[featured_image]This is a four-part series on developing leaders.
Good leaders intentionally develop more leaders.
If you are a church planter, pastor, or elder, you have a responsibility to raise up and develop godly leaders around you. You can’t just expect that God will bring you “ready to go” leaders. You have to be intentional about raising them up!
Beginning with a clear picture of the type of leaders that you are developing will help you focus intentionally on specific areas of their growth and development.
Here are sixteen categories to consider in determining if someone is qualified to serve in a leadership role in a local church. They are also sixteen areas to pay attention to as you work to intentionally develop spiritual leaders around you.
16 Categories for Spiritual Leadership Development
Yesterday, we covered these first four…
1. Christ Follower – Radical Obedience to Jesus
2. Character – Demonstrates Godly Fruit
3. Calling – Called to Lead God’s People
4.Core – Practices Spiritual Disciplines
Here are the next four…
5. Conviction – Embraces & Defends Sound Doctrine
Spiritual leaders must be committed to the truth of Scripture. They must know the truth of the gospel for it is the power of God. They must be able to recognize the truth, discern the truth, proclaim the truth and defend the truth with conviction. This requires the disciplined study of Scripture. They must “contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all handed down to the saints” (Jude 3)
6. Community – Lives Authentically in Close Relationships
Christian leaders cannot live in isolation from other Christians. As we read of the believers in Acts 2, they must be committed to “the fellowship.” Spiritual growth cannot happen apart from relationship with other Christians. Spiritual leaders are open and honest with other Christians. They confess their sins to one another, they hold each other accountable to pursue godliness, and they live out the “one another” passages in the Bible in community.
7. Commission – Makes Disciples who Make Disciples who Make Disciples
To be a spiritual leader you must be aligned with the mission of Jesus. He sent His disciples to make disciples who make disciples. If you’ve never made a disciple who makes disciples, you are not qualified to be a leader in the church. You have to be focused on the fourth generation – raising up disciplemakers who make disciples who make disciples.
8. Clarity – Clearly Articulates Mission, Vision & Values
Spiritual leaders call others to follow Jesus and to align themselves with His mission. They aren’t pushing their own mission, their own vision, or their own values. They communicate God’s mission, vision and values in ways that others are compelled to follow. They live out kingdom values and demonstrate them in their behaviors. They are not fuzzy about the vision of discipling people “from every tribe and language and people and nation” to become those who are worshipping God forever!
Here’s the rest of the list…
9. Contact – Invests in Friendships with Unbelievers
10. Contribution – Gives Generously to God’s Work
11. Connection – Actively Participates in Local Church Life
12. Compatibility – Shaped for Leadership
13. Commitment – Tested Through Difficulties
14. Competence – Evidences Leadership Skills
15. Capacity – Able to Lead by Serving and Caring for People
16. Chemistry – Relates Well with Other Leaders
As I share this list with you I’m convicted by my need to continue to grow and develop as a spiritual leader. Godly leaders need to keep on growing and maturing in Christ. You can’t ever believe that you’ve arrived and that somehow you are now spiritually mature. Our standard is Christ – and there’s not a single Christian who has “become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.” We all must continue “straining to what is ahead.”
How are you growing in each of these 4 Categories?
If you are a leader, how will you intentionally develop other leaders to grow in each of these 4 Categories?
