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Biblical Leadership

  1. Lesson One
    A Biblical Overview of Leadership
    11 Activities
    |
    1 Assessment
  2. Lesson Two
    Biblical Models of Leadership Development
    7 Activities
    |
    2 Assessments
  3. Lesson Three
    Becoming a Redemptive Leader
    9 Activities
    |
    1 Assessment
  4. Lesson Four
    Being an Effective Ministry Leader in a Changing World
    9 Activities
  5. Course Wrap-Up
    Course Completion
    3 Activities

Participants 89

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Biblical Leadership A Biblical Overview of Leadership The Responsibility of Ministry Leadership
Lesson 1, Activity 5

The Responsibility of Ministry Leadership

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Many Christians are most definitely also called to work or lead within secular environments and enhance God’s reputation and kingdom in those communities and contexts. As US pastor and civil rights activist Martin Luther King Jr. once said:

If it falls your lot to be a street sweeper, sweep streets like Michelangelo painted pictures, sweep streets like Beethoven composed music, sweep streets like Leontyne Price sings before the Metropolitan Opera. Sweep streets like Shakespeare wrote poetry. Sweep streets so well that all the hosts of heaven and earth will have to pause and say: Here lived a great street sweeper who swept his job well (King [1967] 2017).

However, the vocation of leaders within the church is significantly different as they undertake to be God’s “under-shepherd” and spiritually guide and serve the body of Christ for whom Jesus died. The responsibilities and requirements of this type of leadership follow a different type of framework because, essentially, they spiritually shepherd and prepare God’s people for eternity—a very serious responsibility which requires a high standard of accountability! 

Being called to ministry versus secular leadership

Ministry leaders need to, therefore, acknowledge that they are accountable for a community’s development and well-being to both God and the community whom they are leading. This may mean that leaders take on the roles of rebuking, comforting, teaching, or warning communities (i.e., meeting their needs) while being accountable and responsible to them and God.

The theology of ministry leadership, therefore, is distinct from the “normal” call of all Christians to extend God’s kingdom where they work or lead (similar to what the previous Martin Luther King Jr. quote alludes to), and is rather an inward call from God to commence a new pattern of obedience to preach the gospel and give leadership and ministry to the body of Christ. And this calling and affirmation will sustain leaders both physically (i.e., in terms of financial provision and strength for the task) and spiritually as they serve the church. Effective church or ministry leaders have their hearts engaged in the concerns of God’s heart.

Respond

In many church and ministry contexts today, there is an emphasis on the perks and professionalism of leadership. In other words, the church concentrates on what the leaders will get for their service (e.g., remuneration packages), and leaders worry about what they must do to perform and sometimes to provide for themselves. Prayerfully consider these questions to explore your attitude and thoughts about these issues.

  • How do the concepts of calling and affirmation challenge this type of pervasive thinking?
  • What does the covenantal nature of leadership tell us about God’s commitment to leaders and their well-being?

Aspects of being called into church or Christian ministry

The calling and affirmation of church and ministry leaders mean that individuals are called into leadership based upon the needs of a community. We learned about the contextual and relational aspects of leadership in Lesson 1 of this course. 

When a community is in need, one can expect God to raise up leaders to meet a need. This means that not all leaders will stay in a church or ministry long-term. Rather, they are called to help a church during certain seasons or stages in its development or lifespan so that the church gets taken to a certain place (e.g., from stagnation to growth). With a particular leader’s gifting, a community can begin to flourish or overcome certain hurdles. The leader may then concentrate on developing the capacity of other leaders in the church to take over so that he can move on to other places where he has been called under God’s direction. 

The principle that a leader’s gifts are not their own but are God’s to use as He sees fit and to steward should underpin a Christian leader’s perspective on leadership. This means that church and ministry leaders should seek God’s calling and purpose for certain times, not particular positions or places (e.g., a position within a certain church or organization).  

Assessments