A successful church is based upon Great Commission outcomes, so the thing that’s most important for us is to understand our place within the master plan of God. As leaders, our job is to lead – not to do it all. No NFL coach is on the field. He’s next to it calling plays. Our ability is there to equip and to strengthen believers to do what God has called them to do. The outcomes are going to be what grade us. Winston Churchill said it like this, “We shall not be judged by the criticism of our opponents but by the consequences of our actions.” The consequences, the outcomes are what we’re really looking for. They define our leadership and how well we lead.
Since the local church is the hope of the world, how well we do church matters. Whether or not the gospel is going to make it successfully and powerfully to the next generation will be determined by how well we lead and execute our assignment. When the church lives within its biblical profile of unity and empowerment, the entire community, not just the church community, benefits. People are released to carry out the ministry.
Proverbs 29:18 says, “Where there is no vision, the people perish. That word “perish” is “para.” There are seven variations of that word “para,” but it means to be unbridled, unbraided, naked, exposed, vulnerable. One of the definitions is to let the opportunity slip through the fingers. What you do matters, and to pastor your city and to show your people what it means to be salt and light is all part of what it means to be a leader and a pastor. Proverbs 29:18 (MSG) says it this way, “If people can’t see what God is doing, they stumble all over themselves; but when they attend to what He reveals, they are most blessed.”
Being able to attend to the vision, to actually pay attention to what God’s doing in the community and see you in it as a member of a church – that’s a pastor’s responsibility. If the tail’s wagging, the dog makes no progress. It’s important for us to understand that as leaders, God’s called us to be number one.
The Bible speaks of the application of successful church leadership. It’s all found in Ephesians 4. Your job description is here. The better we do the Ephesians 4:11 idea, the more equipped and capable our congregations become at stewarding their magnificent gifts and seizing opportunities.
Ephesians 4 leadership equips the saints to fulfill God’s purpose in our communities, big or small. Verse 7 says, “God has graced every single one of our people with purpose and gifts and graces upon their life.” And we know from Ephesians 4:11 that there are apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, and teachers. What’s their purpose? To equip the saints for the works of the ministry, serving people effectively within a framework of great commission realities and making disciples of everyone – not just converts or church attenders, but disciples who will grow in the things of God.
The beauty of Ephesians 4:11-16 is that is lays out eight outcomes of properly done leadership. If you’re not pleasing people, but pleasing God instead, these are going to be the outcomes: 1. You’re going to equip the saints for the work of ministry, verse 12. 2. You’re going to edify or encourage people throughout their lives. People will find real joy and fulfill their purpose as it connects with the rest of the body of Christ. You’ll show them not only the purpose but the Great Commission, the plan to get there. The quarterback calls the play. When we start running, we find out that the play works. People are edified the most when they know they’re being used for eternal purposes, their families are healthy, and they are free of hang-ups. All of that comes with discipleship and the preaching of the Word and discovering purpose.
3. Your church will grow because of your corporate unity and Christlike stature. There’s a culture of honor that’s created in verse 13. It says that we all end up growing to the full stature of the measure of Christ. What’s that mean? When people see the church functioning the way God ordained it to be, they’re seeing Jesus in action in a local community. It’s edifying. There’s a contribution taking place as each one contributes. We need to celebrate high performance believers in our church as big as we possibly can. It edifies people because they’re coming into that Christlike stature in their lives.
4. You will remove immaturity and vulnerability, and your people will no more be like children tossed to and fro on the winds of doctrine. They will stabilize when they function within a clearly defined structure.
5. As you state common sense, speaking the truth in love and allowing that to filter into your community, you will create a close-knit, supportive group. Saying the truth in love is what qualifies you to say what you’re thinking. It creates a growth pattern for the entire body of Christ.
6. When you aren’t insecure or a people pleaser, and you don’t feel like you have to do everything, you will start celebrating the people around you who are running the play that was called in the huddle. When that happens, there’s a celebration. There’s an upward momentum and people begin to notice, “If I obey God and fulfill my purpose, then I’m actually going to experience promotion in the kingdom, and it’s going to be recognized. It’s going to be celebrated!” As people are celebrated in their achievements of purpose and Great Commission outcomes, there’s going to be an upward momentum created in your congregation.
Verse 16 says that the effectual working of every part causes growth in the body to the edifying of itself in love. That is a culture that everyone wants in their churches. I guarantee you: this is going to be the outcome of the way the church feels, the temperature, the attitude that’s cultivated by walking out the leadership skills addressed in Ephesians 4.
In my next blog, I’ll talk in detail about what happens when leaders choose to deviate from the Ephesians 4 model and give in to people pleasing and doing it all themselves. Don’t miss it!
This blog was created using content from the webinar Pitfalls of the “People-Pleaser Pastor”.
