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PHILOSOPHY OF SPIRITUAL LEADERSHIP
A Paper
In Partial Fulfillment
by
December, 2003
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"Spiritual leadership" is the practice of dreaming God's dream, motivating His people, administering His flock, and serving His cause. The church belongs to God, and He will take care of it by providing direction to those He has appointed to lead it (Exodus 3). Additionally, we as leaders have been entrusted to see that it and its members bear fruit (John 15:1-8). The church is composed of fellow believers in Christ, and it is our responsibility as leaders to lead them by example and direction into service for Him (1 Timothy 4:12). We are to take care of the flock we have been appointed and given to serve (James 1:26), lifting them up in prayer and meeting their needs as we can. Finally, we must present our leadership in truth as a pursuit of God's will, not man's, for His glory and enjoyment.
Purpose: Why does the church exist?
As the church is comprised of individuals, it shares the same purpose as any person, according to the Westminster Catechism: "The chief end of man"--and, by extension, the church--"is to glorify God." In both individual and corporate life, all that we do is a pursuit of God's glory for his own sake. He does not need us to bring Him this glory, it is intrinsic to Him; but He gives us the right and responsibility to glorify Him because He deserves it. This is the foundation to any legitimate service for God.
Everything that God's representatives do will reflect on His character. If a church or person is functioning as Scripture indicates it should, God will receive glory in this world. But if it is passive, or worse, cultivates an unchristian reputation, God's character is impugned. The church and its constituents that pursue lifestyles of Christlikeness will offend the world only for His sake, and that, according to Scripture, is the best way to upset someone. It is necessary for both evangelism and service.
Paradigm: How do we as the church see ourselves?)
Teaching a biblical purpose to a church is meaningless if it is unwilling to look hard at how--or if--it implements that purpose in its own acts of service. Every church has its own perspective on what constitutes legitimate service and devotion to God's glory, and how this is implemented may be a good sign as to whether the church really is interested in bringing God glory. However, we all must be prepared to look at ourselves outside our church's own localized context for signs of effective ministry. Truly bringing God glory will always bear fruit, and it is incumbent on all of us to be honest with ourselves as to whether our efforts are really doing this.
Philosophy: Why do we do what we do?
Closely related to the paradigm is the philosophy of ministry: if we can honestly see ourselves as a church being "after God's will," we must next be sure that what values we believe and hold dear are based on His Word. The Bible never lets us down in giving such reasoning: "If you love me, you will obey what I command" (John 14:15). It is incumbent upon spiritual leaders to be sure first that they are faithful to what God has called them to do, before; then they are to lead their congregations in whatever mission God will have put before them, and they will be able to do it for the right reasons. Ultimately, we ought to do what we do because we love God, and because He deserves it.
Mission: What is the Church's ministry?
Every church is called to spread the Gospel. A church with a correctly-oriented philosophy will, by virtue of their interest in God's glory rather than their own concerns, fulfill the Great Commission; they won't be able to help it.
This is the central issue in developing any kind of action plan for not just the church as a whole, but for each ministry within it. The spiritual leader is someone who sees his function in any ministry as to take some part in its execution--either by conceiving it, cultivating it, or implementing it. Without a leader, and specifically one with a sense of mission, the church is aimless and unprofitable for the kingdom.
Vision: What is the church supposed to accomplish?
Once the mission is determined, the church must move to the stage of articulating a desired outcome; that is, they know from where the ministry begins (the pursuit of God's glory), and where it is supposed to go ("into all the world" with the Gospel). The key now is to determine what steps are necessary to get there.
Spiritual leaders are people who are able to articulate this "Ÿberplan" to give a church a sense of what specifically is to be accomplished in any endeavor. He need not feel that he must be particularly creative in this respect; after all, if it is God's dream, He will provide the vision. Anything a leader might come up with out of his own rationale is not really the Will of God, it is his own. God will share His dream with those who are in communication with Him; He promises whoever "truly seeks me will find me" (Jeremiah 29:13).
Strategy: How will we accomplish our mission and vision?
Once a vision has been cast, the wise spiritual leader surrounds himself with a few people to help develop a "plan of attack." They will discuss the details of implementing the vision within the particular context of the church, determining specific needs and logistical considerations.
Care must be taken by the leader that he is working with people who are prone to be sympathetic to this vision God has given Him. They will provide the best criticism for the purposes of refining the vision God has given. Selecting a panel of individuals for other reasons, typically because they have traditionally held such posts, may expose an otherwise Spirit-initiated purpose to "humanized" motivations or personal agendas.
Structure: How will we organize to accomplish our mission and vision?
After the "planning committee" (which may in fact consist of one person or, preferably, many persons), the finalized strategy is brought to the church for proposal of enactment. Here they will not only determine whether to follow the plan or not, but who among the Body are best equipped to be staffed to its requisite implementation. This may be determined in strategy sessions, but it is ultimately up to the individuals in the Body to make themselves available for service. The leader's role here is to have cultivated within each person a sense of their own "ministerial calling" and availability to whatever God may have planned for the church to do. More than a cheerleader or motivational speaker, he demonstrates love and concern for these people, doing as much as he can to pray up "hedges" around the individual members and preserve them for service to the Lord.