New Vintage Design

According to one recently released conclusion regarding the activities in North American churches, Thom Ranier, president and CEO of LifeWay Christian Resources, writes: “Simple churches are more effective in both evangelism and discipleship; busy, activity-filled churches are less effective in these areas.”

Continuing, “Many churches today are becoming busier – and less effective ... The church is designed to partner with God to move people through stages of spiritual growth. Sadly, most churches miss this truth. They are not simple. They have not designed a simple process for discipleship. They have not structured themselves around the process of spiritual transformation. And as a result, they are making little impact. These churches need an extreme makeover. They desperately need a new design for church ministry.” (Outreach Magazine, “The Simple Church”).

If we agree, perhaps we should honestly ask ourselves: What is God’s vision for His church? What are His goals? What is the central thing in God’s mind? What is His will for His church? Are we building according to God’s blueprint? Are we making disciples, teaching them to obey all that Jesus commanded?

Even though we can do something does not necessarily mean that we should. Instead of asking, “Can we do this?” we might be better served if we ask, “Should we do this?”

As a foundation, let us review what the Church is in light of God’s Word:
The local church is a group of believers (Mth. 18:20) gathered to the life and person of Jesus Christ for worship (John 4:24) set apart by their confession of faith (Rom. 10:9,10) who live disciplined lives (Mth. 18:15-20) under the oversight of those ministries Christ Jesus set in the church (Eph. 4:9-16; 1 Tim. 3: Titus 1) being discipled and then making disciples, both keeping and teaching others to keep all that Christ commanded (Mth. 28:19,20) established in the foundational doctrines of Christ (Heb. 6:1,2; Acts 2:42) keeping the memorial of Christ’s death and resurrection (1 Cor. 11:23,24) governed under Christ’s headship (Rev. 1:11; Phil. 1:1; Mth. 16:18,19) exercising the right to might, the keys of the kingdom, given to and through the church (Mth. 16:18,19) gathered and assembled together to worship the Father in spirit and truth, to glorify Christ Jesus and to encourage and exhort one another as the Kingdom of God is extended on earth (Mth. 24:14; John 4:20-24; 1 Cor. 11 – 14).

A New Vintage Design: Exodus 18:13-27; Acts 5:42 – 6:7
Moses, as a type of Christ, was used of God as a lawgiver and a judge among Israel, to answer inquiries, to acquaint them with the will of God in doubtful cases, and to explain the laws of God that were already given them: "Because the people come to me to seek God's will” (v. 15).

His business was not to make laws, but to make God’s laws known – Moses was but a servant of God. He was to mediate and arbitrate controversies between people. The church in the wilderness was large – somewhere north of two million people. No doubt he had a great many concerns brought before him.

Moses did so with great consideration. He was accessible, constant, close, and busy. As a result of Moses’ acting as a one-man judge over everything, everyone, and all situations, he was overworked, people did not receive justice quickly, and others were deprived of the opportunity to use their gifts.

Jethro saw what was going on, and told Moses, “You and these people who come to you will only wear yourselves out. The work is too heavy for you; you cannot handle it alone” (v. 18).

He then proposed a plan of shared leadership that would greatly assist Moses: “But select capable men from all the people - men who fear God, trustworthy men who hate dishonest gain - and appoint them as officials over thousands, hundreds, fifties and tens. Have them serve as judges for the people at all times, but have them bring every difficult case to you; the simple cases they can decide themselves. That will make your load lighter, because they will share it with you. If you do this and God so commands, you will be able to stand the strain, and all these people will go home satisfied” (Ex. 18:21-23).

• We see Jesus appointing 12 men from a large group whom He would personally equip and release to extend His work (Mark 3:13-19). 

• We discover that the original church at Jerusalem was founded by Christ and the 12 Apostles (Acts 2:14; 6:2; 15:6, 22; 21:17,18).

• We see a plurality of leadership at Antioch (Acts 13:1-3).

• From Antioch, Paul and Barnabas established churches, ordaining elders (plural) in every church (Acts 14:14; 21-23).

• We see multiple leadership in the group of elders (plural) at Ephesus (Acts 20:17).

• We read where Jesus gave five ministry offices for the nurturing and equipping of His Church: “It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, to prepare God's people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ” (Eph. 4:11-13).

• This same strategy is employed by the Apostle Paul to Timothy: “And the things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable men who will also be qualified to teach others” (2 Tim. 2:2) as well as to Titus: “The reason I left you in Crete was that you might straighten out what was left unfinished and appoint elders in every town, as I directed you” (Titus 1:5).

Qualifications: (1 Tim. 3:1-13; 5:22; Titus 1:5-9)
Great care should be taken in the choice of those admitted into this trust; they must be able men, men of good sense, that understood Kingdom of God business, men who fear God, accountable, men of integrity and honesty, men of truth, men who are not lovers of money. The Apostle Paul told Titus that he was to ordain elders in every city where a congregation existed. These men were to be of high moral character, adamant on questions of principle, maintaining the true apostolic doctrine and able to refute objectors.

Moses received and acted on Jethro’s counsel when he had received directions from God. Moses did not ask the people to vote on the matter – Moses chose them and appointed them, some for large ministry oversight, others for less.

Similarly, we see this principle employed in the New Testament: “Day after day, in the temple courts and from house to house, they never stopped teaching and proclaiming the good news that Jesus is the Christ. In those days when the number of disciples was increasing, the Grecian Jews among them complained against the Hebraic Jews because their widows were being overlooked in the daily distribution of food. So the Twelve gathered all the disciples together and said, "It would not be right for us to neglect the ministry of the word of God in order to wait on tables. Brothers, choose seven men from among you who are known to be full of the Spirit and wisdom. We will turn this responsibility over to them and will give our attention to prayer and the ministry of the word." This proposal pleased the whole group. They chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit; also Philip, Procorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolas from Antioch, a convert to Judaism. They presented these men to the apostles, who prayed and laid their hands on them. So the word of God spread. The number of disciples in Jerusalem increased rapidly, and a large number of priests became obedient to the faith” (Acts 5:42-6:7).

Observations
• The Holy Spirit-led selection and appointment of Christian leadership should conform to scriptural requirements.

• Leadership qualifications involve character, not knowledge or skill. A person's lifestyle and relationships provide a window into his or her character. Biblical qualifications should be considered as leaders evaluate people for positions of leadership in God’s Church.

• It is important to have leaders who can effectively preach God's Word, but it is even more important to have those who can live out God's Word and be examples for others to follow.

• Leadership should lead the church by teaching sound doctrine, helping believers mature spiritually, and equipping them to live for Jesus Christ.

• Christian leaders are not called to lead alone – it is abundantly clear from God’s Word that there should be a plurality of leadership in the church.

• Following the Biblical directive and following the Holy Spirit’s prompting, leaders should involve other faithful, qualified people to help them oversee and equip the people of God.

• The primary role of the Christian leader is teaching – by precept and example in issues of godly living.

• The primary role of church leadership is to seed, feed, protect and provide - guarding the church from false teachers and deceivers who take advantage of the people of God.

• Home Bible studies, whether called small groups, cell groups, or home groups, are not a new thing. As the believers needed to grow in their new faith, home Bible studies met their needs, as well as serving as a means to introduce new people to the Christian faith. In fact, during later times of persecution, meeting in homes became the primary method of passing on Bible knowledge.

• As problems arose in the early church, the apostles turned these responsibilities over to qualified men. This solved problems and allowed the apostles to keep their focus on teaching and preaching God’s Word.

• Just as Moses discovered, as the church increases in size, so does its needs. The apostles chose others to fulfill the needs of ministry.

• The apostles' priorities were correct. The ministry of the Word should never be neglected because of administrative burdens. Pastors should not try, or be expected to try, to do everything. Instead, the work of the church should be spread out among its members.

• If you are a pastor and find yourself overwhelmed by responsibilities, determine your God-given abilities and priorities and then find other faithful people who are called and anointed and appoint them to do the work of the ministry.

• Spiritual leadership is serious business and should not be taken lightly. The seven men chosen and ordained by the apostles were set apart by prayer and laying on of hands (see Num. 27:23; Deut. 34:9). They were men full of the Holy Spirit and wisdom. Church leadership should look for spiritually mature and wise people to do the work of ministry.

• Disciples need to be equipped to pass on their faith; the work of the church is not done until new believers are able to make disciples of others, teaching them to obey all that Jesus commanded (Eph. 4:12,13; Mth. 28:19,20).

• If the church were to follow God’s blueprint, it would grow both deep and wide as well-taught believers would teach others and commission them, in turn, to teach others.

Leadership Challenge
To begin, look at the end. Often times we look at where we are to determine where we want to be. However, I would suggest that you begin with the end in mind first. If you want spiritually mature people, then, take a long, hard, honest look at the way your church is moving people through the various stages of spiritual growth. Then eliminate any and all things that do not contribute to the process and resist the temptation to add good, but unfruitful events and programs. I would recommend that you think first about your leadership strategy, church government, and especially, your discipleship process and what you hope to achieve. Begin by determining what a spiritually mature saint of God is and how they got there. Once determined, build your church around that process.

Grow in grace and truth,

Doug Morrell