Leadership For The Church

Leadership for the Church

Ephesians 4:11-16, Acts 20:17-31

A Christian is someone who responds to Jesus and His invitation to receive the free gift of Eternal Life from Him.

1 John 5:11 this is the testimony: that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son.

1 John 5:12 He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life. NKJV

After salvation, Jesus invites Christians to experience Abundant Life by following His will for their lives. Jesus would say, “Trust Me and walk in the plan I have for you!”

After salvation, there is also a requirement for those who want to be greatly used by the Lord for His Kingdom purposes.

Mark 9:35 He sat down, called the twelve, and said to them, "If anyone desires to be first, he shall be last of all and servant of all." NKJV

Please open your Bibles to two places this morning. Please open to Acts 20, place a bookmark there, and then to Ephesians 4.

On Sunday afternoons, beginning in February there will be some new leaders’ information meetings. As we continue to grow, we need leaders who love Jesus and want to serve Him here.

I am asking you to pray and ask the Lord if He wants you to have any sort of leadership position within this fellowship.

Like any family or organization, there are always potential dangers lurking. So, we need good leaders to serve Jesus and help protect our fellowship.

Specifically, our church needs Deacons, Deaconesses, Elders, and other servants for Christ’s body.

God in His wisdom gave us a blueprint to recognize leaders.

I. Spiritual leaders, given to profit the Body.

Read Ephesians 4:11-12

Hebrews 13:7 Remember those who rule over you, who have spoken the word of God to you, whose faith follow, considering the outcome of their conduct. NKJV

God uses the church to bring out the best in His children and as we grow and minister with each other; the Lord’s plan is to make us more like Christ and bring out the best in His kids.

Why does Living Faith Fellowship exist?

• We exist as a church to bring Praise and Glory to our King, Jesus Christ. (Through worship, service, unity)

• We exist to share the Gospel with the lost.

• We exist to make disciples, equipping the Saints (teaching).

• We exist to encourage each other in fellowship.

The Lord, in His wisdom and direction places different parts of His body where He desires to fulfill His purposes.

When a body of believers is obediently following His plan there is fruit, growth, joy, and unity. But the opposite is also true.

When parts of the body seek to disrupt the proper order of things, it can lead to chaos and division. As followers of Christ, we are all people under authority, with Christ as the Head.

There is no one alive that is not under some authority, and Jesus is glorified when members use spiritual gifts to serve each other.

Paul gave a list of different leadership positions within the body, and we have covered them before. Let’s focus on the office of pastor for a minute.

• Pastor/Teacher: the under shepherd of a flock.

The word Pastor is synonymous with other New Testaments words such as elder, bishop, or overseer.

1 Peter 5:2 Shepherd the flock of God which is among you, serving as overseers, not by compulsion but willingly, not for dishonest gain but eagerly; NKJV

The primary function of a Pastor is to feed and protect the sheep from false teachers and the nourishment a pastor is to give his congregation is the Word of God, not their own opinion.

God uses His gifted leaders to direct His church. Just as a church needs godly leaders, it also needs followers to imitate those who follow Jesus closely. Paul told his readers…

1 Corinthians 11:1 Imitate me, just as I also imitate Christ.

Equipping was a word used for setting broken bones or mending nets. Spiritual leaders are given for the equipping of the Saints so they will use their gifts to build up (edify) the body.

The reason it is so important to keep the Biblical order of authority is that God has placed each part of the body where they are, in order to maintain order and unity within the Church.

II. Unity is the result of maturity.

Read Ephesians 4:13-16

God wants His children to grow up in all things concerning Him, and the way to accomplish that is through His power and love given to us by His Spirit.

When the Church is growing and maturing, there is evidence.

1. The first evidence of maturity is Christlikeness.

A Christ-like person has qualities like Jesus. Being Christ-like is the result of surrender to God with a total self-dedication.