The Lausanne Covenant
Section #11: Education and Leadership
We confess that we have sometimes pursued church growth at the expense of church depth, and divorced evangelism from Christian nurture. We also acknowledge that some of our missions have been too slow to equip and encourage national leaders to assume their rightful responsibilities. Yet we are committed to indigenous principles, and long that every church will have national leaders who manifest a Christian style of leadership in terms not of domination but of service. We recognize that there is a great need to improve theological education, especially for church leaders. In every nation and culture there should be an effective training program for pastors and laity in doctrine, discipleship, evangelism, nurture and service. Such training programs should not rely on any stereotyped methodology but should be developed by creative local initiatives according to biblical standards. (Col. 1:27,28; Acts 14:23; Tit. 1:5,9; Mark 10:42-45; Eph. 4:11,12)
Let’s spend the next few blogs discussing the importance of expanding your own influence.
Whether it’s because we insist on maintaining control over every facet of ministry or we don’t recognize the treasure house of gifts God’s Spirit has invested in the people around us or we somehow think sharing ministry with others steals approval we want for ourselves, there is room to repent when we refuse to leverage the gifts, talents, experience, and wisdom of others.
Positively, there are few things more exciting than to watch the awakening of dormant gifts in unsuspecting leaders. Surprise is just another area of God’s expertise.
We begin the discussion with “Why?”.
Why is it so important that I multiply leaders?
1. The Bible. The Apostle Paul charges Timothy, “What you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses entrust to faithful men who will be able to teach others also” (2 Tim 2:2). Church Planting Movements around the world see this as their template for action. Their understanding of the Great Commission extends beyond simply seeing people come to faith in Jesus. They understand Christ's mandate to include training these new believers to train others. All disciples are expected to make more disciples who will make still more disciples. It’s not optional but expected from the beginning of one’s new life in Christ.
2. My limits. None of us is designed to carry the responsibilities of a church alone. Even the most gifted among us is still only one part of the body of Christ. We need others serving alongside us—compensating for our weaknesses, complementing our strengths, and extending our impact. Acts 6:1-7 demonstrates that people are hurt when I overextend. The same text provides an example of God raising up others who are full of the Spirit and wisdom to share the responsibilities. The result? “The word of God continued to increase and the number of disciples multiplied greatly…” (v. 7).
3. Missional reach. Becoming effective in producing leaders within my church multiplies my impact. Robert Whipple writes, “The best leaders spend 30-50% of their time trying to enhance the caliber of leaders on their team. Why is this? When you improve the capability of leaders working for you, the whole organization is improved. You are leveraging your leadership.” This is what identifying, training, and mobilizing leaders will do for a new church. It will allow us to leverage our leadership; expand our production capacity.
Reflect: If you were going to leverage your leadership by investing in others, with whom would you begin? Schedule the first step.
Post Written By: Gregg Heinsch, Chief Learning Officer at Vision360 Global
