The Sincere Lifestyle of the Spiritual Leader
1 Thessalonians 5:12 And we beseech you, brethren, to know them which labour among you, and are over you in the Lord, and admonish you;
Hebrews 13:7 Remember them which have the rule over you, who have spoken unto you the word of God: whose faith follow, considering the end of their conversation.
Hebrews 13:17 Obey them that have the rule over you, and submit yourselves: for they watch for your souls, as they that must give account, that they may do it with joy, and not with grief: for that is unprofitable for you.
Intro: I want to begin tonight’s message by sharing my heart about spiritual leadership within the church.
I grew up attending a number of different churches.
Some were healthy, and some were not.
Some had a solid biblical group of leaders within the church, and some did not.
Some had a pastor that understood his biblical mandates and performed them well and with sincerity.
Some did not have healthy leadership and they used and abused the people of God for their own gain.
Growing up in this wide variety of churches and church philosophies, all of them had one thing in common:
They failed to properly and adequately train church leaders.
I never heard a message on the subject.
I never attended a training session on leadership. Not one. Ever.
I didn’t even hear it dealt with when I went through my mission board’s orientation for missionaries.
It was more like a Bible conference and a camp meeting.
I received no practical, nuts and bolts training on how to be a spiritual leader.
I never read a book on it.
I never sat down with a pastor and found out his vision, his heart, his defined expectations for me as a leader.
I purposed to never make that mistake if I was put in a leadership position.
I purposed to be the best leader I could possibly be.I purposed to keep learning, keep growing, keep pushing myself out of my comfort zone.
I purposed to make sure that the people under my leadership would know several important things:
1. My vision and my goals as their pastor.
2. My need for their help and labor to make that vision become a reality.
3. My expectations of them that I would clearly and plainly communicate.
I purposed to communicate my expectations of them by three very effective methods:
1. Through my Exhortation of the Word of God in my preaching and teaching.
2. Through my Example as their pastor in my day to day lifestyle.
3. Through my Explanation of my agenda for the church and how each person plays a part in it.
To say that I am obsessed with leadership training might be accurate.
I do not know a pastor that attempts to train his own church members and church leaders more than I do.
· I spend hours with the pastoral staff in my office uniting everyone around the gameplan.
· I write letters, ministry policies and procedures, make myself available for questions.
· We have Structured and Strengthened Month every September to meet with every worker.
· We have Leadership Orientation every August for four hours with guest preachers.
Tonight’s message is a refresher of the last 10 years of Leadership Orientations that we have had here.
Four hours, times 10 years is FORTY HOURS of very pointed, very plain, very purposed spiritual leadership sessions.
I have literally given our many different guest preachers talking points of what to cover and teach.
I know from personal experience that UNDEFINED EXPECTATIONS are the cause of great frustration.
You know what else is the source of great frustration?
Deliberately communicating those expectations for church leaders through Exhortation, Example and Explanation over and over and over again, and those you’re attempting to train simply do not cooperate.
I want to say this before I get into the message.
1. I am grateful.
I thank God for every person that does anything to make this ministry go forward.I cannot do it without you. I wouldn’t even try!
You are a blessing and you are a God-send.
2. I am dedicated.
There’s no part of me that is discouraged from fully implementing God’s vision for this church.
I came here ten years ago and have outlasted a whole lot of people that thought I wouldn’t last.
They are gone, and I’m still here, chipping away at it.
My vision has not dimmed; my goals have not diminished.
My desire to keep transforming the members of this church and growing a team of spiritual leaders is still strong.
I have no plans to give up.
I have no intention of accepting anyone’s lower standards of excellence.
I am heaven bound with the hammer down. Let’s do this!!!
3. I am running out ways to define my expectations.
Some of our spiritual leaders simply do not appear to want to be a leader.
Sometimes I feel like I’m trying to coach football with people that think we are playing ping pong.
We need to get on the same page.
Or better yet, I need for you to get on my page because I’m pretty sure that I’m on God’s page!
I chose these verses for our text tonight because each one of them have a phrase in common.
· 1 Thessalonians 5:12 And we beseech you, brethren, to know them which labour among you, and are over you in the Lord, and admonish you;
· Hebrews 13:7 Remember them which have the rule over you, who have spoken unto you the word of God: whose faith follow, considering the end of their conversation.
· Hebrews 13:17 Obey them that have the rule over you, and submit yourselves: for they watch for your souls, as they that must give account, that they may do it with joy, and not with grief: for that is unprofitable for you.
As the pastor, I have been place in a position of leadership.
But I cannot bear the burden alone. I need help!
So I have recruited a team made up of God’s people to help me lead.
As the pastor, I have the confidence in your that I have put you over an area of ministry.
You are also over a group of people; over a specific facet of the ministry.
As a spiritual leader, there are many vital, essential requirements.
I am only going to deal with three of them tonight.
Before I deal with them, I want to preface this with this honest acknowledgement: I am doing these.
I would never ask anyone to do something that I will not do. (except work in the nursery and drive a bus!)
I have preached on these things.
I have taught and explained these things.
And more importantly, I have set an example of faithfulness in these three areas.
I am above reproach in these points.
I can say that without hesitation because it is the result of a SINCERE LIFESTYLE.
It’s not a checklist that I mark every day.
It’s not a list of job requirements that the deacons posted on my office door.
Not one single church member has to remind me or stay on me.
It’s as much a part of my life as breathing and eating.
And it should be as much a part of your life as well!
It is a LIFESTYLE! Not a list of do’s and don’ts that you have to check off to impress the pastor.
The Sincere Lifestyle of the Spiritual Leader requires:
I. Intense Preparation
Preparation is all the work and travail that goes into being a leader that nobody sees.
They see the results of it.
They see the evidence of it.
But they do not see the planning, the preparing and the praying that goes into being a leader.
· 2 Timothy 2:21 If a man therefore purge himself from these, he shall be a vessel unto honour, sanctified, and meet for the master’s use, and prepared unto every good work.
· Luke 12:47 And that servant, which knew his lord’s will, and prepared not himself, neither did according to his will, shall be beaten with many stripes.
The amount of preparation that goes into being an effective spiritual leader is exhausting.
The Sincere Lifestyle of the Spiritual Leader requires:
II. Invested Participation
You cannot lead anything if you’re absent.
You cannot influence as a leader is required to do if you are disengaged.
If your only involvement is in your little niche of leadership, you’re missing the boat!
You cannot just show up and fulfil your leadership opportunity without helping the church in other areas.
TURN TO 2 CORINTHIANS 6:1-13
Paul told Timothy to “make full proof of thy ministry.”
There is a lifestyle of labour that VALIDATES your ministry.
There is a way of conduct that PROVES you’re the right person for the job.
Distance will create divisions and confusion; your presence creates unity and strength.
Personal involvement is essential.
Helping lighten the load is not optional; it’s part of being a spiritual leader.
If you never have to wash your hands, you’re doing it wrong!
If you never break a sweat or get dirty down here at the house of God, you’re doing it wrong!
Servant leadership is the only kind of leadership we allow here at Calvary Baptist Church.
Our deacons do so much that I cannot keep up with it.
Our staff does far more than they should be doing.
I fear that I have done a great disservice to this church by bringing men on staff to do what church members should be doing.
We may have created a mindset that all the work is taken care of.
I do not want a staff-run church.
It’s all of our church. It’s everybody’s place to make sure everything gets done.
Be a worker. Be a servant. Set an example of labor and service and a heart of ministry.
The Sincere Lifestyle of the Spiritual Leader requires:
III. Intentional Propagation
PROPAGATION:
to cause (an organism) to multiply by any process of natural reproduction from the parent stock.
to reproduce (itself, its kind, etc.), as an organism does.
to transmit (hereditary features or elements) (does your transmission work? Or is it slipping??)
to spread (a report, doctrine, practice, etc.) from person to person; disseminate.
to cause to increase in number or amount.
Duplication is the primary objective of the local church.
There are so many Bible verses to illustrate this that I struggle with knowing which ones to use.
· Christians are supposed to produce Christians. (Acts 11:26)
· Pastors are supposed to produce other pastors. (Titus 1:5)
· Churches are supposed to produce churches. (Acts 14:23)
· Disciples are supposed to produce other disciples. (Acts 6:7)
· Leaders are supposed to produce leaders.
I want to say this as plainly as I can – if you are not reproducing, you are sterile; therefore, you are failing.
If you are trying, and are unsuccessful, that is one thing.
If you are not even trying, that is inexcusable!
God’s plan for the furtherance of the church is for those in the church to propagate.
It will not happen any other way!
· 2 Timothy 2:2 And the things that thou hast heard of me among many witnesses, the same commit thou to faithful men, who shall be able to teach others also.
Fruit bearing is the litmus test of success.
· Who is saved because of you?
· Who is serving God because of you?
· Who is in this church because of you?
· How has your position in this church as a spiritual leader benefited this church numerically?
· What should we conclude about you as a leader if we judge you by your fruit?
Matthew 7
· 16 Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles?
· 17 Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit.
· 18 A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit.
· 19 Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire.
· 20 Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them.
Jesus saw a fig trees that had no figs on it, and He cursed it.
· Matthew 21:19 And when he saw a fig tree in the way, he came to it, and found nothing thereon, but leaves only, and said unto it, Let no fruit grow on thee henceforward for ever. And presently the fig tree withered away.
The husbandman walked through his vineyard and saw a tree that SHOULD have had figs, and it didn’t. His first response was to cut it down and asked a very good question:
· Luke 13:7 Then said he unto the dresser of his vineyard, Behold, these three years I come seeking fruit on this fig tree, and find none: cut it down; why cumbereth it the ground?
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