I know many of you are not "Assemblies of God" and therefore, our upcoming General Council and election of leadership has very little interest to you. Understood - but perhaps this study will bring light to you, as well, simply on the basis of "Christian Leadership"... that's my prayer, at least.
I was ordained as an Assemblies of God minister in 1992 - yeah, 15 years ago. My dad is a retired A/G pastor - yes, it's possible to recognize your age and abilities and simply trust God by stepping back so that others may step forward. I respect my dad for this decision. I pray others would have the humble courage to do the same. That's a side-thought perhaps for a future post, my point is: I've been a part of the Assemblies of God for 40 years - I remember Zimmerman & Carlson - and have personal memories of being in their presence. And I've been hugged and kissed by Trask - not that this makes me unique! I'm a big fan of our fellowship and want to see it work, and more than that, I want to see it lead - I believe it can and should...
There is an awesome group of A/G leaders - I like to refer to as "The Young Guns" - who have developed a really cool blogsite to assist the voting members of our fellowship by providing a platform that provides details and dialogue - I think it is brilliant and should really assist any of us through this process. AND, YES, IT'S BACK UP AND WORKING... check it out:
http://futureag.blogspot.com/
In reflecting on this BIG VOTE, I was drawn to study Ephesians 4 - specifically verses 11-13. Here's my thoughts:
The Gift of Leadership - In Verse 11 Paul says, "it was HE who gave some to be
apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be
pastors and teachers." Now the interesting thing here is that when you
look at the actual wording, it is not saying he gave the gift of
apostleship, the gift of prophecy, the gift of evangelism. The gift in
this verse is not the ability, the gift is the person. The gift is the
apostle him or herself, the prophet, the evangelist, the pastor or
teacher. So not only does God give each of us
this gift of grace, He also gives each of us as a gift to the church and
the world. We both have gifts and we are a gift. So, Paul is specifically saying here that: Leaders are THE gifts. Do you view those currently holding these positions as gifts? Remember, we reap what we sow...
The Purpose of Leadership - We like to use a lot of different metaphors for
leadership in the church:
- The FARM Leaders: are the shepherds and then the people are the flock and the
shepherd is supposed to feed and protect and guide the sheep.
- The ESPN Leaders: seeing the pastor as coach, the people as the
team and we've got a game plan for moving out and doing ministry.
- The G.I. Joe Leaders: where we've got a general leading the troops,
and we are headed into spiritual warfare.
- The Donald Trump Leaders (very popular today): where you have the CEO,
you've got the organization and you have a strategic plan that's going
to make it all work out right.
Each one of these leadership metaphors gets at a
part of the truth of what leadership in the church is all about. But
verses 12 and 13 tell us clearly what it's all about. No matter what
gifts each individual leader might bring, there is still one purpose for
which that leader was given as a gift to the church. Drum roll please:
"to prepare
God's people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be
built up."
Simple, right? Well, it should be but there's one problem - us - yeah, you & me as individuals. This leads me to my final thought...
The Respect for Leadership - Yes, our leaders prepare, equip, correct and restore God's people. And they do it to assist us in: works of service & works of ministry. So, here's the tough question: who does the
ministry in this model? Answer: It's the people. You, me...
all of us.
Our leaders are doing ministry, but their ministry is to
prepare all of God's people for the work of ministry. But the flow
doesn't end there. The reason for all the people to be prepared is that
the body of Christ might be built up. And the reason for that is so we
all might reach, it says in Verse 13, unity and maturity, not just as
individuals, but it is talking about as a community. This is a loaded thought. We are doing a lot of talking about "the election" but are we prepared for our responsibility following the election? IF they lead - will we follow, submit & surrender? I get excited about the dream of all of us united and mature! That would be a MIRACLE - a miracle that God could use mightily to advance His Kingdom!
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So, again, IF this study applies - which I think it does to all of us at one level or more - examine your heart & pray. Allow God to sharpen your senses, define your vision, soften your heart and clarify your call. These are important days - one's that should have the hallmark of prayer & fasting. It's ok to dialogue about this but be sure that the majority of the discussion is with the Almighty. May HIS voice be heard and may HIS leader emerge! seeking & surrendering, Chilly
and, again, check out: http://futureag.blogspot.com/ - vote on who you would/will elect.
