Development

Developing others

Leadership / / By

I believe one of the most important roles and responsibilities of a leader is to develop their followers and others God brings them into relationship with.

As I look around I see many leaders who are glad to use people, but see no responsibility for developing them. It seems the roles described in Ephesians 4 and II Timothy 2 are forgotten.

Here are a few functions I believe are part of being a Christian leader:

  1. Look for and discover potential leaders.
    • Potential leaders often do not know their abilities, what they are capable of, or where they would best fit. They need someone to help them develop a clear self-perception.
    • Potential leaders need someone who sees in them what they can become. Someone with discernment and understanding.
    • Potential leader need a leader who will mentor them, not just in how to do what they are now doing, but how to become something more.
  1. Develop potential leaders for the Kingdom of God, not just your ministry.

I find many people in positions of leadership are so consumed with their own church or ministry, they do not take the time to develop potential leaders who don’t fit their pressing needs. This is a shortsighted and selfish perspective. The mission of God needs more leaders, so think God’s Kingdom, not my kingdom. I see many leaders who are so focused on themselves, they miss wonderful opportunities to make Kingdom impact. A healthy church or organization should be producing more leaders than they can use.

  1. When you see leaders with great potential, help them develop for the long haul, not just quick success.

Churches and leaders have a tendency to encourage high potential leaders to skip important developmental steps. They see someone who seems to be a natural leader, so they immediately make them a youth pastor before they have developed spiritual depth and Biblical knowledge and wisdom. This is why I highly recommend churches, when they see a young person with high potential, to provide scholarships for these leaders to get solid academic degrees. Be willing to give up three or four years, to get a solid leader.

  1. Potential leader need someone to help them navigate the organizations structure and culture.

Some churches and organizations are toxic. True leaders help potential leaders navigate landmines and politics, and keep their heart and mind focused on the mission of God and His values and attitudes.

I am sure there are many other principles, but these are a beginning.

Who are you and your church developing?

Is it Time to Repeat the Church Development Process?

Recalibration, Strategy / , / By

No matter how great your church is, every church needs to go through some development process at a minimum of every five years. The reason is all organizations, including your church, over time lose focus, clarity and conviction. Also all systems tend to weaken or atrophy over time. The way to combat these tendencies is to do a periodic Church Development Process.

Some of the things that need to be re-examined include:

  • Mission (What is God’s mission for your church?)
  • Culture and Values (What Culture and Values does God want for your church?)
  • Functions and Purposes (What are the functions or purposes of a New Testament Church?)
  • Congregational makeup (Who is part of your church and what are they like?)
  • Community analysis (Who lives in your ministry area and what are their values and needs?)
  • Evangelism System (How are you building relationships with people who do not yet have a relationship with God?)
  • Spiritual Formation System (How are people becoming more like Christ?)
  • Worship Gathering System (Is your Worship Gathering drawing people to Christ and are they being encouraged?)
  • Ministry/Serving System (Are people discovering their gifts and strengths and finding a place to serve?)
  • Finance System (Are you developing a generous attitude and managing God’s money and resources effectively?)

Some churches will want to go through a concentrated process and other churches will prefer to focus on two or three systems each year in a five year cycle. But no matter which approach, to keep your church strong you need to be intentional about recalibrating. We see what happens in the New Testament when churches do not do this. The same vibrant churches planted in Acts are challenged in Revelation for getting off mission.

A mistake some churches and leaders make, is to think once they have been through a development process (For example: Leadership Development Process (LDR), Turnaround Churches, Re-calibrate Network, Outward Focused Churches or Acts 2) they are done. In reality, they need to repeat such a process as a church at least every five years.

If you have not done an intentional Church Development Process in several years, I encourage you to become part of one of the ministries that can help you get refocused or to connect with a Church Coach.

Here are some development approaches you might consider:

All of these will help you keep your church on mission!