A leadership pathway
A lot of training can happen within local churches, there are certain areas of training which are well suited to being done on a network-wide level, e.g. training of prophets, preachers, worship leaders - and senior leaders!
Our conviction is that raising up pastors and senior leaders needs apostolic direction and provocation.
We see a great example of this in the life of the Apostle Paul, who in Acts 16 discerns a call of God on Timothy, invests into his character and leadership development, calling him into work as part of his team serving a variety of churches. (for more about Timothy, Titus and apostolic teams read about support teams)
For any family, group, network or denomination of churches, it’s vital that there is a clear longer-term, ongoing strategy for training leaders and pastors.
The apostle Paul is clear that whoever ‘aspires to be an overseer desires a noble task’ (1 Timothy 3:1). When coupled with the right motivations rooted in servanthood, leading in the church is a ‘noble’ aspiration to have. We are a family of churches who need to be led well and therefore training our leaders must be a high priority.
We are not a formal denomination, but a relatively small network of churches who largely rely on our pool of people ‘within’ to provide our pastors and leaders. We don’t have a Bible College or seminary, meaning flexibility and tailor-made training needs to be at the forefront. Rather than a seminary with a set in-and-out for students, we need to provide flexible and adaptable pathways into leadership.
The essentials of leadership
When training leaders, three areas have often been helpfully drawn out:
Heart: character
Leadership centred on godly character. We want a wave of leaders who embody our a culture of life, faith, unity, humility & joy. We want our churches led by leaders who have depth of character, a genuine commitment to servant-hearted leadership and have high levels of integrity and trust. A clear call of God needs to be in place.
Head: theological knowledge
We want to train leaders who treasure and value theological truths. We want our churches led by leaders who lead out of depth of knowledge and depth of love for the Scriptures.
Hands: skills
Our churches need to be led by leaders who are highly competent in their leadership skills; who know how to lead teams effectively, are inspiring public speakers, are able to handle people with honour and consistency, know how to get the best out of people with a variety of giftings, can manage time pressures and a range of commitments.
How are we training?
How can we ensure people are being trained up to lead our churches in this manner?
Mentoring
A clear and undoubted model we see in the Scriptures is that of older, more experienced leaders mentoring younger leaders: Elijah and Elisha, Jesus and his disciples, Paul and Timothy. Mentoring gives the chance to touch on each of the three above elements, especially paying close attention to character and integrity.
Community
Training is best done alongside others in the context of community; the ‘vertical’ relationship of the mentor complemented by the ‘horizontal’ relationship of brothers and sisters also being trained. The disciples learnt together, the early church apostles worked and grew together as a team, throughout church history learning and being trained in community has been recognized as a key element of training as ‘irons sharpen irons’ and we learn from one another, being shaped by others as friendships form and develop among peers, friendships which can become the foundation for future ministry together.
Learning on the job
There is undoubted merit for simply starting a role and learning in situ. Humility is grounded as mistakes are inevitably made and corrected. The repetition of performing the same task, getting better at it each time is a key component of growth. The principle of being faithful in the small things comes into force, giving the chance for key character traits of integrity, consistency, resilience and servanthood to be ingrained.
Study
Leaders must be grounded in the Scriptures; the need to be rich in theological understanding as well as personal dedication to the Bible is essential.
Peter’s development
The example of the Apostle Peter helps us see these four in action:
He was mentored closely by Jesus, becoming one of the three closest disciples. Jesus taught him, corrected him, encouraged him, made space for him.
Peter was a key member of the disciples, being shaped and learning in relationship alongside other disciples.
Peter was regularly thrown in the deep end to learn - sometimes willingly (walking on water), sometimes less so (denial and subsequent reinstatement). He bravely stands up at Pentecost and proclaims who Jesus is, as well as throws himself into leadership of the early church.
As we meet Peter through his letters, written towards the end of his life, we find a man with a rich knowledge of the Scriptures who is able to apply such knowledge to the everyday life of followers of Jesus.
Pathway
Like Paul did with Timothy, our Pathway programme is about helping people move forward in the call of God, building on whatever experience and training they have previously undertaken.
Our focus is on developing senior leaders, as our most pressing training need. It could well be that some that participate end up being part of church plants or getting further stuck into local leadership.
Pathway is by invitation. For more information please talk to Rich Ellwood (Advance leader) or Al McNicoll (Pathway facilitator).