Life and Doctrine

“Keep a close watch on your life and doctrine” 1 Timothy 4:16 (See material in Intro to Spiritual Leadership Training for qualities of a leader).

  • You should be an example in godliness and proficient in understanding orthodox Christianity.
  • You aren’t perfect in life or doctrine, but your whole life (even failings) should demonstrate a reliance on the gospel of repentance and faith.

 

Commitment Level

James 3:1 “not many of you should presume to be teachers, my brothers, because you know that those who teach will be judged more strictly.” The description of the qualifications of elders and deacons in the Pastoral Epistles reminds us that one should not enter into leadership lightly. The high calling takes ministry seriously and believes it is worthy of our best effort and highest priority. While this always means sacrifice, it also means blessing (1 Timothy 5:17). You will grow far more through serving Christ’s body as a leader than you will standing on the sidelines.

 

Serving the Overall Mission of the Church

Leaders are not just committed to their particular area of service, but to support the overall mission of the church. Part of what this means is working with other leaders and being attentive to the greater body. This will impact scheduling, recruiting, and problem solving, just to name a few.

 

Attending Key Events

A big part of leadership is just showing up. It encourages leaders; it legitimizes the program or event; it makes visitors comfortable and welcome; and, we trust, the event or program has value in itself. Please see a list of Key Leader Events in of this manual.

 

Transitions

Please plan a transition strategy now! We hope you love your leadership position and feel called to it, but your call can change. As a small church it is very difficult for pastors to spend time trying to fill last minute vacancies. Each leader should be training an apprentice even when he or she isn’t intending to leave the position. Also, please discuss transitions at the first sign of fatigue or change of call. Be wary of leaving leadership all together. Life tends to fill all voids rather quickly, and it is difficult for leaders to be motivated to come back once they pull out entirely.

 

Communication

Church Community Builder (CCB) is not perfect, but it is a big help in facilitating ministry. Its usefulness really relies on leaders actively using it for ministry. Please use it to communicate with your groups, keep records of policies/procedures/mission statements, and an accurate roll of your team members.