George Bernard Shaw is quoted as saying, “Some people see things as they are and say why. I dream things that never were and say why not?” Many churches across America are in desperate need of visionary leadership. Leaders who refuse to settle for the way things are and are willing to press on toward something better. The church needs leadership that is anticipatory rather than reactionary. We desperately need leaders who are constantly driving beyond their headlights, with the desire to connect with and reach our ever changing culture. Casting vision to others is tough because most people will not get on board until they see the boat. So the challenge is to cast a vision in a way that people can take ownership of it. Once we catch the vision God will use it to cause us to commit our time, talents and treasures to the cause. This series was designed not only to challenge our concepts of leadership within the church but to build a desire to ditch the status quo in favor of a healthier and more Biblical pattern. Today we are going to tie the last four messages together and work toward developing a new and exciting vision for the future of the church.
I. Elders who are shepherds rather than decision makers.
A. Today’s church needs shepherds, who nurture, equip and empower people for ministry.
1. These are men who take Jesus’ challenge to Peter very seriously.
2. When they had finished eating, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon son of John, do you truly love me more than these?” “Yes, Lord,” he said, “you know that I love you.” Jesus said, “Feed my lambs.” Again Jesus said, “Simon son of John, do you truly love me?” He answered, “Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.” Jesus said, “Take care of my sheep.” (John 21:15-16—NIV)
3. Jesus himself is the Good Shepherd, and now he commissions Peter to care for the flock that belongs to Jesus, for they are my lambs … my sheep.
4. This is a charge that Peter accepts and follows for the rest of his life as evidenced by 1 Peter 5.
5. Peter’s task (and the task of a church elder/pastor) is more than just saving the lost. It includes nurturing the saved.
B. The church needs shepherds who help give the people the tools and the training that they need to effectively minister in the church.
1. Congregations usually take on the priorities of their leadership.
2. A leadership that reaches out to the community will more often than not build a church that reaches out to the community.
3. When we chose men to shepherd we need to make sure that we chose those men who will mentor and equip people to use their lives to honor God.
4. Leaders must remember that they are not in front of others to make an impression on them. They are not seeking to draw attention to themselves. Their purpose is to serve God and to help His people learn to do the same.
5. When a leader works for God without the thought of reward, they demonstrate their suitability to be leader.
II. Leaders who are actively leading ministries in the church.
A. Teamwork is the key to success in the local church.
1. If the elder’s time is consumed by shepherding, how is he going to have time to oversee all the different ministries in the church?
2. The Jerusalem Christian community had witnessed considerable growth; and as is so often the case with rapid increase, administrative problems developed.
3. 2So the Twelve gathered all the disciples together and said, “It would not be right for us to neglect the ministry of the word of God in order to wait on tables. 3Brothers, choose seven men from among you who are known to be full of the Spirit and wisdom. We will turn this responsibility over to them 4and will give our attention to prayer and the ministry of the word.” (Acts 6:2-4—NIV)
4. Often the present passage is seen to be the initiation of the diaconate. The word “deacon” (diakonos) never occurs in the passage. The word “ministry” (diakonia) does occur several times
5. Shepherding, mentoring and equipping are full-time jobs and to effectively accomplish these tasks the other ministry tasks of the church need to be delegated to other qualified individuals.
B. Every Christian may not be called to Shepherd but every Christian is called to ministry.
1. He handed out gifts of apostle, prophet, evangelist, and pastor-teacher to train Christ’s followers in skilled servant work, working within Christ’s body, the church, until we’re all moving rhythmically and easily with each other, efficient and graceful in response to God’s Son, fully mature adults, fully developed within and without, fully alive like Christ. (Ephesians 4:11-13—The Message)
2. As individuals are equipped for ministry and begin to use their gifts for the cause of Christ they will find themselves maturing rapidly spiritually.
3. Paul likens the church to a body in which each part must function correctly for the body to remain healthy.
4. When we relegate all the duties of ministry to the paid staff and eldership we not only do the church a disservice, we do the community and ourselves a disservice.
III. Leaders who are bold with a vision for the future.
A. Vision is recognizing and committing to something bigger than you.
1. Vision finds its roots in faith and allows a church to be or to do something beyond its current abilities to impact the Kingdom.
2. The fundamental fact of existence is that this trust in God, this faith, is the firm foundation under everything that makes life worth living. It’s our handle on what we can’t see. (Hebrews 11:1—The Message)
3. We ask our children a vision question quite often, “What do want to be when you grow up?” We want them to have a picture for the future.
4. God does the same thing for His church; He often gives a leader a vision for the future and the challenge of sharing it with the people.
5. Making that vision a reality usually involves leaders stepping out on faith and helping to encourage the rest of the people to get on board.
B. Why do we need a vision?
1. Many times church leaders do not call people to life changing visions and wonder why the commitment level is so low.
2. We need to promote visions that can have a tangible impact on the community which will encourage the people to enthusiastically commit to making it a reality.
3. People with a true vision will not simply say that this is something that could happen; they say that this is something that must happen. True vision always has a sense of urgency.
4. The eldership years ago at Southeast Christian Church said that true vision is having a dream so big that if God is not in it then we will fail miserably.
IV. Leaders who are willing to sacrifice for the cause of Christ.
A. The leader must have his priorities in the right order. Christ and His church must come first.
1. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. (Mathew 6:33—NIV)
2. To lead effectively requires a great amount of time.
3. Faithful stewardship of time, talents and treasures is a must for leaders in the Lord’s church.
4. Leaders must set the example in attendance, service and giving. The church will not reach above its leadership.
B. Leaders must realize that God is concerned with what we are, not just what we do.
1. Leaders must spend time in God’s word on a regular basis to discover what God is saying to them.
2. I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you. (Psalm 119:11—NIV)
3. Leaders must plan daily prayer time. One person wisely said, “Make your spare moments prayer moments.”
4. Be joyful always; 17 pray continually; 18 give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18—NIV)
5. If we desire to help people grow in Christ we must be investing in our relationship with Him on a daily basis so we are growing as well.
6. Leadership is not for the faint at heart.
"Computers in the future may weigh no more than 1.5 tons." --Popular Mechanics, forecasting the relentless march of science, 1949 "I think there is a world market for maybe five computers." --Thomas Watson, chairman of IBM, 1943 "I have traveled the length and breadth of this country and talked with the best people, and I can assure you that data processing is a fad that won’t last out the year." --The editor in charge of business books for Prentice Hall, 1957 "But what ... is it good for?" --Engineer at the Advanced Computing Systems Division of IBM, 1968, commenting on the microchip. "There is no reason anyone would want a computer in their home." --Ken Olson, president, chairman and founder of Digital Equipment Corp., 1977 "This ’telephone’ has too many shortcomings to be seriously considered as a means of communication. The device is inherently of no value to us." --Western Union internal memo, 1876. "The wireless music box has no imaginable commercial value. Who would pay for a message sent to nobody in particular?" --David Sarnoff’s associates in response to his urgings for investment in the radio in the 1920s. "The concept is interesting and well-formed, but in order to earn better than a ’C,’ the idea must be feasible." --A Yale University management professor in response to Fred Smith’s paper proposing reliable overnight delivery service. (Smith went on to found Federal Express Corp.) "Who the heck wants to hear actors talk?" --H.M. Warner, Warner Brothers, 1927. "I’m just glad it’ll be Clark Gable who’s falling on his face and not Gary Cooper." --Gary Cooper on his decision not to take the leading role in "Gone With The Wind." "A cookie store is a bad idea. Besides, the market research reports say America likes crispy cookies, not soft and chewy cookies like you make." --Response to Debbi Fields’ idea of starting Mrs. Fields’ Cookies. "We don’t like their sound, and guitar music is on the way out." --Decca Recording Co. rejecting the Beatles, 1962. "Heavier-than-air flying machines are impossible." --Lord Kelvin, president, Royal Society, 1895. "If I had thought about it, I wouldn’t have done the experiment. The literature was full of examples that said you can’t do this." --Spencer Silver, on the work that led to the unique adhesives for 3-M "Post-It" Notepads. "So we went to Atari and said, ’Hey, we’ve got this amazing thing, even built with some of your parts, and what do you think about funding us? Or we’ll give it to you. We just want to do it. Pay our salary, we’ll come work for you.’ And they said, ’No.’ So then we went to Hewlett-Packard, and they said, ’Hey, we don’t need you. You haven’t got through college yet.’" --Apple Computer Inc. founder Steve Jobs on attempts to get Atari and H-P interested in his and Steve Wozniak’s personal computer. "Professor Goddard does not know the relation between action and reaction and the need to have something better than a vacuum against which to react. He seems to lack the basic knowledge ladled out daily in high schools." --1921 New York Times editorial about Robert Goddard’s revolutionary rocket work. "You want to have consistent and uniform muscle development across all of your muscles? It can’t be done. It’s just a fact of life. You just have to accept inconsistent muscle development as an unalterable condition of weight training." --Response to Arthur Jones, who solved the "unsolvable" problem by inventing Nautilus. "Stocks have reached what looks like a permanently high plateau." --Irving Fisher, Professor of Economics, Yale University, 1929. "Everything that can be invented has been invented." --Charles H. Duell, Commissioner, U.S. Office of Patents, 1899. "Louis Pasteur’s theory of germs is ridiculous fiction". --Pierre Pachet, Professor of Physiology at Toulouse, 1872 "The abdomen, the chest, and the brain will forever be shut from the intrusion of the wise and humane surgeon". --Sir John Eric Ericksen, British surgeon, appointed Surgeon-Extraordinary to Queen Victoria 1873. "640K ought to be enough for anybody." -- Bill Gates, 1981
