June 23, 2006

Hello Friday. The sun is shining, the weekend is coming, what a beautiful day to praise God for all of His blessings. Today we are going to continue our discussion of when God builds a church:

There is a desperate need for good leadership in most churches. There is a hunger for dedicated, charismatic personalities who can inspire others to follow. Two essential components of leadership are personal character and leadership capability. Paul said that the leader must be above reproach, faithful to his wife, temperate, self-controlled, not greedy, and so forth. Leadership begins with who we are, not what we do. A lack of integrity among the leaders quenches the flow of the Holy Spirit and removes God’s hand of blessing from the church.

 

Leaders must demonstrate for the people how to live like Jesus Christ. Leaders must demonstrate purity, sincerity, and humility. A good leader is decisive, organized, visionary, and inspiring. Distinctive leaders confront malignant problems scripturally, lovingly, and openly. Superior leaders are primarily concerned with what God has instructed us to do in His Word. The one essential for stability in any organization is the assurance that someone is in charge in a time of crisis.

 

In Bible believing churches, certain truths are absolute. Good leaders do not waver where the Bible speaks. Doctrines like the inspiration of Scripture, the deity of Christ, the plan of salvation, the resurrection, and the second coming are not debatable. Distinctive leaders are flexible. Leaders maintain that nonessential matters are open for discussion without emotional reactions.

 

Cooperation among leaders is essential for a growing church. The preacher and other staff members have a responsibility to be submissive to the elders’ oversight and to communicate openly with them. Positive support from the elders can motivate staff members to reach their full potential. The early church was a Christocracy. Christ was the head of His body. The elders were appointed to govern the body. The preacher was a paid elder whose task was preaching and teaching.

 

Elders need to be supportive and encouraging. The ministry can at times be a very insecure and intimidating position. Since they are constantly plagued by a sense of inadequacy, good elders and deacons look for opportunities to boost the preacher.

 

Suggestions for leadership: Develop a quality ministry staff. Hire the right person. Hire capable leaders, then let them lead. Demand purity. In almost every instance where there is a serious purity problem, it would be best for the staff member to get out of ministry for a while and attend another church.

 

Deal with a poor worker wisely. If the problem is a moral issue, it must be dealt with immediately. But if a staff member simply has a lack of ability or a poor work ethic, be wise. Many a good young minister has been hardened against ministry altogether because a church decided he was the wrong guy and fired him without any thought for his future. Maybe he’s not the right fit for you, but would make some other congregation a wonderful minister.

 

Have an annual staff retreat. You can worship together with a leader who is not from your own staff. Encourage family commitment. People in ministry tend to neglect their families. Encourage staff to take proper breaks for family time-one day a week in addition to Sunday and be generous with vacation time. Encourage the ministry staff to go on a yearly marriage retreat.

That's it for today. Be sure to watch for our podcast tonight or tomorrow morning. 

www.thegreatcommissionchurch.org looks forward to your visit. We thank them for their continued support. Thanks also to libsyn.com for hosting our blog/podcast. Their service has been excellent.

I'm always available for your comments at: [e-mail] 

For now, thanks for tuning in. God bless.

Pastor Bob Emery