Charismatic Church

Oct 14 2014

3 Vital Benefits Pastors Miss When They Are Isolated

While it is popularly believed that pastors are people persons, that isn’t always the truth. It is possible to make pastoral ministry, outside of Sunday morning, a solitary endeavor. It is possible for a pastor to become solitary by filling a week’s calendar with solitary events like study, reading, writing, and retreat. The truth is that the solitary pastor, and the church they lead, probably isn’t as effective as they could be at fulfilling the stated mission of the church. [Read more…] about 3 Vital Benefits Pastors Miss When They Are Isolated

Sep 15 2008

Servant Leadership Is All About Relationships

It really doesn’t matter what area of life we are discussing; be it secular employment, child rearing, or church leadership, it all comes down to relationships. We are only as effective as the depth of the relationships that we establish with other people. As go our various relationships, so goes the surrounding structure. If this is the case, and I believe that it is, then we would be well served to do whatever is necessary to improve our relationship skills. If we are going to fulfill our mission as Christian leaders, and live out the legcy of our calling, then there are a couple of relationship points that bear remembering.

First, we do not, nor can we, exist in isolation. As much as we may earnestly desire the opposite to be true from time to time, it is impossible for any person to reach their full potential by themselves. Naturally flowing from this thought also is the point that the Church cannot fulfill her mission if we isolate ourselves as Christians. We need one another in order to fulfill our potential. If we are talking about marriage or certain sports the principle seems obvious, but in leadership we tend to believe that we can make it alone. The maverick, lone ranger, my way or the highway styles of leadership seem to be the ones that grab our attention the most. As much as we may admire the leaders who appear able to function all by themselves and make things happen, we need to understand that these styles of leadership run contratry to what is modeled for us in Scripture.

Paul, would lead us to understand that we are all connected, members of one another. And as such, if one person falters we all are harmed. This means that even the leader, is only as effective as those men and women being led. In order for me to achieve, I must ensure that each individual member is achieving. My individual success depends upon our collective success as individuals. What does this mean for me as a leader? What kind of leader does this turn me into? What, given these facts, must I become in order to succeed? A servant!

Wow! What a novel idea. But, I recognize that many of you may be perplexed by the notion that one person can be both a servant and a leader simultaneously. You may ask, how can I remain secure in my position as leader, if I become the servant of those that I am called to lead? Well, it is actually not that difficult a prospect, particular if we recount the life of Jesus Christ himself. Jesus said, in Matthew 20:25-28,

…You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great men exercise authority over them. It is not this way among you, but whoever wishes to become great among you shall be your servant, and whoever wishes to be first among you shall be your slave, just as the Son of man came not to be served, but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many.

In the words of Jesus, a true leader is a servant first. We must make every effort to see ourselves first as ones called to serve the needs of the persons we lead; caretakers of a sort. This is a far cry from the Western notion of leadership, and particularly leadership in the neo-pentecostal, apostolic, and charismatic movements, where those we lead are seen as caretakers of our needs. But if we seriously consider the role of a caretaker, he or she would typically be the one in leadership, mainly due to their access and proximity to the knowledge and resources needed for the good of the group. This caretaker is not the owner of the resources, nor the keeper of the knowledge, but simply the one entrusted to ensure that everyone prospers (given the current culture I was slow to use that word) and has access to all that is available. The caretaker is the owner’s steward. It is not our special knowledge or private stash of goods. We serve the needs of the owner, by ensuring that everyone is served. In so doing, the caretaker ensures that the owner is pleased. The caretaker is a servant leader. The question is, do we see ourselves as caretakers?

So what does this have to with relationships? Well, everything. If we are called to lead, then we are called to be in relationship with and serve other people. We must see ourselves as persons seeking the ascent of other people. We exist to see other achieve. This kind of view is demanded by our interconnectedness as Christians, and our calling as leaders. Until we can see the values, mission, vision, purpose, and goals of another person as vitally important to the fulfillment of our own, then we shall continue to fall short of fulfilling our legacy as Christian leaders.

Sep 09 2008

Something Else Good to Read

Like most bloggers, I am also an avid reader of blogs, books, newspapers, websites, and anything that I can get. I recently came across Cerulean Sanctum, a blog written by Dan Edelen. Dan offers some keen, insightful, and well articulated posts on his blog. Of particular interest to me, and possibly you, were a series of posts on the state of the charismatic movement in the Western church. I’m linking to them below. Keep up the great writing Dan!

Cleansing the Charismatic Crackup, Part 1

Cleansing the Charismatic Crackup, Part 2

Cleansing the Charismatic Crackup, Final Thoughts

Sep 08 2008

A Formula for Leadership Success

We clearly live in a day and time where leadership is both cherished and scorned. It is cherished because we understand its value to the fulfilment of our corporate values, missions, visions, goals, and objectives. It is scorned because far too many claim the mantle of leader or leadership guru without the attendant understanding or calling. We literally elevate anyone who desires to be a leader to leadership positions, often with less than stellar consequences.

I believe that, in the arena of contemporary Christendom (as least as it is expressed in the Western church), these leadership failings are in part due to our fascination with media and the cult of personality. This fact is even more glaring as we observe the neo-Pentecostal, Apostolic, and charismatic movements in the West. We need only tune in to the plethora of “Christian” television networks to see that our “ideal” for contemporay Christian ministry is dominated by glitz, gloss, and glamour. It would appear that the bigger the stage, and the gaudier the set design, the more populated and popular the ministry.

The size of the stage is, in some cases, surpassed only by the flaws in theology and biblical interpretation that are espoused with regularity. The “felt needs” of the hurting, broken, and in need of salvation masses are pandered to with a rash of proof texts and “have it your way” platitudes. In many of these sad scenarios Jesus is cast as some sort of cosmic Santa Claus or genie in a bottle, ready to fulfill the desires and wishes of whoever believes and asks.

What is missing is the Christ that bids all who are weary and heavy laden to take His yoke upon themeselves. Missing is the Christ that calls men and women who would follow Him to consider the cost of discipleship. Where is the call to forsake all or to take up one’s own cross and deny self daily?

The current cult of personality has, in my opinion, exalted one element of successful leadership above the other. In fact, I would submit that they have made this one element the only one necessary for successful ministry leadership. The element that seems to matter most to the cadre of pulpiteers that litter our contemporary Christian landscape is inspiration.

Let me say that I believe that inspiration is indeed an important element to leadership success. A leader must be called and inspired by the Lord in order to successful accomplish the mission set before him or her. But we must know that inspiration is only one part of the formula for successful ministry leadership. The formula for successful ministry leadership should be written in this manner:

Inspiration + Formation + Operation = Leadership Success

In the next several posts, I will discuss the several elements of this formula for ministry leadership success. There has to be a change in the way we are selecting and preparing men and women for ministry leadership, if the current tide is going to be stemmed.

Some reading this may see no need to stem the current tide. You may say that churches are filling, networks are burgeoning, and the gospel is going forth. I would rebut that a crowd and a church are not the same thing. Everyone in the crowd that followed Christ was not a disciple. As I understand the Great Commission, we are called to make disciples of all nations. Our call isn’t to draw crowds. Additionally, I believe that Jesus was disappointed with the crowds that simply followed Him in order to receive more of the fishes and loaves. These failings do not rest upon the people in the pews ultimatley, but upon the people in the pulpit.