Growing Real Leaders

TROWEL & SWORD

Resources - Leadership

August 2000

SWORD - DEFENDING

Growing Real Leaders

David Groenenboom

How can we work for better leaders in the CRCA? I must admit, what we do now is streets ahead of what we did when I first entered the ministry. Then, we’d be lucky to have a reasonable talk at a Ministers Conference every three years. Then, we certainly were not encouraged to make use of training events outside the CRCA. Now, we are starting to realise much more profound truths: leadership resources are rich outside the CRCA; it is not only ministers who need to develop leadership skills; and leadership development is not just horizontal (i.e. occurring at the “top”). It also needs to happen through every level of body life.

Think of it this way: every three years your minister goes to the CRCA minister’s conference (or at least he should). There, he and his wife will receive challenging and responsible input relevant to their calling. In recent years we’ve had people speak about leadership, the pastor’s prayer ministry, understanding personalities, as well as various topics dealing with specific emphases in Scripture. My question is: why is this sort of leadership development only given to ministers? Surely elders need leadership development as well. Are we prepared to match what we spend on a minister’s leadership development with an equal amount for elder and deacon training? It occurs to me that this is a practical flow-on from our belief in the equality of the offices. So, how is it in your budget?

I remember several ministers’ conferences ago Gilbert Cann came to speak to us about pastoral work, but he did not come alone. Accompanying him was a young man whom Mr Cann was also training for leadership. This idea of apprenticeship is something we should also employ. Think of some of the ways this could be applied:

The minister takes an elder on a home visit, not just to make up “the pair”, but specifically with the idea of training the elder to be a more effective pastoral worker in the church. The minister could do the same on an evangelistic visit, asking along an elder or congregational member with a view to giving some on the job training in witnessing. These visits can then be discussed together to make the most of the learning experience.
Elders – suitably gifted – could take a congregation member along on a home visit. The intention would be to give the member some understanding of pastoral work and the ministry of encouragement. Most elders say they would have benefited from more training for their task – here’s one solution. Train future elders while the currently serving brother is doing his work.
Elders can get a few people together, praying with them and seeking together to develop small groups within the congregation. There’s hardly anything more affirmative than being warmly encouraged by an elder who has a passion for his work, and who knows what he’s doing as he does it.
Leaders of various kinds can ask young people to join them for short bursts in areas of service. Why can’t an elder take a young person on a home visit? Or a Calvinette leader take a potential leader on a visit to one of the young girls? Or a Sunday School leader share his vision for working with kids with one of the young people? Or the music team might ask some of the musical beginners along to rehearsal prior to the Sunday service – just to encourage their development.

The real issue is that we have to get away from the idea that leadership development is just something for ministers, and then perhaps elders – after they have been elected (crazy, ain’t it?). One of the problems we currently face is that people in the church do not sense the joy of leadership. They do not rise to the challenge. They have little understanding of its privileges. This can be turned around with a positive understanding of what it means to serve from those who are already serving. And this in turn will only come from those who clearly believe that they are truly serving the Jesus Christ who died for them.

Leadership development is central to the long-term health of the local church. Where we keenly and responsibly embrace it, I believe we will see great developments at the local level. We may see apathy and indifference challenged, and in places even conquered. And we may just give our young people a powerful reason to serve the Lord in their own church, instead of feeling they have to move on to find something a little more engaging.

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