The Essentials

The Essentials - Part One

By Dan Reiland

Throughout the 80's, the term was Church Growth. In the 90's, the phrase changed to church health. Today the emphasis is a combination of cultural relevance and postmodernism. Each evolution gets more complex. The more complex our work becomes, the simpler and clearer the answers must be.

Regardless of what emphasis you prefer, what era you identify with, or what style of ministry you relate to, there are basics that we all return to time and time again. They are the essentials that remind us that there is nothing new under the sun. The methods may be different, but are often a recurrence of something already done in the past. I was talking recently with a pastor who chose to light candles and incense in his worship service, saying it was the new, cutting-edge trend. I suggested that he go back several hundred years in church history to see that candles and incense were neither new nor cutting edge. We had a great conversation about the value of reaching people in relevant ways!

We must constantly study the culture to remain relevant, because methods will always change, even if they circle back to what has already been done. The current phrase "ancient-modern" says it well. But in our endeavor to be culturally relevant let's not forget the essentials that never change. In basketball, the coach will often take the team back to the basics of dribbling, shooting, and passing. So for the church, what are the basics? What are the essentials?

I believe they are leadership, prayer, and evangelism. Whether I'm coaching a young pastor planting a new church, or an established church of 5,000 people, at some point, I will challenge them to look at each of these things honestly and courageously. Ironically, I find that when I look at pastors’ and church leaders’ calendars, the three things I most often find missing are time for leadership development, prayer, and personal or relational evangelism.

In each of the three parts to this series on The Essentials, I will offer several diagnostic questions to help you evaluate how you are doing in each area.

The Leadership Essential.

John Maxwell says: "Everything rises and falls on leadership." It does. I know I will get flack for putting leadership before prayer, but stay with me. I realize that without God's power we can do nothing of eternal value. But without a leader God has no one though whom to use His power. God can accomplish His plan any way He wants, but He has chosen to work through people. God chose Abraham, Moses, Joshua, Joseph, David, Paul, and dozens of others. Jesus chose the twelve. God has chosen you and you choose your twelve. Leadership is how we get things done. Prayer is how we get things done that matter. We will return to prayer in Part Two.

Questions on the Leadership Essential:

Is the senior pastor confident in the vision and direction for the church?
Is this vision communicated clearly, understood, and embraced by the congregation?
Are the paid pastoral / ministry staff members unified and productive?
Are the official, non-paid key leaders of the church unified and productive?
Are new leaders being cultivated and developed?
Are the current leaders being trained on a regular basis?
Are the primary leaders of the church open and receptive to change?
Are committees or teams well organized without any bottlenecking blockages from primary leadership?
Does the organizational structure allow the important issues to be resolved and implemented quickly?
Do the key leaders, paid and non-paid, place a heavy emphasis on prayer?
Does the primary leadership hold Biblical leadership as a top priority?
Does the primary leadership model servanthood with a joyful spirit?
Are the primary leaders trustworthy?
Are the primary leaders willing to take risks?
Does the pastoral / ministry staff communicate genuine care and concern for the people?
Are the primary leaders positive and full of faith?
Is there is an intentional effort to identify and include new leaders?
Do the primary leaders freely empower others to lead and do the work of ministry?

When you take time to prayerfully and honestly answer these questions, and take appropriate action, the process will serve you and your ministry well.

The following five components of leadership do not represent a comprehensive list of what is required to lead well. They are, however, the essentials of leadership that you must attend to if you want your long term leadership endeavors to be successful.

1. A compelling vision
Good local church ministry must be driven by a God-sized vision. This is far more than a well crafted slogan. It is something you deeply believe that God has given you to do. It fuels the fire that brings life to your unique expression of the mission that all local churches share, found in Matthew 28:19-20. This common vision must burn bright in you and your key leaders before it will ignite within your congregation.

2. A clear strategy
A compelling vision isn't enough. Far too many visions and dreams that are truly God-breathed never materialize because the leaders choose not to exercise the painstaking discipline to "plan their work and work their plan." The truth is that a strategy without vision is drudgery, but a vision without strategy is usually just hot air. Write a clear plan based on your strategy and stick to it.

3. A process for developing leaders
This is at the very core of what is needed to build a strong and vibrant church. There are several previous Pastor's Coach articles pertaining to developing leaders, but for now, let me simply encourage you to make this a priority. Dedicate regular time each month to invest in your leaders and set aside regular time each month to gather and invest into potential leaders. The future of your church and your personal ministry longevity depends on it. There is plenty of material available on leadership. You don't need to write your own. Find some you like and keep learning.

4. Healthy and productive relationships
Even natural leaders can get stopped dead in the water if they have poor relational skills. But the issue of a leader's relationships goes much deeper than just learning how to get along with others. It involves core character issues such as honesty, trust, and integrity. We must all know our basic "Dale Carnegie", but Carnegie without character rings hollow and misses the mark. (By the way, Carnegie was a man of great personal character.)

5. Continued personal growth as a leader
It is not enough to have a college degree from and have read a few leadership books. You must be a student of leadership your entire life. God has blessed me with the privilege of church leadership for twenty-five years and I have received training from some of the best in the world. Yet there isn't a week that goes by that I don't realize my need to continue growing as a leader. How about you? What are you doing to invest in yourself as a leader? What are you applying that is fresh and new for you in your practice of leadership?

In part two of this series we will cover the vitally important role prayer plays in your ministry.

Blessings!

This article is used by permission from Dr. Dan Reiland's free monthly e-newsletter 'The Pastor's Coach' available at www.INJOY.com.