This is the third article in a series based on the book, Detours: 10 Roadblocks to the Great Commission, by Paul Seger. Real pastors were asked, “Why would a church NOT want to send missionaries from their congregation?” “Detours” explores the roadblocks these pastors have experienced and seeks to provide solutions for the church to fulfil this vital role in the Great Commission. Join us on social media in December for a chance to WIN your own copy of “Detours.”
6-Minute Read
Think about this: as a pastor or other church leader, what if you had to leave your church in three years and the church had to identify and hire your successor from within the congregation? Would there be a candidate? What would you be doing right now if you knew you were leaving in three years?
I remember a time in South Africa when I was planting a church that had grown to the point that I should start planning to move on and have a local pastor take over. In my naiveté, I had not thought of training the next pastor, so I started a search throughout the country for someone the church could call. I was replicating my experience in American churches where there are always hundreds of pastors looking for a change of ministry. I was frustrated because there were no ready-made pastors for that church in spite of all my searching. Finally, I realized that the next pastor was sitting in the pew right in front of me every Sunday. That started a pastoral training program that brought him to the place of shepherding the church so I could move on.
I tell that story because, like me, you may be looking right over the heads of potential leaders. The problem is that we can’t always envision certain people in leadership. If we had been in charge of picking the 12 disciples for Jesus, we probably would not have picked any that Jesus did. The lesson here is that there may be more potential in your church than you think. Therefore, the third roadblock that can put us on a detour is failing to identify potential leaders.
THE APOSTLE PAUL GIVES US THE BASELINE
Brothers and sisters, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth. But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. God chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things—and the things that are not—to nullify the things that are, so that no one may boast before him (1 Corinthians 1:26-29, CSB).
God chooses leaders differently than the secular world. We need to get real. Most of us are surprised that God chose us to be church leaders. You may be surprised to discover a leader who is right in front of you every week.
THE STARTING POINT
The starting place for finding leaders to train is for the pastor and church leadership team to get intentional and intense in prayer for this. It almost seems trite to begin with prayer, but It is God who calls people into ministry, so the starting place is to beg God to allow you to be part of His process. Additionally, Jesus gave prayer as the one primary approach to recruiting workers: And he said to them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the labourers are few. Therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out labourers into his harvest” (Luke 10:2). While we might employ various recruiting strategies for missions, the starting point and the main point in finding new workers is to pray.
LOOK BEYOND THE LOGICAL
We were on a vision trip with several pastors and people interested in Indonesia. After several days together, one man indicated that there was no way he could envision being a missionary. He was committed to helping others and had a growing burden for this country but could not imagine that he was missionary material. I told him that he had just met the first criteria for being a missionary. All of us were at one time innocently sitting in a pew with no intention or aspiration of ever going into ministry. The fact that he could not envision it meant that he had just met the first qualification. There are those in your church right now who have no intention of being a church leader, but the work and grace of God may surprise you. So the first principle is to look beyond what is logical.
THE CORE INGREDIENTS OF LEADERSHIP
The next issue to consider is how to identify the raw material. In other words, how do you determine who has leadership potential? To a potter, it is not merely mud. In this untidy heap of dirt, the artist can see all the potential we overlook. To him, it is a beautifully fashioned vase, alive with colours and patterns. Often, the same situation exists in training leaders. We need to see the potential in the men and women who are right in front of us.
OVERALL FAITHFULNESS
The first and most important quality to look for is faithfulness. Paul said, “Now it is required that those who have been given a trust must prove faithful” (1 Corinthians 4:2). He told Timothy to find reliable people who will also be qualified to teach others (2 Timothy 2:2). He often referred to his co-workers as faithful brothers. As his own personal testimony, Paul said that God had considered me trustworthy, appointing me to his service (1 Timothy 1:12). Moses was characterized as faithful (Hebrews 3:1-6). God chooses people for leadership who are, first and foremost, faithful.
WILLINGNESS TO SERVE
If a person is demonstrating faithfulness, the second quality to look for is willingness. The role of the pastor is to work in concert with God to identify those who could potentially be leaders. One of the approaches to this is just to start involving men and women in suitable ministries. Provide ways for them to get a small taste of ministry. Some suggestions for this are reading scripture in a church service, leading in public prayer, accompanying the pastor to a hospital bed, praying with someone after a church service, giving their testimony. All these are small opportunities to whet an appetite for more ministry.
DISCIPLESHIP VS LEADERSHIP TRAINING
As in our previous article, it is the role of the mentor to choose protégés. The assumption is that there is a difference between discipleship and leadership training. Matthew 28:19-20 defines discipleship as training people to observe the commands of Christ. It is helping new believers to grow in Christ and become high-functioning followers of Jesus. In contrast, 2 Timothy 2:2 seems to be aimed at developing those who will be able to teach and develop others. There is a difference between new-believer discipleship and leadership training. Every new Christian needs a spiritual parent and should be discipled, but not all will require training and development into leadership roles (for more on this, read our article about mentorship here.)
HEAD, HANDS AND HEART
Three areas need attention as church leaders mentor future leaders: (1) what one knows, (2) what one does, and (3) who one is. Leaders must know the scripture, develop ministry skills, and grow in Christ. This forms the curriculum for leadership development. As a mentor, it means there will be time each week when you and your protégé are in the Word together, studying theology and hermeneutics. It will mean that each week you will also do ministry together so that you can coach in ministry skills. It will mean spending time each week talking about his or her walk with God.
COACH RATHER THAN CONTROL
In the book Turn This Ship Around, David Marquet tells how he was assigned to be the captain of the USS Santa Fe, the worst submarine in the United States Navy. The miserable morale repulsed anyone who got a duty assignment to that tub. The book tells the story of how he turned this ship into one of the best and most coveted ships in the Navy.
The military is very much a command-and-control environment. However, Marquet started treating every sailor as a leader. Instead of waiting for orders, each sailor was treated as a leader who was empowered to take command and come up with a plan for the next step–while still providing accountability so that a wrong decision didn’t sink the ship. The genius was that everyone was assumed to be a leader.
EMPOWERING CHURCH LEADERS IS KEY
One of the things that squelches leadership in a church is a pastor who must be in charge and feels he needs to make every decision. Increasing the capacity to have leaders demands that the present leaders change from a control stance to empowerment. Changing your leadership style to that of David Marquet may surface a plethora of potential leaders.
A NOTE ON WOMEN IN LEADERSHIP
We have likely underestimated the potential and value of women in missions. This article addresses pastors and church leadership, and how they can teach, train and personally mentor individuals toward leadership and the Great Commission. While teaching and training can be accomplished in a group setting, appropriate personal mentorship should also be involved. Pastors and church leaders should be aware of this need and should be wise in pairing individual mentorships appropriately (Titus 2:3-5.) It is not advisable or appropriate for the pastor or any male leader to have a personal, one-on-one mentorship with a woman, and vice versa. Women leaders should be taught and trained so that they can teach and train other women. We need to recognize the incredible accomplishments of women in missions and our churches and encourage and facilitate their leadership development in the church.
NEXT STEPS
As a missions agency, we’re dedicated to supporting the local church as they train leaders that will reproduce more believers, disciple, train and plant churches all over the world. It would be our joy to come alongside you and your church leadership as you build this ministry.
Contact us to learn more or book our free workshop, “Mentoring for Ministry.” This workshop is designed for church leaders or leaders-in-training, and teaches advanced discipleship methods for the local church. We also explore the biblical basis for leadership and discuss leadership styles and how to use them effectively.
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