in wrath remember mercy.” (KJV)

Contemporary translations tend not to use the word “revive” but speak of God repeating his deeds.  The only other explicit references to national/spiritual revival in the Bible are in Psalm 80:18 and Psalm 85:6.  God describes himself as a reviver in Isaiah 57:15.

While there have been numerous localised revival experiences the UK experienced two major regional revivals during the 20th century.  One of these affected people in south Wales and the other affected people in the Hebrides. Both had wide reaching affect upon the spiritual and social life of the areas.  In Wales crime seemed to disappear and the pit ponies were confused when the men working them treated them with kindness!

As a young man I read avidly anything I could find on revival.  Significant among this were the writings of Charles Finney and reports of his meetings in the USA. In his Lecture II “When a revival is to be expected” he includes a section on “When a Revival of Religion is Needed”. Here he lists seven situations including where there is a lack of brotherly love and Christian confidence, where there are jealousies and dissensions, where there is a worldly spirit in the Church, where there is gross or scandalous sin among church members, where there is a spirit of controversy, where the Church is mocked, and where people in society are careless about sin.  I guess this could be summed up by saying when things within the churches are not what they could and should be and our impact upon society is weak.

Revival is not about some ‘new thing’.  It is about the recovery of the way things should be.  Recently I have been unwell having succumbed to a virus that impaired my breathing and speaking, gave me pains and sore throats, and left me feeling bereft of energy.  Now my health is slowly reviving – getting back to normal. While for several weeks I have been acutely aware of the need for my health to revive, I suspect that the spiritual malaise which afflicts so many churches all too easily becomes accepted as the norm.

“Will you not revive us again, that your people may rejoice in you?“ (Psalm 85:6)

Revival brings a renewal of passion. But that is not mere emotionalism. It is a passion for all that God longs to bring into our lives.  It is a passion for prayer and the reading of scripture.  It is a passion for sharing the gospel and seeing men, women and children put their trust in Jesus.  It is a passion for the coming in of the kingdom of God within the world as it is today.

Jesus promised the presence of God in a new way.  This involves the Holy Spirit within us.  That is within ordinary believers: male and female, young and old, rich or poor. The New Testament reveals the importance of this experience of the Holy Spirit so that we might live holy lives and be effective witnesses to the gospel.  While the early Church was never perfect (or at least not for long) it is revealed as a Church with real and deep experience of the Holy Spirit possessing God’s people.  This is the norm against which we should measure our own experiences.  But we do well to note that it carries a cost.

Revival is most definitely a need today.  It is not so much about how much of the Holy Spirit we possess as how much of us he possesses.  Revival usually seems to start when a few men and women become dissatisfied with the status quo and realise that things could be better.  One person burning with a love for Jesus can catch others on fire. Oh, that it might be me… or you.

From the Diary:
For almost all this month so far I have been unwell with a chest infection and other viral problems.  Consequently there is little to report.  My colleague, Monica Cook has also been unwell and I commend her to your prayers.

The Week of Prayer at Yelvertoft, Crick and Lilbourne was a great success.  Some information is available on the Yelvertoft website and will be updated further.

We are holding a series of Lent Meetings on the theme “Faith through Other Eyes”.  More details here.  The first one starts this Thursday morning.

Because of the health complication I have deferred the online seminar on tailoring mission strategies for rural churches.  Please watch out for information.

We value your prayers for “Get Messy in Yelvertoft” which is a form of Messy Church.  We meet again this Saturday 21st February in the morning.  Please pray for numerical growth.

Sunday 22nd February I will be speaking about “Holiday at Home” at the Parish Church in Great Bowden, Leics.  H@H is a wonderful mission programme but we need additional involvement from local churches in the Market Harborough area.  Please pray as I seek to share the vision.

Thank you for your faithfulness in prayer.  Please drop us a line.


Barry