Older Congregants Boost Growth

I am doing a deconstructionist critique of Christian transformational leadership. Among other things, this means that I study the footnotes. Here’s a particularly interesting one from Eddie Gibbs (Gibbs E 2005:200). He writes: “In a personal email [Peter Brierley] writes, ‘Your comment that churches making a significant impact among under 35-year-olds needing folk in the 70+ category was proved by our research from the 1998 English Church Attendance Survey in a report we wrote in collaboration with Springboard called Growing Churches in the 1990s. We found [that] 42 percent of churches grew when 25 percent of their attenders were 65+, the highest percentage of any age mix.’” QUESTION: What would older congregants do for growth? And how would one effectively accommodate them with under 35-year-olds?

"Strengths and Abilities"

Henry and Richard Blackaby, in their book Spiritual Leadership, quote the promise of God to Joshua in Josh 1:5-9. This includes the famous words: “Be strong and courageous!” Then they add this comment: “God did not flatter Joshua, nor did he encourage Joshua to draw courage from his own strengths and abilities. Rather, God made it abundantly clear to Joshua that he need not fear his own inadequacies because God would be in control. Joshua could lead the Hebrew nation with absolute confidence, not in his own leadership skills, but in the assurance of the Lord’s presence” (Blackaby H and Blackaby R 2001:95). QUESTION: Does this mean that our “own strengths and abilities” are not needed? What is the meaning of “the Lord’s presence”?

Godly Perspective

“Either you have a big God or you will have big problems. Oftentimes, our challenges become problems because we lose perspective of the greatness of God.” (Halcomb J, Hamilton D and Malmstadt H 2000:199). Assuming this to be true, it is an important statement. QUESTION: How do we “lose perspective of the greatness of God”? How can we restore it? The photo shows the book from which the quote is taken: Courageous Leaders.

The Same Love

Kenneth Boa (The Perfect Leader) states: “To avoid disharmony in the body of Christ, we must all have ‘the same love’ -- Jesus Christ. The more we love Jesus, the more we are able to love one another. Then, and only then, can there exist a united sense of purpose. Then we can refrain from manipulation and self-serving actions. Then we can truly serve others selflessly” (Boa K 2006:65). I would consider that Boa has correctly identified the solution to strife. This is my experience. QUESTION: How should the body develop “the same love”? What if some do not? And how does one define love for Jesus?

Ministry as Pointing

Walter C. Wright (Relational Leadership) considers: “We are called to live the resurrected life in such a way that it points people to God wherever we find ourselves ... It is to the God who holds on to us that we point people when we seek to exercise leadership as Christians.” (Wright W C 2000:7,21). Of all the North American literature I have read, such “pointing” comes closest to my own ministry philosophy. QUESTION: Yet what does it mean to point to God? To point to His Person? His deeds? His attributes as exemplar? His commandments? God in me?

Aim to Read Something Different

J. Oswald Sanders, in Spiritual Leadership, quotes Muriel Ormrod: “We should always aim to read something different -- not only the writers with whom we agree, but those with whom we are ready to do battle ... their point of view challenges us to examine the truth and to test their views against Scripture” (Sanders J O 1994:105). QUESTION: If you are a student of leadership, do your required reading lists include “something different”? Something so different that one may “do battle”? Should they?

Prototheological Phase

With the previous post in mind, J. Andrew Kirk considers: "All theology should begin with a 'prototheological' phase in which the theologian reveals and discusses all hidden assumptions". (Snyder H A ed. 2001:127). QUESTION: Does theology typically do this? Should it? What would such “assumptions” include? Should an author declare e.g. a bias towards creationism or postliberalism?

Non-Therapeutic Ministry

Dr. George N. Malek, a well known Church consultant in South Africa, a psychologist and theologian, states: "Ministry is not a therapeutic encounter, but the encounter with the Holy. Rapport establishes friendships and 'therapeutic alliance'. Ministry stands on its own every time." (Malek G N 1997:9). QUESTION: Is ministry a "therapeutic alliance"? Or does it facilitate an “encounter with the Holy”? What is the difference?

Spiritual Change

Henry and Richard Blackaby (Spiritual Leadership) consider: “Ultimately, spiritual leaders cannot bring about spiritual change in people; only the Holy Spirit can accomplish this” (Blackaby H and Blackaby R 2001:21). QUESTION: Are spiritual leaders then, of themselves, only able to bring about NON-spiritual change in people? What implications would this have for Christian leadership?

"Divine Operation"

I appreciated this passage in Banks and Ledbetter (Reviewing Leadership). It would seem to typify the way that I see “Church”: “For Paul, what happens at church gatherings originates in the Spirit and flows through the entire membership for the benefit of all. Everyone is caught up in this divine operation (1 Cor. 12:7). The process itself is described through the use of action verbs that stress its dynamic character: Contributions to the meetings are ‘energized’, ‘manifested’, and ‘distributed’ by the Spirit (1 Cor. 12:6-7, 11). Paul uses a variety of nouns to capture the diversity of what takes place: It is an exercise of ‘gifts’, a variety of ‘services’, different kinds of ‘working’ (1 Cor. 12:4-6)” (Banks R and Ledbetter B M 2004:37). QUESTION: Is a gathering of the Church in fact a “divine operation”? What significance, then, does any individual have? Does this mean that I need not fret over my personal contribution?

Theology's Polygraph

The late Alan E. Lewis said: “Ministry is theology’s polygraph” (Jinkins M 2002:ix). QUESTION: Would it not seem that, all too often, it’s a case of: “Theology is ministry’s polygraph”? That there is a tendency to start with ideology at the expense of ministry?