Tag: Unity

3 Thoughts on What Christian Leadership Should Look Like

Christian leadership should stand in contrast to the secular world’s understanding of what it means to be successful. Alas, I think too much of the American church at large is not concerned with the New Testament pattern of leadership and success.

What should Christian leadership look like? Here are three brief thoughts on what Christian leadership should look like, according to my scripturally biased opinion.

Primarily, I have a hard time getting away from the words of Jesus in Matthew 23:11-12. According to Jesus, Christian leadership looks like servanthood.

Interestingly, J.B. Phillips provided a challenging translation of Matthew 23:10-12. “And you must not let people call you ‘leaders’—you have only one leader, Christ! The only ‘superior’ among you is the one who serves the others. For every man who promotes himself will be humbled, and every man who learns to be humble will find promotion.”

So then, Christian leadership is about following Christ, serving others along the way, and learning to be content with obscurity.

Secondarily, Christian leadership does not look like prosperity or the lack thereof. It’s not about stuff, it’s about following Christ and serving those whom He loves. The admonition of Hebrews 13:5 is clear. Let your conduct be without covetousness; be content with such things as you have. For He Himself has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” His presence matters more than your stuff.

Please understand that as a Christian leader, you might never have a luxurious office, a large expense account, or a lofty title. And that’s okay. If your mode of leadership servanthood never measures up to this world’s definition of success, you are in really great company with a host of people whose names fill the New Testament. I’ll refrain from making a list and encourage you to be a student of the Book.

Thirdly, Christian leaders should not act as though because they are graced with ministry gifts that they have no need of working with others. The practice of continually isolating yourself from others is what our adversary (the devil) likes to see. He can wreak havoc through that practice.

What am I talking about with this third point? God has not called the Body of Christ to independence. But rather, He has called us to the blessedness of interdependence. That’s the whole point of 1 Corinthians 12:21-26.

What this really means is that to best fulfill the New Testament pattern of servanthood leadership, you need me. And I need you, more than you could possibly understand. Besides the ample evidence of Scripture, I’m not really smart enough to do this without your help. The best ideas and ministry are often generated from those without any official ministry title.

We can wrap this up in summary style. What does Christian leadership look like? Christian leadership looks like serving others and being okay with only God knowing your name and what you have done. This New Testament servanthood model is more possessed with the presence of Christ than the things of this world and with that, you can be content. And in this neighborhood, joint servanthood is the only model that works.

Finally, I ran across this quote from Pastor Benny Tate and it will serve as a thought-provoking conclusion. “You haven’t served God until God gets the glory and someone else gets the credit.”

Written by William Strickland. Pastor of Harvest Christian Center in Cantonment, FL. Husband to Lisa and father to three kids. To read more of Williams’s work, take a look at his blog and be sure to follow him on social media

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5 Signs of a Productive Follower

Everybody desires to be the leader, but few desire to follow. As I write this, my oldest son (in preschool) is designated as class leader today. He is three, so do not expect him leading on his own. If he was, expect candy, monster trucks, and toys for all. The class leader is set up as a big helper. The teacher is still in the leading role, but my son will assist and have opportunities to lead at the same time. 

The church is set up in a similar fashion. Above all, God is the leader of the flock. God appoints Pastors as leaders under His sovereign will, and other Pastors and staff under the Pastor’s leadership. Jesus called the apostles and He simply called them to follow Him. 

I serve as a Pastor of Students and Outreach at my church. I’m naturally in a role that requires me to be a follower and leader. I have opportunities to lead, but my leading comes in response to how I follow the direction the senior pastor and leadership set, including direction I help with at times. Here are five signs of a productive follower. 

1. PRODUCTIVE FOLLOWERS KNOW THEIR ROLE.

This often takes humility, but knowing your exact role will propel you as a productive follower. Job descriptions and guidelines are there for a reason. Your role is generally laid out. If for some reason it is not, ask and let it be known. 

2. PRODUCTIVE FOLLOWERS PLAN TO FOLLOW.

Planning and preparing is essential for most areas of life. We plan vacation, leisure, entertainment, education, and many other day-to-day activities. A productive follower must plan to lay aside our agenda so that what we are following is championed. Not planning to follow will result in a me…me…me mentality. 

3. PRODUCTIVE FOLLOWERS STRIVE FOR UNITY.

Unity takes hard work and dedication. Ephesians four highlights the importance of unity in the body of Christ. The church should be the most united place on earth, yet, unity is often neglected for personal preference. It is essential that we aim to be a united front. If we the leadership fail to be united, how can we expect the church to follow?

4. PRODUCTIVE FOLLOWERS ENGAGE CAREFULLY.

Careful and precise engagement is necessary for productivity. Patience can be difficult to achieve and maintain. However, a good leader ought to be willing to have productive engagement with their followers. When you engage (and you should sometimes), ask yourself if you are being careful and not careless. If we follow well, we will have plenty of opportunities for engagement. Earn the right to be engaged. 

5. PRODUCTIVE FOLLOWERS INTERJECT APPROPRIATELY.

Some of us believe we have to interject our thoughts and opinions early and often. Sometimes this is warranted (if something is unbiblical) right away, but more so than not, the timing might be too soon. Understanding you leader’s personality will be the key to unlocking when and how you interject. You better have a good reason (and be able to back it up) when you interject your thoughts on a situation. Do not be afraid to speak up, but understand that there is a time and place to do so. 

A productive follower essentially strives to maintain this status. It takes a daily heart check to fully be productive. You may have the best idea, but it may not be best for this particular time or moment. Be willing to humble yourself and ultimately follow Jesus first and the rest will follow. The Disciples set aside opinions and personal preference to follow Jesus. We should be willing to do the same!


Written by Justin Beville. Justin has been married to Amanda Beville for over six years and has one son named Luke and twin boys on the way! He received his Bachelor’s degree in Christian Studies with a minor in Student Ministry from the College at Southeastern. Justin went on to complete his Advanced MDiv. at Southeastern. He currently serves as the Pastor of Students and Outreach at Kingsland Baptist Church. Like this article? Read more from Justin here!

Looking for a new position? Stop by MinistryJobs.com and have a look at the jobs that are available! Ministry jobs are hard to come by and job hunting is no fun. We help ministry job seekers find their ideal role in their next ministry – for free! More than 6 million search for a job every day. Be found! Looking to list a job or an open position? We help churches and organizations get job openings in front of potential candidates. We have several plans and packages available. Today is the day!

Make Every Effort

If you have never been a part of its atmosphere, you might not recognize its absence. If that is the case, I pray for your sanity.

If you have overlooked this teaching of the Bible, you could be causing devastating consequences.

It’s a little word containing only five letters. What is it? UNiTY!

With it in our presence, we can make wonderful progress towards good growth. Without it, such progress can come to a screeching halt.

That is why the Apostle Paul raises this call in his letter to the Church at Ephesus. In fact, the fourth chapter begins with an urging, a “beseeching” if you will. There is an intense word used here as he directly says that believers should walk worthy of the calling of God. With some beautiful adjectives, he describes what walking this way looks like. It has the appearance of humility and gentleness, with longsuffering (or patience) and bearing with one another in love.

Why is such a walk necessary? It is for the sake of UNiTY. This worthy walk that the Apostle is urging the Ephesian believers toward is an indication that they are “endeavoring to keep the UNiTY of the Spirit in the bond of peace” (4:3).

 

Christian, you need to add this walk to your talk. This UNiTY is needed in your local church as well. Hearty shouts of “amens” and subtle wishes that someone else would really “get it” are not enough.

You must want it so intensely that you will go to the altar and then alter your walk. Act like the servant that you have been called to be.

  • That means you forgive those offenses and quit carrying that grudge, knowing that everyone else is just as imperfect as you are. 
  • It means that regardless of how spiritually gifted you are, you will walk in the humility that you are not better than others. 
  • That means that you will treat others as gently as you’d like to be treated, watching your tone of voice and body language to ensure love is being shown.

Such a walk shows Christ, the Head of the Church that you are eager to maintain the UNiTY that strengthens the bond of peace. Such a walk is simply cooperating with the Spirit.

Make every effort to keep the UNiTY. It’s worth the work (tweet this). And if you do it with the right motive, you will have the help of the Holy Spirit.

Why should you put forth such effort? Because God’s Word just told you to do it. And when we “dwell together in unity” (Psalm 133:1), the Holy Spirit comes upon His people as “precious ointment.”

Make no mistake, offenses and conflicts will come. They show up regardless of how spiritually minded you are. That’s when “make every effort” goes to work.


Pastors, teachers, deacons, elders, and staff members regardless of a title should consider themselves as personally responsible to make every effort toward unity. Set the pace and lead by example.

You will have to be on purpose about it. UNiTY is not the result of just going with the flow (click to tweet). Following the path of least resistance is what makes people and rivers crooked.

The local church does not simply drift to success. You must make every effort to acquire and maintain UNiTY.

What do you need to do differently this week to maintain UNiTY in your local church?

Written by William Strickland. Pastor of Harvest Christian Center in Cantonment, FL. Husband to Lisa and father to three kids. To read more of Williams’s work, take a look at his blog and be sure to follow him on social media

Looking for a new position? Stop by MinistryJobs.com and have a look at the jobs that are available! Ministry jobs are hard to come by and job hunting is no fun. We help ministry job seekers find their ideal role in their next ministry – for free! More than 6 million search for a job every day. Be found! Looking to list a job or an open position? We help churches and organizations get job openings in front of potential candidates. We have several plans and packages available. Today is the day!