One of the most baffling trends taking place these days is church shopping. Did you know that in the Springfield area alone there are almost sixty distinct brands of churches? I’m not picking on Baptists, but there is Baptist, American Baptist, Free-Will Baptist, General Baptist, Independent Baptist, Missionary Baptist, Southern Baptist, and Southern Baptist Convention Baptists. It's that way from A to Z in the phone book. There are dozens of brands of churches and dozens of denominations. Sixty in our area! You could visit a different denomination every Sunday and not cover them all in one year.
But forget about the sixty distinct brands or denominations of churches for a moment. Did you know that there are over three hundred churches in the Springfield area? If you went to a different church every Sunday, it would take you almost six years to visit every individual church in our area! Now that is a lot of a shopping!
I hate shopping. I think I’d just send my wife and mother-in-law off to shop for churches and I'd stay at home! Did they pass the offering plate? How many times? Did they serve communion? Did they use real wine? Were the people friendly? Did you have to stand and introduce yourself? What do they give first-time visitors? What version of the Bible did they use? Did they sing my favorite songs? Did you have to stand as you sang? How long was the sermon? Do the ushers nudge you with a stick if you fall asleep?
All of this is very important stuff, right? Seriously. What should you be looking for in a church? What types of things should top your shopping list? They had a great nursery and adequate parking. The bathrooms were clean. The people were friendly. The speaker was nice. Your kids were entertained. So what? You just visited a mosque.
Discerning the Leadership of a Church
Here is what you need to be paying attention to. What is the church about? What is the church trying to help you become? What are you being led into? Who is leading? When it comes to leadership, not every church is the same.
Here's the old maxim, "As go the shepherds, so go the sheep. And as go the leaders, so goes the whole church." What characteristics should you be looking for in those who lead you? What should you look for in those who will be teaching you the counsel of God? In those who will hold you accountable? The leadership question eclipses any other question you may ask of a church. It’s a question you need to be asking whether you are shopping for a church or have been part of the same church your entire life.
This morning I want to discuss the four R’s of biblical leadership. The four R’s are intended to create a picture of the kind of people God wants leading his Church. But they are also a picture of what God wants us to become individually, as Christians. Remember, as go the shepherds, so go the sheep. Leaders are important because they are who we will ultimately become like. We imitate those who lead us.
Remaining: Are Leaders Remaining in God’s Son?
Do those individuals assuming positions of leadership, whether as elders, deacons, or ministers, have a vital relationship with Jesus Christ? Consider for a moment Jesus’ own words to his own disciples before his crucifixion. Listen to the life-sustaining connection we are to have with Jesus Christ. In John 15:1-4 (NIV) Jesus says, "I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me."
John 15:5-8 (NIV) continues, "I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. If anyone does not remain in me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you. This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples."
John 15:9-11 (NIV) concludes, "As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have obeyed my Father’s commands and remain in his love. I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete."
There are men leading churches today who have no vital relationship with Jesus Christ. They have power over their churches. They sit in positions of authority. They have history and family connections and know the traditions. They faithfully attend church, carry out their duties, and say all the right things. They have the title.
But they’re withering. They’re unfruitful. They’re prayer-less and devotion-less. They’re not listening to God’s word every day. They’re not growing. They’re going through the motions. They’re disobedient. They’re joyless. They cannot articulate what it is they love about Jesus Christ. They don’t know their own testimony. Jesus is someone that they talk about but have never gotten to know personally.
When appointed to leadership, such men create terrible destruction in the Church. They continually find themselves unable to give to others that which they do not possess. When you look at your leaders, does part of you say, "They walk with God. I want what they’ve got. I envy their relationship with Jesus Christ. How can I get in on that?" As go the leaders, so goes the church. All leaders are included, not just church leaders, but parents, teachers, and spouses. You've got to have the baton before you pass the baton.
Regenerated: Are Leaders Regenerated by God’s Spirit?
Are those individuals assuming positions of leadership living like Jesus Christ did? Are they pure and holy? So many churches take the warm body approach to leadership. It's frustrating. We are more interested in filling positions than in choosing men and women of integrity. If you have a pulse, seem like a nice fella, and are willing, then welcome aboard! Or I mean, welcome to the board. Would you like to be chairman this year?
Church leadership isn’t a place for good men and women. It’s a place for godliness. When Paul instructs Timothy about appointing leaders, he focuses on being. Elders are to be godly. They must be transformed. They must be regenerated by God’s Spirit. They must be an example to the flock. They must be able to say along with Paul in 1 Corinthians 11:1 (NIV), "Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ." There must be much evidence of the fruit of the Holy Spirit in a leader's life.
It’s familiar, but listen closely to the qualifications for leadership Paul gives in 1 Timothy 3:1-13 (NIV). "Here is a trustworthy saying: If anyone sets his heart on being an overseer, he desires a noble task. Now the overseer must be above reproach, the husband of but one wife, temperate, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, not given to drunkenness, not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome, not a lover of money. He must manage his own family well and see that his children obey him with proper respect. (If anyone does not know how to manage his own family, how can he take care of God’s church?) He must not be a recent convert, or he may become conceited and fall under the same judgment as the devil. He must also have a good reputation with outsiders, so that he will not fall into disgrace and into the devil’s trap."
"Deacons, likewise, are to be men worthy of respect, sincere, not indulging in much wine, and not pursuing dishonest gain. They must keep hold of the deep truths of the faith with a clear conscience. They must first be tested; and then if there is nothing against them, let them serve as deacons. In the same way, their wives are to be women worthy of respect, not malicious talkers but temperate and trustworthy in everything. A deacon must be the husband of but one wife and must manage his children and his household well. Those who have served well gain an excellent standing and great assurance in their faith in Christ Jesus."
This isn’t to say that a leader must have reached a state of moral perfection before serving. I heard a man say, "If you wait until you are as pure as the wind-driven snow, you will never do much of anything for God." Perfection cannot be attained. Leaders need forgiveness too. Leaders sin and make errors in judgment. Leaders are human!
But on the other hand, think of the damage that is done whenever a person lacking a measure of godliness gets appointed to a position of leadership! Leadership can be a place of indulgence, temptation, greed, sexual immorality, power and control, self-advancement, or self-glorification. Leaders impact destinies. They influence living, breathing souls. The stakes are eternal. Leadership is not a place for clowns, the immature, the weak, the proud, or the immoral. Leadership is a place for men and women who are regenerated by the Holy Spirit and who are pure and holy.
Revitalizing: Are they Revitalizing God’s family?
Are those assuming positions of leadership stimulating growth within the Church? Here is a revolutionary thought. Leaders are to lead. They are to have a leadership effect on others within the body of Christ. They are to spur, encourage, stimulate, agitate, quicken, shake up, shepherd, model, prompt, goad, guide, direct, pilot, and oversee.
In one church where I preached, people were nominated for leadership positions in the hope that the individual might begin attending church regularly or take his faith more seriously. In another church, leaders would gather after church for a few minutes once a month, armchair quarterback the preacher, make a few administrative decisions, but have no real involvement in people’s lives the rest of the week.
Yikes! Leaders need to be leading people. They need to be investing in people’s lives. They need to be in the trenches with their sleeves rolled up, with sweat on their backs, and with dirt on their hands. They need to be sharing in the joys and the struggles and victories of ministry.
Let me be specific about what it means for a leader to revitalize God’s family. In the church, leadership is about one thing and one thing only: disciple-making. Ephesians 4:11-13 (NIV) describes the effect that leaders must have on the 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 all the fullness of Christ."
Leadership is about people. It's not about budgets, buildings, board meetings, power, control, prestige, popularity, or self-promotion. Leadership is about developing people. It’s preparing people to do the works of service we have talked about over the last few weeks. Service which includes loving God and loving people. Leadership is about building people up in unity, in faith, and in knowledge. Leadership is about helping people become mature, attaining to the whole measure of all the fullness of Christ.
What are some of the competencies biblical leaders should have? How is this measured? Leaders should love people. Leadership in the local church is one of the most time consuming, people-intensive activities a person can engage in. It takes patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, hospitality, discernment, and fortitude. Leaders should be able to pray with people and for people. Read Philippians. Paul prayed constantly that people would know and become like Jesus Christ. So many leaders are disengaged and aloof to the spiritual needs of those entrusted to their care.
Leaders should be able to share the good news of Jesus Christ with people. They should be able to apply the good news of Christ to those they encounter. They should be able to lead a person toward faith, repentance, confession, baptism, and salvation. Do you know how many leaders cannot even do this one thing?
Leaders should be able to teach God’s word to people. They should be able to hold people accountable in love and in truth, so they don’t fall away from the faith. Leaders should be helping people become godly. They should be apprenticing emerging leaders. Protecting the flock from danger. Promoting unity. Exercising church discipline. Overseeing the health of the whole body. Speaking the truth in love. Teaching people to share their faith. Revitalizing the Church!
Rescuing: Are Leaders Rescuing God’s World?
Are those assuming positions of leadership releasing people from the power of Satan? A while ago I planted some grass seed in my front yard. I bought some twig netting to lay over the grass seed in order to keep it moist and to keep it from becoming bird seed. Well one day I noticed a yellow finch flopping around on the ground near the netting. Its feet had gotten entangled in strand of the netting and it couldn’t fly away. The bird was going crazy and it was desperate and frightened by my presence. It violently thrashed about everywhere and become more entangled. But it was in real danger. There is this tail-less cat in our neighborhood that kills bunnies and birds.
So I went to my garage and grabbed some leather gloves and a knife. I carefully picked the bird up and began cutting it free. That was one mean bird! It aggressively pecked and pinched at my gloves, screeching and fluttering and carrying on. Finally, when I had removed the netting I threw the bird into the air. It flew to the highest branch in a nearby tree and began singing.
This is what leaders need to be doing for people. Satan is one nasty cat. People need to be freed from the power of sin and from the trap of Satan, lest they die in their sins. There needs to be a sense of urgency and passion about rescuing God’s world. 1 Peter 5:8 (NIV) says, "Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour." What are the leaders of this or any other church personally doing about it? They should be witnessing. Doing personal evangelism. Helping with local community outreach. Church planting. World missions. Training people to share their faith. Defending and proving Christ.
You already know why. As go the leaders, so goes the church. Think about who you ultimately want to become in your relationship with Jesus Christ, with God’s Spirit, with God’s family, and with God’s world. You want a vital connection with the living God. You want to experience life change. You want to taste the kingdom of God on earth. You want to make a lasting, eternal impact on other people.
You won’t get there on your own, not without leaders who practice the four R's! Set aside the petty, superficial nonsense that so many people gage a church by. Look for those individuals who will truly help you love God and love people, and follow those people. And if there is no one to follow, why not become the kind of leader we talked about? Become vitally connected to Christ. Be regenerated by God’s Spirit. Become a growing, life-giving Christian. Learn how to rescue the world from power the Satan.