Visionary Leadership

Every church has leaders, whether those leaders are officially chosen and officially recognized or not
That the church chooses leaders does not insure that those chosen will be good leaders.
A leader may technically meet biblical criteria and not be a good leader.
Thinking that church leaders are selected for life often eliminates accountability for the leaders.
The contemporary church suffers from a lack of visionary leadership.

Consider:
Visionary leaders receive their vision from God, his Word, and his purpose; not from their own thinking.
Visionary leaders are spiritual men and women who faithfully live out their Christian commitment, providing an example for others.
Visionary leaders are steeped in the Word of God and use it to guide every aspect of life.
Visionary leaders communicate the vision and show how it connects with God’s purpose as revealed in God’s Word.
Visionary leaders are teachers of God’s Word, able to use God’s Word to provide counsel and direction.
Visionary leaders help the church develop the capacities to follow the vision God provides.

For additional reflection and thinking:
The church’s need for forward-looking leadership is the subject of an article posted with today’s date: Visionary Leadership.

It’s Sunday Again: “To Whom Am I a Neighbor?”

Another Sunday, the opportunity to worship with another part of the wonderful, great, extended family of God. Today Jan and I are representing Baxter Institute at the Missions Fair at the Park Plaza church in Tulsa, Oklahoma, after which I will preach in the Spanish-speaking assembly.

My sermon text is the parable of the Good Samaritan. Which questions are valid? Which are the good questions?

  • What must I do to inherit eternal life?
  • What does the Bible say?
  • Who is my neighbor?
  • Who is a neighbor?
  • To whom am I am neighbor? Or, Whose neighbor am I?

    • On a Sunday when the church is thinking about the mission of God, we often make it too complex and difficult. Mission begins with the opportunities and neighbors God has already given us.

    Team Building Seminars

    The work of the local church cannot be done by one person charged with ministry, or even by a small group of persons who provide leadership and are committed to the work. God intended the church to work together with the involvement of every member for self-edification and self-development (Ephesians 4:15-16). Paul describes the church as a body in which every member is important and has a role (1 Corinthians 12:12-24).
    Because of the importance of this dynamic, and because many churches struggle with how to develop an involved membership, I have developed several team building seminar plans. One such plan is available online via recent posts. Review the design and concepts, and let me know if I can be of assistance in the development of your local church.
    English: How to Develop a Team in your Church.
    Spanish: Seminario: Como Desarrollar un Equipo para la Iglesia Local.

    Evangelism 5-4-3-2-1

    I believe most ministers want to be evangelistic, want to see the church grow, want to see people brought to Christ. I believe that evangelism is a goal of most churches. In my experience, most Christians are thrilled when people are saved and pleased when the church grows. I believe most church leaders believe evangelism is a task and responsibility of the church. If churches, church leaders, ministers, and Christians want evangelism to occur, and if it is not occurring, what is lacking? If desire is not lacking, what is lacking?

    In some cases, no method for evangelism has been identified and used. What is lacking is a simple evangelism tool that can be used by the average Christian. (If this is the case, I would point toward Jerry Tallman and “His Eternal Plan,” James Nored and the “Story of Redemption,” Don Calhoun and “Quest for Truth” or the Spanish version “En Busca de la Verdad,” and the Fishers of Men materials.) In other cases, what is lacking is prospects. Sometimes, there are not many good prospects, or such prospects have not been identified. Especially in graying churches, there may be a lack of networks or bridges across which the gospel can travel to touch those who are most likely to be interested. We can add that some people are held back by fear, and there are other barriers that could be identified.

    A major challenge is developing an organizational structure that can help the church understand the evangelism process and can guide the church and its members in making appropriate evangelistic contacts. My recent article, “Evangelism 5-4-3-2-1”, seeks to answer this need. The tool described in the article can be used by an individual Christian or can be used to guide a congregational effort. Nothing fancy, nothing for sale, an idea available for any and all to use. May God bless us as we strive to reach out with the gospel!

    Training Seminar: Developing Leaders and Teachers

    The weekend seminar in Waukegan is underway despite a slight bump due to the weather. We will make up the session that was missed last night with an extra session today.

    Providing educational opportunities for Christians is essential for the development of church members, for the development of the local church, and for the development of leaders and teachers in local congregations. This need is especially pressing among Hispanic congregations. EVO, Education for Vocational Workers, seeks to meet that need by providing seminars to assist with congregational development.
    This weekend’s seminar is primarilyi focused on studies in Luke. Participants will be able to develop their own lessons, classes, and sermons from the gospel of Luke, using themes such as the identity of Jesus, discipleship, the upside-down nature of the kingdom, leadership, prayer, and repentance. The study will also note the importance of the many parables unique to Luke.
    Pray for our brothers and sisters who are working around the world to evangelize the Spanish-speaking world. The harvest is ready but the workers are few. Pray for us also as we work to prepare more workers!

    On a personal note, it is cold in northern Illinois. But after more than a dozen years in Michigan, I know about cold weather. Looking forward to some of the upcoming Latin American seminars with more comfortable weather and temperatures!

    Cause for Concern?

    I offer a recent reflection (These Things Concern Me) with the hope that we might step back and evaluate our tendencies toward division rather than unity. I ask that you prayerfully read and think and reflect in the spirit in which I write.

    I am concerned with an increasing tendency to develop and use creeds, even while affirming that we have no creed but the Bible. In some places, doctrinal statements are elevated almost to the status of “confessions of faith.” Fellowship may be extended or denied based on such statements. Such statements may be used as the basis for marking a brother as erring, and guilt by association ensues so that fellowship depends on who I talk to and avoiding certain brothers in Christ.
    Further accentuating the problem is that such statements often have financial leverage so that people align with one or another person or group based on financial considerations. “I can preach it however you want it” is not only a challenge on the theological left–it is also a challenge on the theological right.
    Let us seek to restore the Christ-centeredness and Christ-loyalty of the early church, allowing room for growth as we mature together into a measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ.

    I want to be part of resolving divisions and uniting the body of Christ. When and where can brothers of like spirit meet and talk? How can we work together to glorify God and advance his Cause?

    Baxter Institute: Going Strong as We Begin a 49th Year of Ministry Training

    Today I am traveling to Dallas on behalf of Baxter Institute, attending a meeting of the Presidential Search Committee. The work of the committee will help determine the future of Baxter, but today I am reflecting upon the past.
    What we know today as Baxter became a reality in Mexico in 1963 as Brother Harris Goodwin and others prepared to receive the fisrt class of students in 1964. During some of the early years in Mexico, Brother Dan Coker served as director. In 1978, Baxter moved to Tegucigalpa, Honduras. Harris Goodwin served as president for over 30 years until 1996. Calvin Henry served as president 1997-2003, followed by Steve White (2004-2009) and Howard Norton (2009-2012). Baxter is unique among ministry training schools because it is a four-year program, academically rigorous, and intensely practical.
    The next president will begin serving in 2013 and will help guide Baxter as it celebrates 50 years of ministry training. Baxter today counts over 500 graduates who serve throughout Latin America and in numerous parts of the U.S. The extension program and Saturday leadership training program have added many more alumni who hold certificates and diplomas of various types.
    Baxter exists to serve the church, but especially to serve the Latin American churches. Through the training and development of ministers, missionaries, and church leaders, Baxter continues to play an important role. The economic challenges seem to increase relentlessly with inflation, more government mandates, and increased costs. Economic uncertainties worldwide have accentuated the challenge.
    I ask two things. First, I ask you to pray for Baxter and its work. Pray for our students and for our graduates. Second, I ask you to help provide financial support as you can, either personally or through your contacts or through helping us tell the story. For more information, please check us out on the web at Baxter Institute or contact me.

    It’s Sunday Again: A Day with our “Near Family”

    [Some have commented on my ‘absence’ during the last couple of weeks. At times the mind is overwhelmed with thoughts and activities and a break is needed.–by]

    In our physical families, we have close relatives and distant relatives. So also spiritually. For Jan and me, our ministry and missions efforts mean that we spend a lot of time with distant relatives in our spiritual family–often with family members we are meeting for the first time. The bittersweet is that while our efforts give us lots of sweet, meaningful “family reunions” with new brothers and sisters, they also take us away from the local church and the relationships we know and cherish as a result of spending much of the last ten years in close connections.
    Today we “at home.” We will relish the relationships and share spiritual conversations. It will be especially meaningful to us because our ministry and mission schedule will take us away for the next eight Sundays (Waukegan, Tulsa, Lexington, Nashville, Edmond, Solola, Chichicastenango, San Lorenzo). For this reason, we anticipate sharing our lives today–praying, singing, assembling around The Table. On this day we will also assemble a group of close friends to celebrate and remember special times we have shared in the past.

    May your family reunion today be meaningful to you–whether with near family or with distant relatives! May your time with your spiritual family be an avenue for touching spiritual truths and realities, and may you be spiritually stronger because you spend time with those of like precious faith.

    Faith and Marriage

    The end of 2011 brought an interesting report to my inbox. The Association of Religion Data Archives, in an Ahead of the Trend report, shared the following under the title, “Happily ever after: Shared faith linked to kinder, gentler marriages.”

    “Fewer people may be getting married today, but there is new evidence that religious beliefs and practices can have a significant influence on the quality of marital relationships. One study finds couples who pray together and share religious values are more likely to express affection and love, perform acts of kindness and be less critical of their partners.”

    Leadership Training in 2012

    As some of you know, a major focus of our ministry and mission activities in 2012 is training for leaders and teachers. The local church in many places is in desperate need of effective leaders and teachers. Because of this emphasis, I plan to devote an increasing number of 2012 blogs to exploring leadership concepts.

    Leadership has been various defined. Leadership can be understood by what leaders do. One can study leadership theory or practical leadership. Theory must be translated to practice.

    A leader is sensitive and aware, seeing what others cannot see.
    A leader is out in front, seeing what others have not yet seen.
    A leader is typically a “big picture” person, seeing more than others see and connecting seemingly disconnected items.
    A leader is a planner, seeing farther than others see.