Message #4, I AM HERE TO ENSURE THAT BETTER LEADERS COME AFTER ME

Message #4, I AM HERE TO ENSURE THAT BETTER LEADERS COME AFTER ME.

I used to tell my sons, “I expect you to be a better father than I am. After all, I didn’t have me for a dad.”

In one of his books the late Warren Wiersbe said. “Some pastors boast about the church where they used to be going down in attendance after they left.” He goes on to say, “That is not what should be. If a pastor does a good job, the church will grow after he leaves because of the strong foundation that he left behind.”

Ladies and gentlemen, I am almost 74 years old—older than most of you, many of you are younger than my sons. Yet having lived almost 3/4s of century, having spent more than ½ my life leading one church, I am impressed with how little time we have to get the job done. I have seen ministries die, or be greatly diminished after the death, resignation, or retirement of a dynamic leader. In part, perhaps in large part, that decline takes place, because no new leader has been discipled to step into the leadership role.

In these presentations, I have been emphasizing three images, that we can observe in the life of Christ, and in other Biblical leaders—Shepherd, Servant, Steward.

I             Integrating Leadership Development into the Three Images:

Let’s take a moment and observe how this task of leadership development, interfaces with these 3 images.

A.       Shepherd
Any symbolic analogy has its limits.
When the Bible refers to people as sheep, it, obviously, is not saying that we are four-legged creatures covered with wool, who eat grass.
Let’s look at a spectrum, here:

One one end are those who work with little children. On the other end of the spectrum I have in mind are people like some of you, who have leadership over a significant number of other leaders.

                        Working with children <<<<    >>>> Leading a group of mature leaders

Greater need for shepherd-guidance <<<<   >>>> Greater independence/self-reliance     

 

Children are more sheeplike than adults who have learned and grown in the Lord.

Both need shepherding, but that shepherding will be different depending where on that spectrum you are.

 

(Talk about how that varies in the way it is done.)

 

Where as a shepherd, in the agricultural sense, is a human taking care of animals, a shepherd, in the sense of pastor, is human to human.

·       Even as one overseeing children, we need to be aware that, one or more of those children may be the future leader. I’ve personally seen that happen. As Francis Schaeffer said something like, “Don’t teach them anything that you’ll have to unteach them later. But, don’t try to teach a toddler everything that a mature leader needs to know.” Also, I would maintain that you ought to find someone closer to you in maturity and ability and, in essence, make them your apprentice.

·       Clearly, as we move to the other end of the spectrum, part of our shepherding responsibility—here we move into the area of steward—is to prepare future leaders. To not do so is to fail as a shepherd.

B.       Steward
Ultimately we serve the eternal Lord, in His eternal kingdom.
What we are doing goes beyond our brief life. 
The great commission is a wheel that keeps turning.
See also 2 Tim 2:2.

The man who is now my pastor was once a teenager whom I sought to mentor.
“The call to leadership is a call to discipleship. Christian leaders are given the responsibility to not only lead well, but to invest in the next generation so that they can carry on the gospel task. John Maxwell sums it up well: “The best leaders lead today with tomorrow in mind by making sure they invest in leaders who will carry their legacy forward.” In fact, one of the goals of leadership is to make yourself replaceable. Ideally, a leader should put people and systems in place so that if they have to leave their leadership role for some reason, things will keep running smoothly.”

As we will see in 2 Timothy, Christian leaders are commanded to “guard the good deposit” of the gospel in themselves and in those who they will pass the torch to.” (Lawson Kembree, https://lawsonhembree.wordpress.com/2015/01/26/passing-the-torch-four-ways-to-prepare-the-next-generation-to-lead-well/)
Mention article, https://www.christianitytoday.com/pastors/2013/winter/developing-future-leaders.html

If God’s work is eternal, and it is, and since unless the Lord returns in my lifetime then God’s work will go on down here in this world after me, and if I am indeed a steward of God’s work, it is not my own, then I have a responsibility to see that it is properly led after me.

There are a couple of possible exceptions. It may be, for one reason or another, that you are the leader of an organization that needs to end. The possibility of being tasked with properly shutting an organization down is something I have had to face twice. I led the Board of Pacific Islands University to make the decision as to whether we should shut-down or continue. I am currently Interim Pastor at a small church. Presently the Elders of the church and I think the church should continue. We are aware, however, that could change. That’s all I’ll about that right now. I am open to questions.

 

C.       Servant
I’ve already mentioned the Biblical mandate to carry on. Obedience requires that we do so.

II            Biblical Examples of this kind of Leadership Development: (good and bad)

Moses to Joshua

              This preparation took more than 40 years.

·       Exodus 17
Moses said to Joshua, “Choose some of our men and go out to fight the Amalekites. Tomorrow I will stand on top of the hill with the staff of God in my hands.” (9)
Remember there was the odd story about Moses hands, Aaron & Hur? Important lesson. (11)
Not only what was done, but what does it mean?  Then the Lord said to Moses, “Write this on a scroll as something to be remembered and make sure that Joshua hears it, because I will completely blot out the memory of Amalek from under heaven.” (14)
Ex. 24:13, Moses took Joshua up on Sinai.
In Num. 13-14, Joshua is one of the spies . . ..
At the end of Num 27, Moses commissioned him in front of all the people.
Moses said, “The LORD your God himself will cross over ahead of you. He will destroy these nations before you, and you will take possession of their land. Joshua also will cross over ahead of you, as the LORD said.” (Deuteronomy 31:3, NIV84)

Other plans of succession?
(Jot answers down, some below)

              David to Solomon, 1 Kings 1

Elijah to Elisha, 2 Kings 2 & 3:11
              Jesus to Apostles
              Paul to Timothy, 2 Tim 2:2

Do you notice any examples in Scripture where a successor was not chosen and/or groomed?

(After Joshua, Solomon-Rehoboam, Eli-Samuel,

There were those like Barnabus, who it seemed never led. Their whole career was more about making a way for others to lead than about doing leadership themselves: He invested in the lives of others, Shepherd

III           A Biblical Plan for Leadership Development

Obviously, you ought to go to the website I set up and carefully read aloud to them everything I said in this conference. 😊

A.     The basics. What is at the core?
“The things you have heard from me” 2 Tim 2:2. You get some idea what Paul had in mind . . . 2 Tim 4:1-2, Acts 20:26-27, “All that I have commanded you” Mat 28:20
I go back to where we began. Biblical leadership is Bible driven, Bible controlled, evaluated on the basis of Bible standards.

B.     The realities, 2 Tim 2:3 & 10-13
Jesus did that. John 16:33
The Bible is counter-cultural. It will counter different cultures in different ways.
Sermon on the Mt. very counter-cultural.
Look at Matt. 7:13-14

C.     The practice, Let them do it, even if they get it wrong. Mat. 10

D.    Spend time with them, do life together. Acts 4:13, Luke 6:40, 2 Kings 3:11

E.     Other ideas, perhaps ways others have brought you along?

F.     The 2 web articles . . .

I’ll take time to share some significant points from the first, “10 perspectives for Christian Leaders”.

·       Jesus leadership style is diametrically opposed to that of the world. He declared that in the Kingdom, greatness belongs to the servant and that distinction grows from child-like humility (Matthew 18:4). He taught that leaders were to serve others, not to be served by them.

·        He challenged the disciples to follow his example (John 13:12-17), a challenge for leaders that echoes down through the centuries to us today.

·       Christian leaders must centre their characters on a Christ-like servant heart, not serving themselves with the benefits of position, power and status, emulating leaders in the world.

·       Jesus leadership style, because it is both the way of the Kingdom of God (Matthew 18:4)and the essence of the character of Christ (Matthew 20:28), matches nothing in the world. It is radically different to all natural cultures in all countries and all organisations. It is not the way of the world, whose wisdom is folly in the eyes of God (1 Corinthians 3:19). It is the way of Christ and we must follow that way, however divergent it may seem from all we know or think or have learned.

The second article, just one:

The call to leadership is a call to discipleship. Christian leaders are given the responsibility to not only lead well, but to invest in the next generation so that they can carry on the gospel task.

 

 

Q&A: