Recap of Introducing Leadership - Part I - Why leadership?

This past Tuesday Night was our church's very first Introducing Leadership Event, where we introduced the concept of local church leadership and what that looks like at Sunrise to any who wished to attend. It was a good way not only to become more educated on the subject but to show to those interested in leadership and those just interested what is going on behind-the-scenes at Sunrise.

This is the first of three blog entries that will re-cap what was covered:

Part I - Why does a Church Need Leadership?

A. Used to think...

I used to think: Why can't we all just use our gifts & talents to serve the church?! We'll gather round in a circle, hold hands, sing kumbayah, and Jesus will be the center. So we won't need a leader or leaders if this works.

But it became clear to me, thanks to my friend simply pointing to the New Testament, that there were leaders in the church -- the New Testament spoke at length about these dudes called 'elders.' Paul, Peter, and John were often calling themselves 'fellow elders.'

The next thought I had was that God gave us leaders because the 'system' was broken. We are all one body, each of us using our gifts as members of that body, and Jesus is our leader. But because we are sinners and live in a fallen world, God uses leaders to get us in line. And while there is some truth in that...

B. I've grown to believe that leadership in a church serves a grander purpose

Just like Spiritual Gifts. Last Sunday we examined Ephesians 4: 7-16 in asking the question: What's it all for? Specifically, using our gifts as a unified body of believers -- what's it all for. My plea was: To get & give a taste of Saving Grace & Future Glory.

Using gifts as a church gives others a taste of Saving Grace. Grace is God's love made active through an unconditional, undeserved gift. The supreme pinnacle of grace is Jesus Christ & his saving work on the cross. So while not every example of God's love made active (grace) is saving grace (see even Eph. 4:7a -- here 'grace' is a spiritual gift) -- every example of grace is based on and stems from saving grace (see 4: 7b-10). So every time we use spiritual gifts, we are giving and getting a taste of saving grace. Why? Because when someone sacrifices time & energy to use their gift(s) is such a way as to bless someone unconditionally (without asking anything in return), we're reminded of...well, another unconditional sacrifice.

Using gifts as a church gives others a taste of Future Glory. Three pairs of words are repeated in Ephesians 4: 7-16 - Build, grow, fill. Verses 12-13 show how in using my gift to minister to you, you are built up to then turn around and use your gift to build me up (and the cycle of goodness continues). As we build one another the body grows upward into Christ (v.15) until we, as the church, get to be Christ's visible representation on earth of filling all things (v.10). Build, grow, fill and we almost get there on earth -- but will only see that vision of the church when we're reunited with Jesus in eternal life. BUT we do almost get there by using our gifts to serve one another, and that gives people a taste of future glory (see 1 Corinthians 13: 8-10 for how gifts hint at future perfection).

And so using spiritual gifts to benefit the body serves a greater purpose than just a functioning church.

Just like marriage. In Ephesians 5: 23-34, Paul shows how the marriage relationship serves a grander purpose than simply the relationship between a man and woman. Hence: "But I am talking about Christ and the church" (v.32). The sacrificial, "I'm giving myself up to serve your interests" leadership of a husband and the responsive respect & submission of a wife serves a grander purpose of being the most gospel-magnifying human relationship one can have. There is no other relationship on earth that can better and more vividly demonstrate Christ's love for his church and the church's love for him than marriage.

Just like leadership. Leadership in the local church is ultimately meant to give us a taste of, to illustrate the mystery of the Godhead, the Trinity and, specifically, the relationship between the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit (HS).

The Father, Son, & HS are all mentioned in God's Word as being divine. They are of the same substance. Yet, they are three different persons and have different functions. While they are all equal in divinity, in God-ness, they are not equal in function or roles.

Jesus says that the HS defers to Him, to His authority, and only speaks His words: When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare what is yet to come (John 16: 13-14). The HS, while equal to Jesus in stature, is not equal in role/function. So he defers to Jesus.

Jesus also says the he defers to God the Father, to His authority, and only seems to imitate what He sees His Father doing. Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of his own accord, but only what he sees the Father doing. For whatever the Father does, that the Son does likewise (John 5:19). The Son recognizes all authority belongs with His Father. While He is equal to the Father in nature, in stature, he is not equal in role/function. So he defers to the Father.

C. Why is this important?

Without leadership, would we be missing organization and direction? Yes. But more importantly, we'd be missing out on an opportunity to give others a taste of the relationship between God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. Wow! What an opportunity!! We get to be Bob Barker and show what's right behind the curtain so people can jump for joy.

When we grow weary of leadership, get annoyed by or question certain leaders, how we respond doesn't just reflect upon our church, it reflects upon how people see the Trinity. So even when we need to respond by asking questions or disagreeing, how we ask those questions or how we disagree (I would suggest: Go directly to the person without anger and without discussing the matter with others) again affects how people will see the Father, Son, & Holy Spirit.

Part II - I'm a Local Church Leader: What the heck am I doing?! (stay tuned)..