Jesus commanded the Apostles to go and make disciples. They instinctively went and planted churches. Church life is the key to discipleship and creates an alternative culture where heavenly values can be formed on earth. Getting the church right is therefore a vital issue and one which should constantly stir and motivate us.

The purpose of Paul’s letters was not to teach theology but to mold behavior in and through churches that lived in the light of Jesus’ life, death, resurrection and enthronement, and the subsequent outpouring of the Holy Spirit. It is possible to be objectively orthodox, but fail to live the life that God wants. So, although we do not undervalue doctrine, we emphasise the kind of church life that good doctrine properly observed and embraced should produce.

You’ll never walk alone

It is virtually impossible to live the Christian life alone. It was always God’s purpose that we should work out our discipleship corporately. The good health of the local church is, therefore, imperative, and we have tried to develop local churches living inter-dependently and focussed on world mission.

It is important for the local church, cared for correctly by its own elders, to embrace its own autonomy. Free from denominational constraints, it must nevertheless be aware of its inter-dependence on other churches and the vital role of trans-local ministries working among the churches in ongoing relationship.

This lack of independence has helped to establish the strong ‘family feel’ associated with Newfrontiers. When recently in South Africa we met people from Pakistan, India, the Philippines, Dubai, the UK, Australia and the USA – just a sample of our Newfrontiers international community. Evan Rogers’ infectious worship-leading resulted in a surge of shared joy, soon followed by intense corporate intercession. Enjoying fun (ie rejoicing!) before the Lord doesn’t inhibit our ability to cry to him in zealous prayer together. Laughter and longing happily combine. Love, joy and zeal easily co-habit.

God-centredness

God-centredness must characterise our churches. So much modern religion is man-centred, celebrating man’s skills, insights and personality. Although church planters can by nature be entrepreneurs, seeing openings where others see only problems, they must beware the danger of self-sufficiency and overcome the tendency to despise team work, finishing up as loners. Even the most faith-filled leaders need close friends and companions. The powerfully anointed David was so encouraged by Jonathan and supported by phenomenally gifted lieutenants.

Check back soon for Part 2

How can we impact our church guests if they don't come back? Matt Sweetman is a Chicago church planter that wrote "Unforgettable" for churches to give to first-time guests. Its short five chapters encourage believers and non-believers alike to take simple steps towards becoming a disciple of Jesus. By giving this book to visitors as a "thank you for coming" gift, you will give newcomers a simple tool to help them grasp the value of Jesus and His church so that they can become involved in the life and mission of the local church. This week only, you can download a free Kindle version of the book to see if it would be a good fit for your church!

5 REASONS TO USE THIS BOOK

REWARD: It rewards church guests for visiting, which increases their chance of returning. They leave with something tangible in their hands which further creates a positive impression (and potentially masks any negatives they had).

SELF-DISCOVERY: Books are self-educating tools that can powerfully move people into action before you have a chance to build a relationship with them.

GROWTH: By encouraging people to follow Jesus, return to church, humbly serve others, give and join a Small Group, it quickly fosters a culture of discipleship and involvement. This spiritual “depth” in turn helps draw and add more people into the church community because it calls them to be on mission.

PAYS FOR ITSELF: Adding an average giving unit to your church would recoup the cost of a years worth of books within just a few months. This can vary depending on the volume of guests, the systemic follow up of first-time givers and overall assimilation.

CREDIBILITY: This book was birthed out of real pastoral experience. It is not based on unproven or wishful ideas, but on scripture and genuine ministry.

Making decisions that draw the future into the present

As leaders ponder their vision and prayerfully dwell in the future, they must make decisions that will result in letting go of things that were previously important. You must discern what is no longer relevant and put it to death. This can be very costly. Who would have thought that God would require us to put the 28,000-attended Stoneleigh Bible Week to death? For a thing to be dead simply means that God does not want it any more.

Give space to creative thinkers. If you box in creative people you will do harm to their intuitive gift; but if you have the loyalty of creative thinkers in your ranks, give them room to move in their gift and thereby benefit from the fresh vision and the prophetic insight that they can bring. Revolutionary ideas can frighten other people, but as leaders you should prize those gifted with true prophetic insight, especially if they have the flair to bring breakthrough. Leaders should protect creative people from administrative norms that can easily crush them. True breakthrough is rarely the result of consensus and committee, so treasure and encourage, rather than frustrate and formalise, the genuinely gifted innovator.

Keep restating the vision

Do not suppose that because you have already told them your vision once everybody has fully embraced it. Keep restating your vision in terms that people can fully understand and identify with. Give people time to make the vision their own. Help them to see why you are so excited about it and why you believe in it.

Followers determine how successful leaders will be

The reality is that those who follow do most of the work. They are all volunteers and they bring integrity to your dream. Without followers who actually bring your vision into being there will be no fulfilment. Much of your gifts of leadership, therefore, are to be used in serving those who follow you. Practically everything you accomplish happens through confident, loving teamwork.

In a time of transition your relationships are of crucial importance. Do the people that you serve really love and trust you? Do they know that you are for them, you believe in them, you thank God for them, and you will give grace to them?

Also, your leadership will inspire and motivate your people. Do not simply give out information about change but stir motivation. The people of God need to own what God wants to do. Deep in their hearts they want to fulfil the purpose of God. God gives the gift of leadership to motivate people into forward movement. Without motivational gifts the people can grow cold or weary. The spiritual gift of stimulating the faith of others is wonderful!

People want to know if they can fulfil their own heart’s desires by following you. They want to fulfil their personal destiny; your gifts of leadership can enable them.

When exhorting people to take fresh steps of faith into unknown territory the gift of leadership exhortation is of huge importance. This must not be confused with trying to bully unwilling people, but rather motivating through grace and vision.

Take time and be clear

At times of major transition it is important to communicate clearly why you want the church to take certain action. For instance, God may have spoken to you through prophecy and answered prayer, and developments may have already taken place which the leadership now needs to communicate to the flock. It is important that you make clear to the people what is solid fact, what is risk, what is faith, what is sacrifice. It is important to invite questions and not create an ethos that makes people afraid of questioning the leadership. Beware of creating a context where questions are clearly unwelcome and are regarded by leaders as signs of lack of submission.

As you move through a season of transition keep information flowing. Give progress reports and any redefinition of the detail of the vision.

Many people came up for prayer and received healing

Hundreds of leaders listening to Terry Virgo preaching.

Great times of gathered worship with spiritual gifts at work.

The band have served so well.

John Lanferman preaching about our identity in Christ.

Terry Virgo preaching on life on life discipleship.

David Devenish preaching about bringing the church to maturity.

The delicious dinner at the banquet.

Plenty of dancing!

Ever wondered how Titus went from zero to hero—from an unknown nobody to one of the most respected apostolic figures in the New Testament? I can spot three distinct milestones that he passed that we can imitate. Check out the first 2 by clicking here.

Milestone 3: Gaining my own zeal

This is the big one. On the journey to maturity and leadership, many pass Milestones 1 and 2, yet find Milestone 3 elusive. Milestone 3 is the place of gaining your own zeal. Take a look at what Paul says of Titus: "But thanks be to God, who put into the heart of Titus the same earnest care I have for you. For he not only accepted our appeal, but being himself very earnest he is going to you of his own accord. As for Titus, he is my partner and fellow worker for your benefit." (2 Corinthians 8:16-17, 23)

What a jump! Titus goes from being the tag-on servant-hearted guy to a leader in his own right whom Paul now speaks of as "my partner and fellow worker." How did this radical promotion happen? Answer: Titus gained his own zeal.

At Milestone 3 something clicks, and we develop zeal, enthusiasm, and initiative derived directly from God. We begin to do things not primarily because we are told to or asked to, but because God's zeal is welling up inside us and becoming our own zeal. The things that God and Paul were passionate about had now also become Titus' passion. He owned the mission for himself. At Milestone 3 our fire is stoked from within us by God more than by a "Paul" outside of us.

Biblical examples of Milestone 3

Isaiah hit the third milestone when he voluntarily responded to God's general call. Deep within, he found his own zeal for the call. Nehemiah hit the third milestone when he took personal responsibility to rebuild Jerusalem. He was serving God just fine at Milestone 2, but then everything changed when the zeal of God for Jerusalem became his zeal for Jerusalem. Who told him to do it? God. Where was the fire? In his belly. When confronted by Goliath, 10,000 Israeli troops stayed at Milestone 1 or 2, and only David made the leap to Milestone 3. In the next part, I will look at ways to burn hot and long with your own zeal from God.

Apostles did not only plant churches, they provided ongoing care as well. Indeed, Paul records this as one of the greatest pressures upon him. Having set out a whole catalogue of his sufferings, he adds, as if it were one of the greatest strains on him emotionally, 'Besides everything else, I face daily the pressure of my concern for all the churches.' (2 Cor 11:28)"

We might raise the question - isn't 'care' the responsibility of the pastor gift? In the biblical model of leadership, the shepherd heart undergirds all genuine godly leadership. The leaders of Israel were called 'shepherds' quite deliberately. God is our 'Shepherd'. Apostles are therefore to be shepherds. The care of the churches involves much emotional energy, disappointment and frustration, yet also great joy. This duty of care is largely handed over to elders once the church is established. Apostles then continue to care for the churches 'from a distance' and never (or at least rarely) independently of the eldership.

The apostles also had the responsibility of bringing wisdom to bear on very difficult situations in those churches. As well as bringing correction, Paul's first letter to the Corinthians gave advice on some of the difficult issues they were facing concerning marriage, Christian 'freedoms'' suitable attire for women and how spiritual gifts were to be both encouraged and yet regulated according to godly order. At the Council of Jerusalem in Acts 15, the apostles, together with the elders, had to seek God's wisdom on major cross-cultural mission issues, concerning how the Gentiles should be accepted as part of the church. this required debate and skillful leadership to apply the Old Testament scriptures to the new covenant situation."

This post is adapted from David Devenish's book, Fathering Leaders, Motivating Mission. Join us in St Louis in October at Equipped For Mission to hear more from David!

Definition

The teacher is someone who has a proven, anointed, effective and consistent gift of teaching God’s word. He is also able to develop others in their teaching gift. There is reason to believe that Paul referred to the pastor / teacher as one gift, so whether you agree with that or not, it is hard to imagine a pastor that can’t teach, or a teacher who is not pastoral!

How could I develop into being a teacher?

In an earlier blog in this series we looked at the ‘motivational’ Gift of Teaching from Romans 12. An Ephesians 4 teacher is simply someone with a mature and anointed teaching gift. So, the way to develop into an Ephesians 4 teacher is to focus on developing the Gift of Teaching and see if God promotes you to the office of a teacher. Here is a repeat of the earlier blog on the Gift of Teaching:

A Definition of the Gift of Teaching

The Gift of Teaching (Romans 12) is the special ability that God gives to people to explain and apply the Bible, in a way that helps others learn easily, enjoyably and effectively. It is a per-requisite of being an elder/pastor (1 Tim 3:2&9 and Titus 1:9-16). The ‘person’ gift of the Teacher mentioned in Ephesians 4 would be a person that has a very mature and recognized gift of teaching.

Examples from scripture

• Neh 8:8:

‘They read from the book of the law of God, making it clear and giving the meaning so that the people could understand what was being read’

• Acts 18:24-28:

‘Apollos was a learned man with a thorough knowledge of the scriptures…he spoke with great fervour and taught about Jesus accurately… he vigorously refuted the Jews in public debate, proving from the Scriptures that Jesus was the Christ.’

• Peter in Acts 2 and Paul later in Acts exhibit the gift of teaching from Old Testament scriptures.

• Jesus: referred to as the Great Teacher in Mt 23:10.

• Heb 12:26-28: Teachers are those who (1) Read scripture (2) Explain it (3) Apply it to our lives.

How will I know if I have this gift?

You will enjoy research, study and reading, but you will also be a gifted communicator. You will be concerned for biblical accuracy and context. When you discover a new truth, you will long to pass it on to others. You will get great satisfaction out of someone ‘getting it’. The best teachers are those with both good content and good delivery. People will tell you that they enjoy the way you preach/teach/lead the bible study. People will be pleased when they find out it is you who is preaching/teaching. Please note that some people are excellent researchers and very studious but are no good at delivering the truth to others. These people are better off serving someone who is good at the delivery side of things by researching and writing books and so on. Also remember that there are different capacities and types of this gift, so not everyone will be suited to the same teaching context. Some people thrive on small, interactive groups, and others on preaching to large groups.

How can I grow in this gift?

Pray for more of it. Study diligently. Seek out a mentor to learn from with the same attitude of Elisha in 2 Kings 2:2-9.

Postmodern culture is hungry for meaningful and spiritual activity. Postmodern people respond to churches with a cause and neglect churches with no clarity of mission. They are suspicious of hierarchical systems of authority but are especially open to the team approach to leadership. God acts with purpose and this is to be reflected in visionary teams.

A church leadership team casts a vision that unites people around a cause. The team must have more than a vision statement as the team must live, breathe and model the story at every opportunity. Building a visionary team cannot be separated from building a visionary congregation.

Mission is the result of God's initiative and is rooted in God’s purpose to heal creation. Mission is sending and is central to the biblical theme describing God's action in human history. This activity of sending and going is modeled in church leadership by its willingness to go and to release people to go.

This vision for being a missional people involves two things:

1. Commitment to making it happen
2. God must be the ultimate source of the vision.

The church will grasp when the vision is from God and worthy of their full commitment. The leadership team imparts what this vision is to the church. Therefore the vision must be in each team member.

Communicating Vision

A visionary team is called to clearly communicate vision to the church. They do so primarily through who they are …via words, deeds, visuals, print, music and active participation of the church.

The team makes the vision the focal point and arranges the church totally around the vision. This vision must be specific and not generalized. Nothing is to be done in or through the church that does not contribute to the vision. This means the team must follow through with this vision. It’s not mere words on a page but the church is called to do something about it.

Everything in church life is structured around the vision. A visionary team of church leaders makes this theme clear to one and all: “The vision is who we are as a church.”

Effective teams are those that cast a vision that unites people around a God-given cause. Visionary terms are motivated by a strong sense of mission and purpose. They know where they are going and work to focus all their energy toward fulfilling that purpose. The vision of the team is contagious. It attracts and is affirmed and lived out by the local fellowship of believers.

Let’s define our terms

Vision is what we see. It is that which is set before us that captivates our passion. It has to do with motivation.

Mission is movement. It is the doing or going, the activity or outworking of vision.

Mission is the overarching goal and purpose of the church. Vision pulls the church together and focuses it on its mission.

Scripture is full of vision

Consider Adam, Abraham, Isaac and indeed Israel as a nation. Moses is an example of how God burst into a person’s life with a mission. Jesus was sent with vision and He sent the Holy Spirit. Jesus likewise sent His team and church to the nations with the goods news of the kingdom. In Acts we find God arresting Paul with His vision for the Gentiles. Paul was passionate and motivated (Vision) and therefore went to the Gentiles with the gospel (Mission).

An example of a visionary team is described in Mark 2. This story tells of a team of at least four men having conviction, vision and unity to take a sick friend on his mat to Jesus for healing. Here’s what we can learn from this team on a mission…

1. The team learned to walk together carrying their friend on his mat. They agreed on the route to Jesus' house.
2. They met the obstacle of the crowd preventing their entry.
3. They displayed diligence and determination to carry out their mission.
4. It is a creative and innovative team that comes up with a solution.
5. Mission accomplished. Jesus saw their faith. There is no evidence of the paralytic's faith. The effort and conviction of the team that brought him to Jesus is acknowledged by the Lord.

It’s important to note something about a missional team’s vision. The vision becomes the focus, not a particular leader. For leaders, becoming a visionary team will help the church be clear about the particular “mat” they are called to carry to a broken world.

Our great commission is to make disciples of all nations. How do we make disciples? Surely in the same way as Jesus did. He formed his disciples into a community where their weaknesses were exposed and addressed as they rubbed up against each other, and where they were able to develop godly character through the mentoring example of Jesus. When the first apostles went out to make disciples in accordance with the Great Commission, they also established churches. That was the context for making disciples - communities formed by the Holy Spirit.

Interestingly, Paul planted churches in different ways at different times and seasons. At first he used to travel from place to place, first with Barnabas, and later with Silas and their teams. They would preach the gospel in the towns they visited, and gather the disciples into churches. Later in his ministry, he did it in another way. He stayed in Ephesus for two to three years and taught the disciples daily in the Hall of Tyrannus. As a result of that, churches were established right across the province of Asia, including places such as Colossae, Laodicea and Hierapolis, which Paul did not visit. We can deduce that those trained in the hall of Tyrannus went to these various cities...and shared the gospel and planted churches there.

This post was taken from David Devenish's book, Fathering Leaders, Motivating Mission (p46-47).  David will be speaking at this year's Equipped For Mission leadersihp conference.  Learn more about Newfrontiers USA's leadership conference by clicking here.