A
few weeks ago, our church leadership team went on retreat. It was an important
time of refocusing on the essentials, the most important aspects of church
life.
"Mission
drift" is an ever-present temptation. We get distracted by so many things:
pushy people, the demands of running programs, the desire to avoid conflict,
financial pressures, new opportunities that are oh-so-attractive even if
they're not at the heart of our calling.
All
of them can tempt us to shift our focus to secondary matters just for the sake
of expediency. As Peter Drucker puckishly put it: "There is nothing so
useless as doing efficiently that which should not be done at all."
"There is nothing so useless as doing efficiently that
which should not be done at all."
For
leaders, the never-ending task is "to keep the main thing the main
thing." And our church leaders benefited from refocusing on our core
calling. It put everything else in proper perspective.
In
this issue of Leadership Journal, we are doing that for all of us in
congregational leadership. If "the main thing is to keep the main thing
the main thing," what is the main thing in ministry? Over the last few
months, we've been asking dozens of church leaders that question, and the
responses have been thoughtful and illuminating.
As you
will see in the theme section of this issue, the answers are varied and
nuanced, as any description of a complex role will be. But we also found
simplicity at the core of the complexity. Our contributors identified five core
tasks of ministry, out of which all the other elements of congregational
leadership emerge.
Feed
the sheep
Jesus,
of course, gave this command to Peter, but it also applies to congregational
shepherds. God himself said, "I will give you shepherds after my own
heart, who will feed you with knowledge and understanding" (Jer. 3:15). John Ortberg unpacks what feeding
means for pastors today.
Guard
the flock
The
apostle Paul instructed church leaders to "keep watch over yourselves and
all the flock of which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers …. savage wolves
will come in among you and will not spare the flock …. So be on your
guard!" (Acts 20:28-31). Gordon MacDonald describes
how protection takes place today.
Discern
the will of God
An
ongoing part of both individual and corporate life as Christians is to
"not be conformed to the world, but be transformed by the renewing of your
mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is—his good,
pleasing and perfect will" (Rom. 12:2). Discernment of what is God's
will in various situations falls to the church's leadership. And Ruth Haley
Barton offers a snapshot of how that process can be handled wisely and well.
Train
others
Leadership
can be lonely, but it's never solitaire. By definition it means involving
others to strengthen the body and continue the mission. "The things you
have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable people
who will also be qualified to teach others" (2 Tim. 2:2). Michael Cheshire describes
what it takes to build the team.
Lead
by example
Leading
isn't just pointing the way, vision casting, or organizing. Leaders, for better
or worse, embody the mission. It's "follow me," and people imitate
what's modeled. Paul put it: "Set an example for the believers in speech,
in conduct, in love, in faith and in purity" (1 Tim. 2:12). Peter instructed, "Be
shepherds of God's flock … not lording it over those entrusted to you, but
being examples to the flock" (1 Peter 5:2-3). Tim Morey describes
pastoring by example.
These are
the core elements of ministry. We hope this fresh presentation of the
"grand essentials" will help you keep the main thing the main thing.
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