Puritan Reformed Theological Seminary

Leadership Model Paper

Joshua Lamb

615: Leadership & Administration

November 20, 2014

Introduction

This paper seeks to review and critique 13 models of leadership and how they can practically be applied in the context of pastoral ministry.

In order to define what effective leadership looks like it is helpful to examine the purpose, character, satisfaction, and secret of Christian leadership. Dr. Murray provides a very thorough definition for Christian leadership, beginning with the statement that a Christian leader serves God and His people.

Purpose of Christian leadership

Keeping first things first, the Christian leader is a servant of God. He is not out for his own gain or to build his own kingdom. It is out of his love for God that he desires to serve Christ and the fellow body of believers. In this sense, the leader is living out the role that any believer is called to by Jesus in Matthew 22:35-40, when He states that the two greatest commandments are to love God and to love your neighbor as yourself.

The part that helped in this lecture were the questions regarding the dependence upon God. In order to practically fulfill the two great commandments, it is necessary to think through how we can serve God and others day to day. Practical questions that helped me were:

• “Are you demonstrating the need for a weekly Sabbath rest?”

  • This is something that was a new concept coming into seminary training due to a differing background. However, as this concept is rightly biblical, it is something I have started to implement and guard.

• “Are you drawing wise boundaries in your relationships with other women in the congregation?”

  • Thinking about how to draw these boundaries led me to adopt the rule that no counseling would take place with women unless there was another party present that was trusted by the counselee. This is a great way to uphold the qualification that a leader should be well thought of by outsiders and that there not be a hint of sexual immorality. (1 Timothy 3:7, Ephesians 5:3)

• “Are you exercising wise time management?”

  • The time management exercise helped immensely to evaluate this area, but the short answer is no. Time management becomes exponentially more important in a pastoral setting because there is no earthly boss to assign tasks and follow up on their completion. A congregation would expect to hear preaching on Sunday as well as access to the pastor for counseling throughout the week. However, how this is accomplished is up to the Christian leader, making it vital that time is managed well. Since the time management exercise, I have adopted a tighter regimen on sleep and exercise, as well as continued use of a task management tool. These three things have helped immensely in managing my time.

• “Are you guarding personal devotion time?”

  • This is an area that has not been perfect for me, but has consistently improved. Remembering again that the Christian leader must fulfill the commandments to love God and love neighbor, the most important practical step is the giving of the day’s first fruits to God in prayer and Bible reading. Any day in which this does not happen is a failed day in a sense, because we are meant to center each day around the worship of God and the establishment of His purposes.

Character of Christian leadership

The light of the purpose of a Christian leader as examined above, it is helpful to establish qualifications for assessing the character of men who aspire to leadership. How will we examine potential leaders in God’s kingdom? Scripture answers this question with qualifications and responsibilities of Elders and Deacons. In a sense, many of these qualifications boil down to desire. Do you desire to glorify yourself, or to glorify God?

Three desires stood out in the lecture that demanded self-reflection: the desire to be respected & recognized, to be more fulfilled in life, and to be wanted. These impure self-glorifying desires can lurk in the heart and cause destruction. The desire to be respected is of concern personally because it is an easy lie to believe that ministry is somehow a higher calling than any other field in which a man works. This is untrue. God is not more proud of the pastor than he is of the carpenter. God calls men to various works and vocations in order to fulfill His purposes through the people he has gifted for each work. The reminder of my former occupation as a soldier helps to curb this belief in my own heart, as well as the desire to love Christ’s sheep in all life circumstances and occupations.

The desire to be fulfilled can also lead many to pursue ministry in order to feel as if it is a surefire path to greater joy and happiness. This is also untrue. While there is joy in Christian leadership, it is not likely that being a leader is intrinsically more fulfilling that being a disciple in any other context. The motivation in Christian leadership is to please God, not to please self.

Lastly, the desire to be wanted is a ready trap of Christian leadership. Perhaps someone may feel lonely and unwanted and decide to pursue ministry because of the constant demands of people. However, it is likely that someone who is placed in this position in order to feel a sense of need will soon get tired of living under the constant pressure from multiple people. This is not a desire that can bear the demanding weight of Christian leadership.

All these wrong desires have been in my heart at some point in the last few years, but an examination reveals that they do not have the staying power to carry the weight of pastoral ministry. Only true and pure desire to glorify God will be blessed by the granting of His strength to perform the hard tasks of Christian leadership. Only the desire for God is strong enough to supplant the times when the leader is faced with hardship, criticism, loneliness, and other trials.

Satisfaction of Christian leadership

Too much reflection on the wrong aspirations for Christian leadership can cause one to be pessimistic, forgetting the immense joys of Christian ministry. The lecture discussed many different areas of godly satisfaction for the leader, including preaching, contact with family, and receiving God’s provision.

One joy that was not mentioned in the lecture was the gift of seeing families and children grow together in the fear of the Lord and develop as a community. While some aspects of this were discussed, the full wonder of watching an entire community of families grow, get married, have children, and be ushered in to glory is a wonderful thing. The week-to-week responsibilities of Christian leadership can leave a leader shortsighted and easily forgetful of the huge impact God is making through them in order to build not just His kingdom, but his family of saints.

Secret of Christian leadership

In light of the purposes, character, and satisfaction of Christian leadership, what is the key concept that practically allows a leader to fulfill their obligations? Dr. Murray states that the secret to successful Christian leadership is balance! Three culprits were listed that imbalance us: our own temperament, our sin, and our role models. However I would add that outside expectations also imbalance us.

Very often, when a minister assumes responsibilities at a new church, there are written and unwritten expectations of the minister. Some things may be biblical while some things are “just the way we have always done it”. If these demands are too high, they can lead to a severe imbalance in the priorities of this new leader. He can feel handicapped to a life of wheel spinning instead of following God’s vision for that the church should become. This is why it is important to set priorities and expectations early on between the leader and the people.

Personally, this has been an area of great meditation, knowing that the seminary years are the best time to reflect on these issues. Two things are important: the setting of priorities and the setting of the calendar according to those priorities. The priorities of a minister are: 1) Christian, 2) husband, 3) father, 4) minister. Especially given the Biblical qualification for elders to manage their own household well, it is important that this is placed as a higher priority to that a leader’s family at home does not fall apart at the expense of trying to further the church family. What needs to be communicated is that when the leader’s family suffers, ultimately the church suffers as a result.

It seems quite useful and practical that developing and submitting a proposed calendar to the board of elders is an actionable step that can be taken to clearly communicate and abide by these priorities, to the Glory of God and the benefit of the church.

In conclusion, the Christian leader is not a CEO or a king, but is instead a servant of God and His people. It is necessary that potential leaders are evaluated in light of the qualifications listed in the Scriptures, and also that these potential leaders are self-reflective of the things which cause them to be imbalanced. While ministry is indeed difficult, it is also a source of great joy to see the building of God’s church and the advancement of His kingdom.

The Humble Servant

While the previous section discussed the mission and goal of the Christian leader, how are we to posture ourselves to accomplish this? The answer lies in adopting the attitude of humility. This section will reflect on the wrong mindset of pride, its consequences, and cure.

The lecture discussed that pride can often be caused by a misjudgment of the nature of leadership as well as a misunderstanding of what ministry is. As observed in the previous topic, ministry and Christian leadership are not about establishing good position for oneself but about pouring oneself out in the service of others. This caused me to reflect on the repeated situation in the Gospels where the disciples attempted to gain positions of rank and bickered about who would be the greatest (Mark 9:33-37). They underestimated how radically different the kingdom of heaven is from the kingdom of mankind. It also spurred deeper reflection on how God’s kingdom reflects the nature of the triune God, who operates selflessly between the members of the trinity. When a Christian leader pours himself out in the service of others he isn’t simply doing a nice thing, he isn’t even simply doing a loving thing, he is imaging the nature of God!

What happens if the wrong mindset of pride is allowed to play out to full effect? The lecture focused on the personal relational consequences of a pastor that becomes impatient, insensitive, and has an inflated view of himself. However, the consequences do not stop at one person. Due to the nature of Christian leadership, the impact of a prideful leader can severely tear the fabric of the believing community, stain witness for Christ, and cause damage to the neighboring community. It is important not only to think of the personal consequences but also of the larger effects of even one man’s pride.

How then can pride be cured? Dr. Murray revealed that focusing on the realities of the smallness of man is a great antidote to the poison of pride. However, this is only one half of the equation. The other half is meditating on the largeness and graciousness of God. If man’s pride puffs himself up, the key to realizing he is small is to compare himself to God. God spoke the universe into existence. God laid the foundations of the earth. God ransomed sinners. God defeated satan, sin, and death. By these standards what is man that God is even mindful of him? (Psalm 8:4)

In conclusion, the Christian leader can ironically fall into the sinful trap of pride. However, continual reflection on the reality of the differences between God and man can attack the pride which left to run wild could seriously damage the church and undermine anything the Christian leader initially set out to accomplish.

The Patient Shepherd

One of the characteristics of the prideful person described above is an impatient attitude towards those whom the leader serves. In contrast, the humble leader should emanate patience. This section explores the character of a patient leader and practical aspect of pastoral visitation.

The lecture focused on many characteristics of a shepherd that flow out of love. From the posture of love the desire to feed, lead, pursue, and persevere is born. One of the last remarks in this section of the lecture was that the shepherd is also aware that he is also a sheep. While this is something that the leader can be aware of, it is also necessary to communicate this at some point to the followers of the leader. If no weakness is shown or repentance modeled, it can be the default mode that the leader is viewed as somehow in a higher position or superhuman.

One of the best ways that pastors can show their humanity is through home visitation. The patient shepherd is one that knows their flock well and how to care for them, and home visitation is one of the best methods of learning about the flock. The class lecture contained several practical tips for how to conduct home visitation, including several questions to begin a spiritual conversation. A good addition to this section would be more practical tips for following up the visit. One way is to look not only to the external needs of a particular family but also how to connect their internal needs to the body of Christ. A home visit can be used to inform the family about areas of the church that they might be gifted to serve. This requires some tact to communicate well, but believers should be exhorted and encouraged to give of their gifts to serve the body. A true leader not only models a life of service, but also encourages others to walk the same path. This is a conversation that could be hinted at during a home visit, and then followed up on with a later phone call.

In summary, the patient shepherd should communicate and be open to share their humanity as well as to encourage other believers, knowing that changes are likely to take some time to develop. True love for Christ’s sheep and recognition that oneself is also a sheep are two things that empower the leader as they seek to patiently labor for the kingdom of heaven.

The Courageous Captain

One of the most lacking character traits of today’s leader is courage¹. The Christian leader must be acquainted with the sources of fear, the need for courage, and the resources to build courage.

Perhaps one of the most unique aspects of pastoral ministry is that the sources of fear lie so easily within the church. The pressure to give in to fear in order to appease man can be constant. Perhaps it is the fear of the rich donor or the prospect of unpopularity that often cause the temptation to compromise allegiance to Christ and His Word. Pastoral ministry is often stated to be one of the loneliest endeavors a man can undertake, fraught with false friendships and ulterior motives². This can cause a minister to seek to soften the message in order to win friends and influence.

However, softening the message is failing to proclaim the truth of the Gospel, at which point the minister might as well pack up and go home. Courage is needed to oppose the world system and also to confront those who would seek to destroy the church from within. Courage is needed to bind up the weak, the downtrodden, the abused, and the brokenhearted. Courage is needed to build Christ’s church when every step forward seems to be accompanied by three steps backward. How then do we build and maintain courage?

The lectures discussed practical steps such as memorizing Scripture, trusting in the Lord, holding on to His promises, and remembering the final judgment. These aspects of God’s means of grace are definitely the first priority. However, the temptation can be to view courage as a solo act – a lone ranger against the world. While the Bible records many times when leaders had to stand alone, we might not have to on every occasion. One of the ways we can build courage is to develop biblical friendships, counselors with whom we can make many wise plans. This helps to build our courage because we don’t have to be alone in every decision we make. There will certainly be times we are betrayed, but these friendships are worth pursuing because the benefits far outweigh the consequences.

While pastoral ministry is filled with many sources of fear from many different directions, we must not lose heart. Clinging to God’s promises and building solid biblical friendships will help us to weather the storms of life as we seek to expand God’s church.

Honest Steward

Conscience could be described as the inner moral compass God has given us. Not many things are more important to handle with a clean conscience than money, especially as a Christian leader. This section will reflect on the correct posture towards money with regards to the personal and pastoral implications.

Given that the proper handling of money is essential to a clean conscience before God, it is vitally important that we adopt the right attitude. The lecture rightly identified that the biblical attitude towards money is one of a steward. A steward is not the owner of property, but he will give an account to the owner when he returns. This is precisely the relationship we have with what God has given us. In fact, not only money is in this category - all of life is. This also includes our time, talent, possessions, and relationships. Our adoption into God’s kingdom is described as a purchase, causing us to not even have ownership of our own body!

Effective stewardship does not begin at the church, rather it begins in the home. The lecture discussed many practical steps to budget, save, invest, and insure. However, before all these steps are accomplished it is necessary to sit down and decide which budget categories are the highest priority. If funds are not available for everything, what falls off? Does giving or tithing? Insurance? Thinking through these priorities causes us to go to prayer and ask God what our priorities should be. After all, we are merely stewards. Laying our financial priorities before the throne of grace is one of the most fruitful and practical activities in sanctification. This is vital because of the close-knit relationship between money and the heart. The Bible is serious about the connection “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” (Matthew 6:21).

In conclusion, it is the proper attitude towards money that will allow us to search out the practical steps necessary to be a good steward of the resources God has granted to us. By prioritizing our stewardship of the home we set the pattern for stewardship of the family of the church.

Wise Communicator

This section explores the best practices on giving and receiving communication. Humble and attentive listening is found to be the key catalyst for speaking with clarity and authority.

The lecture focused initially on the message itself. This is certainly important in any situation, especially when considering the task of a minister is to deliver the Gospel to the church. However, as the lecture continued it focused on the aspects of the communicator such as clarifying the message and “creating the hearing scenario in your mind”. While these concepts were important, the relationship of the speaker and the message to the listener is of paramount importance. In pastoral ministry, the message itself is a non-negotiable – the Gospel cannot be tampered with. However, the audience should be considered a lot more often and a lot sooner in the process of developing the message. For instance, the preparation of a sermon should involve the envisioning of how different sub-groups within the church will hear the message differently. A single divorcee, a long-married couple, a child, a teenager, and a widower will all hear the same message in different ways. The minister is in a unique position to not just have cursory knowledge of the audience, but a deep awareness of the demographic that worships at their church every week. While the lecture focuses on many concepts, this is one that could be brought out more as it is critically important to how the message is delivered.

An additional consideration in the aspect of sending communication should be “How does this tell the story of the Gospel, the organization, and the people in the organization?” Many forms of communication are better told as stories because people connect to them. Not all e-mails, meeting minutes, or blog posts fit the mold of a story – but many forms of communication do! Ignoring how to incorporate communication into a narrative leaves a bland and ho-hum impression on the receiver. Learning to “narrativize” communication would be a vital skill for leaders to learn because receivers in any context are attracted to stories. However, with all the considerations for how to deliver a message effectively, perhaps none is more valuable than the relationship between the speaker and the audience.

If you want your message to be heard, the best method is to develop yourself into someone that also hears. Effective listening is vital in communication because if true listening isn’t present, the conversation either becomes two people talking over each other, or a useless event in which no real information was exchanged. How then can real listening be achieved?

The lecture focused on two concepts which were very valuable: patient listening and loving listening. It was interesting to learn that patience is required due to the fact that the human mind processes information much faster than it can speak – meaning the listener has to deliberately exercise patience in order to keep up with the slow pace of communication. Secondly, listening has to be done in love. If there is a lack of love there will be a lack of interest in the activity of listening. As I thought about the truthfulness of this statement it caused me to think of ways to “stir up love” that would help to be a more effective listener.

There are at least three ways to build love for the communicator in many situations: awareness of the imago Dei (image of God), trust in God’s providence, and desire to build God’s kingdom. The recognition of the imago Dei is important to listening because it transforms our perception of the person we are listening to from a person who is using up our time to a person who was made in God’s image. This person is valuable, and although they may struggle communicating their thoughts, their perceptions are important nonetheless. They possess inherent dignity and must be treated with respect to this dignity.

The trust in God’s providence is also vital because we need to see every conversation with someone as being ordained by God. This is not a stretch of the imagination, it is fact. Our God controls everything from the rotation of the earth to the loss of each hair on our head. Every conversation is an opportunity that is given to us by God – even the mundane ones.

Lastly, a desire to build God’s kingdom should permeate our listening. We should be thinking of questions such as “How can this person be encouraged, exhorted, or rebuked?” If we neglect to show concern for the expansion of God’s kingdom, we are more likely to view conversations as a wasteful exercise.

In conclusion, both the act of clear communication and attentive listening are vital skills for the Christian leader. The thing that powerfully defines if these skills are effective and genuine is the presence of love. It is the passionate love of people that drives authentic, clear, convicting speech. It is this same love that drives patient, gracious, sincere listening.

Social Media Maven

Al Mohler rightly concluded that the digital world is now a fundamental fact of life³. Love it or hate it, social media is here to stay. In some sense it represents as big of a leap forward in communication as the printing press, with the same ability to multiply influence across geography and across generations. This section focuses on how the lecture sparked reflection on social media policy and techniques.

The lecture steered clear of the debate in the church regarding the use of social media and assumed that social media would be used. This represented a different viewpoint than the one I have been adopting recently. Over the past year, I have travelled in the opposite direction of trying to gain more peace and solitude. The Facebook account was deactivated, I rarely checked Twitter, and a recent class assignment on time management caused me to check emails and texts less often as well. Did all of these attempts to gain solitude work? Only marginally. I found helpful steps along the way, such as turning my notification frequency way down so that I don’t get distracted by every beep and buzz. However, over the past year my personal influence has waned. I thought that turning off the channels would mean that other people would call me more often and have actual conversations on the phone, write longer emails, and perhaps send a handwritten letter or two. Instead, shutting yourself off from the channels that everyone uses causes you to in some ways disappear off people’s radar. With this experience, what is the best way to navigate the usage of social media?

It is starting to become personally evident that it is not turning off the channels, but rather wise use of the channels that is truly important. There are two things in particular that are helpful to implement: wise use of frequency, and wise posting of content.

As stated earlier, reducing the frequency of incoming messages was a helpful lesson from a class assignment. The biggest practical step was turning notifications OFF for long blocks of time. After a while, I could go hours without thinking about checking email. The saying “out of sight out of mind” was definitely at play here. As mentioned in the lecture, the brain doesn’t multi-task very well and fast switching between tasks is very damaging to your attention span over the long haul. The lingering question when taking this step is “What if someone really needs to get in touch with me for an emergency?” The answer is that in this case it is a risk that I am willing to take. It is also worth noting that for cell phones, Google released new version in November 2014 that allows you to select some contacts that can break through even if the notifications are turned off. This leaves no excuse for me personally to turn off the buzzes when engaging in serious study.

The next consideration is the wise posting of content. Facebook’s ability to connect with someone is a blessing and a curse. Much can be learned about a new friend by reading their profile, which allows you to absorb information very quickly. In many cases this can be great. You can view and share pictures from vacations or important moments in life. However, this carries with it a subversive effect. You can now read about someone’s life in an afternoon. This ability lowers the desire to engage in real social interactions. Why go through possible awkward moments meeting someone when I can voyeuristically learn about their life and engage in asynchronous text communication on my schedule?

While I cannot control what other people do or say on their Facebook accounts, it is still essential to act wisely about what I post. Personally, this means refraining from posting every little detail and picture, choosing instead to leave some things offline. In a way, my posts on Facebook could function as an invitation to come and participate in real life with me. This is where the lecture connected back with my musings. It affirmed that social interaction should never replace real and actual communication with another person.

In conclusion, hiding from social media is simply not the right path to take for someone involved in ministry. The role of a minister is to spread the Word and to connect it with the hearts of men. Avoiding social media in 2014 is akin to avoiding the printing press or the use of the postal system, it is folly. This leaves us to consider how to wisely use social media. Controlling our frequency and our content are the two ways we can master social media without letting it master us. In the end, we have to keep in mind that social media can help us initiate conversations that will hopefully continue in coffee shops and around our dinner tables.

Careful Timekeeper

This section explores the dangers of time and how it should be managed effectively. The right perspective on time is crucial for someone involved in the ministry, where the demand seems to far outweigh the supply.

The dangers of time are indeed many in a time when people can be sandwiched between the polemics of workaholism and outright laziness. The minister is especially vulnerable to both extremes. The trend to workaholism can simply be the desire to accomplish more played out over months and years until time with family and friends is almost nonexistent. Conversely, laziness can be a temptation when there is no one to watch over the minister’s shoulder to make sure that time is being used efficiently.

The lecture focused on ways in which we can squander, stretch, or squeeze time. I found that the temptation to stretch time was very personally convicting. On my computer sits a plan for the whole semester with time targets for most of the assignments. While this is a worthwhile tool, it also makes it easier to stretch time during the day. An example would be a paper that needs to get researched and written. It can be easy to prolong the actual completion of the assignment on a specific day knowing that it doesn’t need to be done until the end of the day. If there are no other pressing time commitments, it creates space for procrastination to occur. Fortunately, these deadlines have been set ahead of the real due dates so that the assignments are never late. But how can this system be improved?

Reflection on this problem produced a clear answer that was related to the lecture – set working hours. The solution is to treat study hours the same as if being a seminary student was an actual job. To “clock in” and “clock out” on study time seems counterintuitive at first. What if a particular assignment wasn’t completed that day? However, the reason this is likely to work is because we accomplish more under deadlines then we do under lackadaisical and open-ended due dates. Simply, if I have all day on Saturday to write an assignment, it will likely take all day. If in contrast I set a deadline of 3pm, then it could be accomplished by then and the rest of the day would be free to do other tasks or have a break. The practical step here is to put blocks on the calendar for study time and actually adhere to those scheduled blocks.

The lecture moved from discussing the dangers of time to thinking about how it should be managed effectively. The first step listed here was not planning (as would be expected in any secular conversation), but peace! Morning devotions was listed as an essential part of every day. I could not agree more. The days that are the hardest to get anything done are often the days that started off with a certain task or emergency that pulled away from devotional time.

The next step listed in the lecture was to plan out the day. One of the points was that you should only have one to-do list as a master list of tasks. While this may be ideal in most situations, I have found it to be extremely difficult. How tasks are organized depend on how a particular person functions and plans. Personally, I like to view things visually in order to have a picture of the “weight of the day”. Most tasks managers are either focused on tickboxes or on how things should be displayed on a calendar. It is extremely rare that one program possesses both. This is likely due to the different methodologies that are employed, such as David Allen’s Getting Things Done⁴. My current system is to use two separate task managers: TeamGantt and Todoist. The first program allows for a bird’s eye view of the entire semester and makes it easy to stack and separate all classwork assignments so that the load is evenly distributed. The second program allows me to quickly input random tasks such as renewing car registration, paying a particular bill, or replying to a long email. The combination of these two programs has helped to ensure that both short and long-term tasks are captured.

The lecture covered next that it is also appropriate to pick the right time for the right tasks. The recent time management assignment helped to call attention to not only how my time was spent on various tasks, but when a particular task was undertaken. It led me to discover that between 3:30 and 5:00pm was for me the most effective time to undertake writing projects. It seems this time is when the after-lunch sleepiness starts to wear off and mental acuity is regained before dinner time. Before this time my mental energy is drained in classroom sessions, while after dinner it seems to slip away in the hustle and bustle of the evening. Establishing this helps to bring awareness of when other tasks can be completed that require minimal energy. Tasks such as checking email, updating the budget, paying bills, and replying to social media can be done in the late evening hours before going to bed. Programs such as Buffer allow you to schedule posts on social media so that you can still be “active” during the day even when absent.

It is worth noting that the lecture also placed emphasis on exercising as a way to, in effect, create time. This is due to the effect of exercise on enhancing mental acuity and awareness. With these increased levels of capacity, it is possible to get more done in a day and come as close as humanly possible to producing more time. Although you can budget it the same way, time differs from money in that you cannot earn more. Working with what he have each day is the only control we have upon time.

The final point of discussion in the lecture was the contrast between the Well-planned life and the Summoned life. The former is a life that is well thought out in terms of overall purpose, while the latter is someone who responds to the changing circumstances as the years slip by. The concept of the well-planned life was easy for me to grasp because it is already a natural outflowing of my personality. However, one of the most valuable personal lessons in recent years is that the desire to plan must not accompany the desire to control circumstances. Planning sets a course, but the actual events of the future are covered by God’s sovereignty. Not all things go according to plan, and the one who desires to lead a well-planned life must account for this and not be afraid.

In conclusion, the proper management of time is one of the most important disciplines for a Christian to undertake. We owe all our lives to our Creator, and we will one day give account to Him for how we have spent our lives. Starting each day with the peaceful connection to God and planning our priorities according to His will are what allow us to orient each day around Him. Armed with this knowledge, we then face the day with a future in mind while holding our hands open to whatever God might decide to give to us or take from us.

The Sleeping Baby

This section explores reflections on the causes & effects of sleep deprivation, and its cure. The temptation to neglect sleep due to ministry priorities is common, but fatal. An incorrect theology of work and rest leads us to walk closer to the grave, something that likely brings the devil great pleasure.

The lecture listed several causes for sleep deprivation. Three things from the list stood out personally: irregularity, workaholism, and anxiety. The first semester of seminary is notoriously rough. This first exposure to theological concepts at a graduate level can be daunting. Coming home from a day of class with mental fuel drained to the dregs and then sitting down to do homework seems near impossible on some days. However, the irregularity that can come from this routine causes even more damage over both the near-term and long-term. In the near-term, this irregularity can cause lapses in memory of both classwork and personal conversations with loved ones. In the long-term, major health issues can arise that leave the leader crippled in many ways. Establishing a regular sleep pattern is essential to long-term health and ministry usefulness.

The second cause of workaholism is personally related to the cause of irregularity. It can be easy to point the finger at class assignments and workload and shift the blame somewhere else. However, at the end of the day, God has provided ample time to complete all that He has required of us. The workaholic attitude to do more at the expense of sleep is not driven by a lack of time, but rather by a mismanagement of time. The work in a week is not achieved by sacrificing sleep, it is achieved by doing what we are responsible for during the time we have in the day. If these tasks are too much for us, we are either taking on more than God asked of us, or we are not efficient with the opportunities He has provided.

The issue of anxiety is one that resonates deeply. Gazing upon the workload ahead can at times drive us to paralysis in the present. We see the mountain before us and forget that it is ascended only by taking one step in front of the other. Unfortunately, this anxiety not only cripples us during the day, it haunts us at night as well. We toss and turn under the covers, our subconscious wrestling with the affairs of the day and fearful of the future. It is important both at the beginning and the end of the day to focus our attention on God, knowing that He both forgives our misuse of time and watches over our sleep.

What then is the cure to all of these ills? It is a correct theology of sleep. The lecture hones in on this remedy by stating several things that God reminds us of while we engage in rest. Paying attention to these cues helps us to view our work and rest with healthy balance. The most salient points were that sleep reminds us we are unnecessary, and that we are called to trust Him. Sleeplessness can so often result from the fear of not getting enough done, but underlying this fear is the belief that we are extremely important. These things that we worry about are ultimately not in our domain of control but in God’s. We fear that things will come crashing down tomorrow, forgetting that God has already planned our steps for tomorrow. We rob ourselves of the peace that rest was meant to lead us to. The question we must now answer is “Will we trust him?”

In conclusion, our incorrect theology of sleep causes our workaholism and anxiety to rob us of the rest that Jesus has won for us. The proper view that God is sovereign over our days is not something to be merely acknowledged, but believed. Faith that God still has control when we enter rest will be rewarded by the peaceful sleep that only the righteous truly know.

The Efficient Administrator

This section focuses on the barriers and blueprints to organization. One of the most helpful aspects of this lecture was the focus on what prevents us from organizing things well.

The session discussed various ways in which both we and others can prevent ourselves from being effective. The section on “Changes” highlighted that changes in housing, jobs, kids, or computers can sometimes hamper us. This has over the past week been a personal challenge to look ahead at where technology is going and anticipate an organizational system that will keep up with the future. What better time than seminary to prepare and sharpen the tools in the toolbox. Unfortunately, it does take a large amount of time to sift through the myriad of tools for sorting electronic information, but this was a fruitful endeavor in the end. A combination of Google Apps, Evernote, Todoist, and Dropbox seems to work well for organizing information. The real benefit to these tools is that they are not tied to any one device.

With the barrier to changes now overcome, it was important to think through a blueprint of how things should be organized. The discussion on Bill Lawrence’s TRASH system was helpful, along with the famous GTD System by David Allen. Both systems recognize that tasks that come in should be quickly sorted and off of the mind as soon as possible. We live in an age where a firehose of tasks and information flies at us constantly. If it is an option to get things off of our plate that are not necessary than this should indeed be the first step. This information radically changes the approach to email. Some changes made over the past week were to connect e-mail to a task management app so that items can be transferred over seamlessly and inbox zero is a more realistic goal. Turning off email notifications also helped to free up portions of the day for more intense study.

In summary, the focus on barriers and blueprints in the lecture drove consideration for a better way to organize workflow. Taking the time to research proven methodologies has already paid dividends in increased productivity.

The Respected Chairman

Presiding over a meeting seems to be an inevitability for those involved in pastoral ministry. Given this reality, what is the proper etiquette for conducting meetings to the Glory of God? This section considers the proper posture of a chairman.

The lecture mentioned several aspects of the fruit of the Spirit that are necessary for meetings, including patience and the seeking of unity. The hard balance the leader has to strike is between getting things accomplished and showing the love of Christ. It is possible for a meeting to be extremely productive and ungodly. It is also possible for a meeting to be a wasted social hour. The proper balance starts with the motivation by the leader to honor God in all things. It is for this reason that prayer should cover the before, during, and after of the meeting. Prayer before a meeting shows that the chairman is thinking of how Christ would be honored as His saints are planning to meet with one another. Starting the meeting with prayer communicates to the saints that they are not at the meeting to accomplish worldly or selfish goals but heavenly ones. Prayer after the meeting has the goal of smoothing out disagreements and promoting the unity of the body.

In Conclusion, prayer is perhaps the most important hallmark of a well-respected chairman. Many other concepts discussed in the lecture were important, but prayer sets the stage for God’s work to be accomplished through God’s appointed means.

The Bull-loving Matador

This section reflects upon how to prepare for and recover from criticism. The lecture began with a discussion on spiritual preparation, warning in particular of the dangers of pride. A helpful addition to this section is that we can receive legitimate criticism both from being overconfident and underconfident. In some of these cases, the Christian leader might not receive criticism at all, except behind his back. While pride causes him to speak words he shouldn’t, the fear of man can cause him to not speak the words he should. This is why the leader must be focused solely on what God’s judgment of him is, and not what any man would say. This position that only what God says is true with absolute certainty allows the Christian leader to have a right perspective on the criticism that is received. This framework allows the filtering of critiques into legitimate and illegitimate categories and can help provide balance to critical comments.

When received, criticism should be handled with grace. In addition to the immediate response, there is the period of recovery. No one likes to be taken down a notch or two. We all feel like things are going alright until someone makes a comment against us. The lecture did mention that we should not become a people-pleaser, responding to every whim and fancy of our critics. Taken to its natural end, this position would leave us without any definite platform on which to speak from, and our message would be lost. In addition to the lecture’s focus on praying and doing good to the other person, it is prudent also to pray for yourself. Pray that God would open your eyes to the identity that both you and the critic enjoy in Christ. This will help to refocus the desire for oneness with Christ and unity of the body.

In conclusion, critique will always come to the one who tries to achieve anything of importance. How criticism is addressed will greatly impact how well a ministry performs over the long term. Left to his own devices, man’s pride blocks his own progress in the faith. With prayerful focus on our received identity from God we are strengthened and encouraged to forgive our critics.

The Just Judge

This section focuses on a few of the benefits of exercising church discipline. The lecture mentioned briefly that the main benefit of church discipline is that the loaf of the church would not be leavened with sin, and that repentance is the ultimate aim. Acknowledging this truth, there are several other benefits to the church community. Among these benefits are: experiential communication of the Gospel, appreciation of the covenant community, and celebration of the means of grace.

First and foremost, church discipline communicates the seriousness of sin and its result in death. It is in these circumstances that the Gospel is made visible within the community. Church members see the justice of God and the compassion of God upon one of their own. What better way to display the Gospel in real life?

Secondly, believers grow in appreciation for the covenant community. They see that this is done out of deep love. This love is completely foreign to the uncaring ways of the world. The world says “Do what you want, it doesn’t matter”. Church discipline says “Jesus love you enough to correct your path”.

Lastly, church discipline celebrates the means of grace. To a genuine believer, the denial of access to the Lord’s Table causes grief. He desires to return to celebrate God’s provision in Christ. This drives him to repent and be restored to full participation, and also reminds the community at large of the benefits they enjoy in worship.

In conclusion, the positive effects of church discipline are far-reaching. Not only are offenders strengthened in the faith, but the broader church community is as well. Church discipline provides a natural outworking of the Gospel into the believing community so that it is made even more visible and real.

Conclusion

In summary, there are three important components for the Christian leader to keep in mind at all times: vision of the mission of God, development of character, and implementation of balance. These three things are important to continually assess and return to.

An accurate vision of the building of God’s kingdom is essential to the leader because he needs to be reminded frequently that he is not building his own kingdom, he is helping to build God’s. This helps the leader practically not to place two much emphasis on his own efforts. On the days he achieves much, he realizes it is all for God’s glory. On the days he achieves little, he is reminded that God has still utilized his efforts. In the days he is overwhelmed, he knows that God provides strength.

As he serves God, the leader develops his own character. Instead of viewing the low points of ministry as abandonment by God, he views them as ways in which God is shaping him. The leader knows that not only is he a leader, he is also a Christian. He strives to model the faith to those that are under his charge. The leader is aware that God will use his character to speak more loudly than words ever will.

At the end, the leader considers his life in view of God’s purposes and strives for balance. He knows that God will provide enough time, enough resources, and enough energy to accomplish the task set before him. He knows that God has not given him a spirit of fear, but of power. With prayerful dependence upon the Holy Spirit, looking to Jesus, the leader seeks to glorify the Father.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Allen, David. Getting things done: the art of stress-free productivity. New York: Penguin Books, 2001.

Mohler, R. Albert. The conviction to lead: 25 principles for leadership that matters. Minneapolis, Minn: Bethany House, 2012.

Sanders, J. Oswald. In Spiritual leadership, 118. Commitment to spiritual growth series. Chicago: Moody Press, 1994.

¹. . R. Albert Mohler, *The conviction to lead: 25 principles for ↩

leadership that matters* (Minneapolis, Minn: Bethany House, 2012).

². . J. Oswald Sanders, in Spiritual leadership, Commitment to ↩

spiritual growth series (Chicago: Moody Press, 1994), 118.

³. . Mohler, The conviction to lead. ↩

⁴. . David Allen, *Getting things done: the art of stress-free ↩

productivity* (New York: Penguin Books, 2001).