I’m looking into getting ordained by Transformation Ministries, one of the denominations with which our church has affiliation. I was going over some of the paperwork today and there is a long list of requirements. There are recommendations that need to be filled out by pastors, I need to get the transcripts of my grades from Fuller Theological Seminary, I have to score at least an 85% on a Biblical knowledge exam and I have to agree with and sign a bunch of different covenants and doctrinal statements. One of the documents I have to sign is the “Leadership Covenant of Ethical Behavior”; acknowledging that, as a Christian leader, I will act accordingly. If I sign the document, I am committing “my thoughts, attitudes, and behaviors to represent Christ through the following disciplines of my calling.” I thought I’d highlight some of these disciplines and reflect upon them.
Leadership
By His grace and Spirit, I will lead God’s people with the spiritual authority which issues from a servant heart, godly character, and gifted performance. I will develop disciples of Christ and empower spiritual leaders for the Kingdom. (II Timothy 2:2)
Spiritual authority really does come from the heart of a servant. The most effective leaders with whom I’ve interacted are the ones who are willing to serve. Unfortunately not everyone shares the same servant-leader mentality outlined in the scriptures and modeled by Jesus. For some the allure of leadership is the ability to tell others what to do, to lead from a position of authority rather than from a posture of humility. If we truly want to be effective leaders we need to understand what it means to lead from a posture of humility; we have to seek out ways of placing the needs of our followers above our own and bend over backwards to serve them in everything that we do. Jesus changed the world by leading as a servant-leader; what kind of impact could that leadership have on our organization or ministry?
Purity and Integrity
I will conduct myself with sexual purity and integrity whether I am married or single. If married, in covenant faithfulness I will, in my thoughts, words, and deeds, love and respond toward my spouse as Christ loves and responds to me. If single, I will commit myself to celibacy until I enter marriage. I will not neglect my family: I will express my love for them in my time, attention, affection, and respect.
One of the most interesting aspects of this discipline is the focus on not neglecting the family. I have heard too many stories of leaders in ministry who focus so much on their ministry that they lose sight of their homes. These leaders would never think of cheating on their spouses but sometimes ministry becomes the mistress which calls them away in the middle of the night and consumes them even on vacation. The struggle with being in ministry leadership is that ministry is a lifestyle, it’s not a regular 9-5 job which can be turned off once we leave the office. However, even though ministry is unique, it still needs to subject itself to the family. Fortunately I haven’t really had to struggle with what this looks like yet but, when I have a family, I hope I can stay faithful to them and not be led astray by the mistress of ministry.
Facing my Failures
I will risk exposing my own flaws and shortcomings as a fellow learner among the saints. When I fall short of this covenant, I will confess my sin, repent and depend on God’s grace for healing and restoration. If such failure brings shame upon Christ, the church, or my marriage, I will withdraw from the ministry and place myself under the care of appropriate counseling and pastoral leaders until such time as it is deemed advisable by Transformation Ministries for me to return to professional leadership. (James 5:16; I Timothy 4:19-20)
How many times have we seen the moral failings of pastors become top headlines? How many of us can tell the story of a pastor caught having an affair and the damage it had upon a church and a congregation? I’m sure that none of them ever began their ministry thinking that they would like to destroy it by having an extra-marital affair; I just don’t think that’s part of anybody’s 10 or 20-year plan. Yet it continually happens and congregations and other believers on the outside are left wondering what happened. None of us wake up in the morning deciding that we want to have a major moral failure; that kind of failure is a process, a slippery slope, which takes place over time. Avoiding the major failure involves confessing the minor failures which, if unchecked, will eventually lead to the major failure. Accountability and confession need to be part of every leader’s life, as we admit where we’ve fallen short and seek forgiveness which leads to repentance.
Leadership is a choice which takes a lot of discipline: discipline to serve others, discipline to maintain purity and discipline to be honest about our flaws. Sometimes I wish that leadership was just about making big decisions and garnering the praise of others; there’s something attractive about always being in the limelight before an adoring audience. That’s not real leadership, though. That kind of leadership doesn’t garner any lasting influence and, therefore, doesn’t bring about any lasting change. Real leadership takes effort and can be a little messy, which is why it requires a tremendous amount of discipline. And, if we are disciplined and faithful, God will bless our work and we can be the ones leading people to praise God for what he has done.
What leadership discipline have you seen the most growth in over the past 12 months?
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