Discipleship

Jul

2010

Working Yourself Out of a Job

Just watched a video from a very prominent worship leader, Someone I highly respect. I have been mentored by this person in a lot of ways so I don’t mean to throw stones at them necessarily.

The video started with him saying I have been leading worship at my church for a long time but I don’t want to do it forever so over the last couple of years I’ve tried to be more purposeful in bringing up the next generation. The video ended with him saying so if your in your 40’s or 50’s it’s time to start raising up the next generation.

This is a mindset in the church that must be broken.

Yes we need to bring up the next generation but as leaders our responsibility is so much broader. If your still doing the same thing in ministry you were doing 5 years ago there may be a problem. Our job as leaders is to equip the saints for works of service and the edification of the body. We must be not only looking for the next young and upcoming gifting and talent; we must be constantly evaluating those God has entrusted to us regardless of age. Our primary responsibility as leaders is to be the driving force behind allowing those entrusted to us to step into the fullness of their calling. We must not only look to those who are younger but those who have recently come into the family and those who for whatever reason were called 15 years ago but have finally started to walk in obedience to that call. When we look to the “younger” generation only we miss out on so much and may be causing a brother to stumble.

The body of Christ must constantly be moving. Search committees are the absolute worst way to fill ministry positions. We must recognize, call out, equip, and release the gifting in those entrusted to us. Not do our job for 20 years and then hand it off to an 18 year old.

Youth is not a qualifier and age is not a dis qualifier it’s about calling, gifting, character, servanthood, love for the house. Not necessarily in that order.

And finally if your the only one or the one who most often stands on the platform in leadership in any capacity and you’ve been there more than 5 years it’s time to start asking yourself some very serious questions.

Nov

2009

Outsourced Worship?

This morning I ran across a case study of the very point I am trying to make regarding the church being increasingly run by the doers rather than equippers.

A Church in Hattiesburg MS. has decided to outsource it’s worship by hiring multiple worship leaders to come in on a rotating basis to lead worship. Here are the advantages he lists:

Jeff says this strategy offers several advantages:

Many worship leaders don’t enjoy building teams, managing budgets or organizing departments. They just love to lead worship. This strategy let’s them stay in their sweet spot.
This decision saves money for the church. He is able to pay them really well for a weekend and still save enough money in the church budget to use toward another staff position.
They love the variety that this brings to their church. Keeping things unpredictable is a plus, says Jeff, to keeping people’s attention.
They have learned so much from these worship leaders that they wouldn’t have learned from one person.

LeadingSmart: Outsourced Worship

What I see happening in the church is it is increasingly run by the doers not the equippers (Ephesians 4:11-12).

The very first benefit Jeff lists proves the point. They are looking for a gifted worship leader rather than an equipper to be the pastor/leader. What they need is someone who can recognize, call out, equip, and release the gifting of those entrusted to him or her.

Someone there is doing the administration the difference is they should be raising up worship leaders in their body not from unplanted gifted people who have no real relationship with the congregation.

The best doers are rarely the best equippers. Those who are gifted to lead worship are rarely the best at leading people, teams, and organizations.

We need to make the equippers the pastors and leaders so they can release the doers to do.

The church in America has missed the point a bit. What would your church look like if it were run by equippers and everyone was walking in the fullness of their calling.

Every need in the church can be met in the church. Nowhere in scripture is anything ever outsourced. In acts 6:3 they didn’t go looking for recent graduates from Bible college or Seminary they chose from among them.

Blogged with the Flock Browser

Jul

2009

Wanna see the world saved?

John 17:9 I do not pray for the world but for those you have given me.

I don’t know how many times I’ve read that verse but this morning it stopped me cold. Jesus prayed not for the world but for those the Father had given Him.

The more I study the more I am convinced Jesus came at a time in history without mass media and huge venues to show us how we were to evangelize the world. I am not against mass media or huge venues but I am against them taking the place of making disciples the way Jesus did. Jesus walked with His disciples, those entrusted to Him, and made them His primary purpose not a means to an end.

So many times we use those entrusted to us to meet needs rather than, like Jesus, using the need to equip the saints. Jesus had compassion on the crowds but spent the bulk of His time making sure those entrusted to Him were equipped and released into the fullness of their calling.

Ephesians 4:16 says “the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love.

When church leaders begin to recognize, call out, equip, and release every gift into the body the church will grow.

Blessings,

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