Recommendations for Lay Church Leaders
Please be sure to read our article Preparing the Saints for Works of Service because what you read there undergirds what will be recommended here.
It is too prevalent to esteem pastors and other paid church staff above lay church leaders. Do not do this. You and the paid church staff, including pastors, are all to be about equipping the saints for works of service. Paid staff cannot do all that needs doing.
When church members listen to a pastor or other church paid staff, they can easily not take it so seriously because they are “getting paid to say what they say”. You, on the other hand, are a peer and may be taken more seriously. Others may look like they are taking the pastor seriously, but often they are just responding in their subservient role of “lesser” church member. If you interact in some of the ways recommended here, you might be quite surprised at the positive responses you will get, just because you are not paid.
One of the more important rules of thumb in being a church leader who builds faith and service in others is to not do anything that someone who is not already a leader in the church can do. Just like long ago in high school chemistry lab you did not learn how to do what you saw the teacher do but had to do the experiments yourself, so the people under your care need to be able to do what they can.
For example, if someone comes to you with a problem for which they need suggestions, ask them if you can call others into the discussion, perhaps one of their most trusted friends in the church. If someone is discouraged and needs a little hope, do the same. This is the way those others will learn that they are capable of getting involved. Their confidence will grow. If you do not do this, then you will, like it or not, be communicating to those in the church that they must depend upon you and the other leaders to do everything. Even if you like to help, hold back. Hopefully, you don’t want to be doing “everything”!
When you involve others but they don’t know what to do, let them watch you. You will be showing them how you do things God’s way. This is essentially what discipleship is all about – show and tell. Jesus tells us to go and make disciples, not just church members, so involving others like this is very good.
Other times when you involve others you will be teaching and coaching. Teaching often takes the form of explaining what needs to be done, as in, “Don is discouraged in his search for a job and needs to hear things from you and me that will restore his hope.” Coaching is often putting a person “into the game”, as in, “Don is discouraged in his search for a job and I believe you can talk with him and help restore his hope.” If the person waits for you to do the talking, then you might want to say, “I’ve got to run. Let me know how Don is doing after you talk with him. Bring in others if you know of people who might help encourage Don.”
As a church leader who will help our Lord get what he wants, it is absolutely critical that you know what God wants his people to do together. You must become more than just familiar with our 65 Togethers of Scripture. Study them and see how they are essential Scripture for what God’s people are to do. It would be best if you go completely through our free training. It is right here at this website. (Hopefully you are reading this now as a part of the curriculum.)
Most church leaders either lead small groups or teams (committees). There is a way to lead small groups and teams that empowers group and team members. This model greatly increases the chance that group members will have the confidence to take on church leadership jobs in the future. It is essentially a brand new way of going about leading. Again, we have free training right here at this website. That training is based on my Master’s Degree and over 45 years of experience. To be a powerful leading in the church, you should definitely take this training.
With regard to small groups, do what you can to mix people up in long-term groups.
Mix them up so that they can better minister to one another’s needs. Consider the benefit of a single mom being in a group with at least one couple without kids, perhaps grandparent age, or a few singles. Single moms need a break to get some rest and these group members can provide babysitting and even activities like a trip to the zoo. Likewise, it would be good for one or two singles to have in the same group a married couple without kids and a married couple with kids. The singles need to see what marriage is all about in the transparency that should happen in a group of Christians.
Having such small groups last for a fairly long time is recommended so that trust can be developed, following by honestly which will prevent surprises like divorces, immoral behavior run amuck, etc.
A really good time to be a church leader and not just a member is during “coffee fellowship” times, if your church has them. Lead during these times, don’t just visit. Leading might mean discussions about how friends, family and spouses are being served, learning about trials that might be opportunities to bring others into the action, etc.
What is most important is that church leaders focus energy on maximizing the potential of Christian love between believers. That means focusing on relationships, particularly those of Christian friendships, families and marriages. It also means breaking new ground in relationships between specific members of your church – they need each other more than they realize. Help church to be more than just a friendly place and a superficial good time. Help it be a deeply loving time where works of service between members flourish.
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If you are concerned about the same things we are, we invite you to join our Advisory Team. This means that we will occasionally send you emails asking your thoughts about an issue we are thinking through. If you would like to be a part of our team, please email Dick Wulf at [email protected] and let him know of your willingness to help.
__________________________________________________________________________________
If you are concerned about the same things we are, we invite you to join our Advisory Team. This means that we will occasionally send you emails asking your thoughts about an issue we are thinking through. If you would like to be a part of our team, please email Dick Wulf at [email protected] and let him know of your willingness to help.
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Copyright 2012 Dick Wulf, Colorado, USA