"Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."
Though speaking specifically to His apostles on this occasion, His mandate to teach and make disciples of others applies to all of His disciples. The church at Thessalonica was commended for the part they played in making the gospel known in their area (1 Thessalonians 1:8). Faithful men of God were to teach others, who in turn would teach yet others (2 Timothy 2:2). And we recall how that in spite of being scattered by persecution, early Christians "went about teaching the word." (Acts 8:4)
( excerpt from Recipe For Making Disciples By Jon W. Quinn, Expository Files 5.6; June 1998. This passage is the recipe for making disciple or expanding God's kingdom through sharing and training people to become a follower of Christ. According to David Baik, serving UBF campus ministry in New York City, the global city, there are three things we can do as God's servant in teaching students to obey Jesus' commands. First of all, I believe that we should teach through showing a good example. Second, we should teach with great patience and careful instruction. Third, we should pray.
With this realization, church leaders created a program which suites for the spiritual growth of their members in order to know what God wants them to do.
The following are the lectures and training conducted for church members benefits:
ADVANCING LEADERSHIP SKILLS
Ptr. Ronald A. Camiling
INTRODUCTION: PART 1 (ORIENTATION)
How could a man - born in an insignificant stable, grow up in a carpenter shop and die an early death - so affect the world as no other person who has ever lived?
How could one man – born in an insignificant stable, grown up in a carpenter shop and die an early death- so affect the world as no other person who has ever lived?
- JESUS HAD A PLAN.
- He would focus on training His twelve disciples.
- After conferring with John the Baptist, three disciples began to follow Him. Gradually, the number rose to twelve. (Mark. 1:16-20; Lu. 5:1-11, Mt. 4:18-20).
- These twelve ordinary men carried the life giving truth of redemption for mankind (Mt. 10:1-5; Mark. 3:13-19; Lu. 6:12-16).
- Twelve men became the focus of Jesus’ ministry. He was with them. He mentored them; He taught them, and He sent them out to perform His works (Mt. 10:5-15, Mark. 6:7-13; Lu. 9: 1-6).
- Even though He was surrounded by the masses, He focused on the twelve.
- HIS STRATEGY WORKED.
- Within one hundred years the known world was exposed to the Gospel.
§ Church growth demands that we study and understand the times. Revival is taking place around the world.
§ Korea continues to experience revival as churches respond to the needs through small groups.
§ Multitudes are finding Jesus Christ in Indonesia, the world’s largest Muslim nation.
§ In the midst of persecution, the church is experiencing phenomenal growth.
§ Bogotá, Columbia is an example of the great revival taking place in South America, Europe, Africa and former communist states are all experiencing revival.
In USA and Canada, there seems to be a lull. We are not experiencing growth as we have in the past.
PASTORS IN THE UNITED STATES ARE FACING CRISIS:
Statistics reveal:
50% of all congregations in the USA are either plateauning or declining.
33% of pastors confess “inappropriate” sexual behavior with someone in the church.
80% believe that pastoral ministry affects their families negatively.
33% say that being in ministry is an outright hazard to their family.
75% say they had a significant stress-related crisis at least once in their ministry.
50% feel unable to meet the needs of the job.
90% feel they are inadequately trained to cope with ministry demands.
The typical pastor has his greatest ministry impact at a church in years 5 through 14 of his pastorate; unfortunately, the average pastor lasts only five years at a church.
25 % of pastor’s wives see their husband’s work schedule as a source of conflict.
13% of pastors have been divorced.
The clergy has the second highest divorce rate among all professions.
80% of pastors say they have insufficient time with spouse.
48% of pastors think being in ministry is hazardous to family wellbeing.
70% say they have a lower self-esteem now than when they started out.
20% of pastors say they view pornography once a month.
20% of pastors admit to having had an affair while in the ministry.
37% of pastors admit that internet pornography is a current struggle.
33% of clergy and 36% of the laity have visited a sexually explicit website; of that number, 53% of the clergy and 44% of the laity say they have visited the sites a few times in the past year.
More than 1,300 pastors each month are forcibly terminated without just cause.
A church that has fired a pastor has a 70% probability of doing the same to the following pastor.
Each month more than 1,200 pastors leave the ministry due to stress, church related-issues, family issues, or burnout.
50% of seminary graduates leave the ministry after 5 years. How can we build healthy, growing, churches when pastors are crumbling like sandcastles on the beach?
There is a ministry crisis. How can we overcome the current crisis and lead the church to fulfill the purpose of God?
- WE MUST HAVE A TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY STRATEGY
· Genuine church growth begins with a visionary leader who is willing to see beyond obstacles, tradition, and peers to embrace the mission and vision of God.
· Gene Wilkes states, “Leadership begins when a God-revealed mission captures a person.” (Christian believers must possess HEAVENLY VISION!
· Leadership for Moses began on Horeb, the mountain of God. He saw the bush that burned with fire and was not consumed. (Exo. 3:1-22)
· He heard the voice of god and turned to see. Moses had been a leader of sheep. When he met God on Horeb, his mission and vision changed.
§ In Exodus 4: 10-12 we read:
“Then Moses said to the Lord, O my Lord, I am not eloquent, neither before since You have spoken to Your servant; but I am slow of speech and slow of tongue. ‘So the Lord said to him, “Who has made man’s mouth? Or who makes the mute, the deaf, the seeing, or the blind? Have not I, the Lord? Now therefore, go, and I will be with your mouth and teach you what you shall say’.
· Leadership that reaches the twenty-first century must begin with an encounter with God.
· Jesus clarified the mission in Matthew 28:18-20:
“All authority has been given to me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the world.
The original text implies that having been with Jesus, the disciples were to go win souls and make disciples. The mission for the twenty first century leader is not to impress the masses but to win people to Jesus and develop them into leaders.
The mission goes beyond making converts.
Andy Stanley identifies the two best-kept secrets of leadership as:
1. The less you do, the more you accomplish.
2. The less you do, the more you enable others to accomplish.
- Distribution of task and labor.
John Maxwell states that,
“Leadership is influence - nothing More, nothing less”. Yes, leadership is influence.
However, a study of the Gospels reveals that leadership development is an intentional process that is dependent on a leader committed to investing in the training and development of others.
CLDP PROGRAM WILL HELP THE MENTOR AND EACH LAY LEADER TO:
Expand their experience with God.
Match their gifts to ministry opportunities.
Live by Biblical principles and reflect God’s highest purposes.
Maintain a Christ-like perspective on life.
Accept the great commission as a priority.
Exercise the gifts of the Holy Spirit.
Demonstrate the love of God in both word and sacrificial deed.
Live a life of holiness and obedience to God and his word.
Level II of CLDP is “An Apprenticeship in Christian Character.”
It also gives the lay leader the opportunity to specialize in one area of local church ministry.
CLDP II prepares the lay leader the specific training, supervision, motivation, and self-confidence needed to be an effective leader in that area of ministry.
CLPD Level III focal point is on “The Making of a Leader; the character and heart qualifications of Leadership”.
CLDP I GENERAL OBJECTIVE
ü This program is primarily designed to lead and encourage prospective ministry workers towards a realization that a strong biblical foundation is necessary for victorious Christian Life.
ü According to research by several sources, pastors are poorly prepared to disciple lay leaders experience high levels of frustration and stress, move too often, and are overworked due to the lack of lay involvement in leadership and ministry.
ü Sometimes the reason lay members are uninvolved is because the pastor is unwilling or does not know how to develop and expand the center core of active lay leaders.
CLDP-LEVEL 1 PURPOSE AND GUIDELINES
- PURPOSE
- CLDP is concerned with the development of Biblical habits, thoughts and attitudes.
- Habits are a reflection of internalized principles and patterns of behavior.
- Aristotle said, “We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an art, but a habit.”
- An old Chinese proverb says, “Unless you change direction, you are likely to arrive at where you are headed.”
- We want to see that God’s people are headed in the right direction; a life direction that leads to spiritual growth and maturity.
CLDP is designed to bring about positive changes in the thinking if people. This leadership development program for laity is designed to produce spiritual leaders in the local church who are:
· Truthful under all conditions
· Honest even when no one is looking
· Respectful of other people’s reputations
· Mature and not defensive
· Pure in habits, motives, and relationships
· Balanced in priorities
· Emotionally stable
· Restrained in seeking pleasures
· Fair-minded and objective
· Faithful in examination/evaluation for the purpose of conforming ot the image of Jesus Christ
· Driven to win souls to Christ
· Willing to make necessary changes
· Gentle and affectionate with their family
· Sensitive to the Holy Spirit
· Able to demonstrate loving service to the body of Christ
- PROGRAM GUIDELINES
· CLDP will assist the pastor in motivating and training lay leaders to live a distinctive Spirit-filled life of service and spiritual leadership.
· This exciting mentoring program will help establish a bond of loyalty and a relationship of cooperation between mentoring pastor and the lay person.
After completion of the thirteen (13) lessons, the participants are expected to:
· Fully understand the basic biblical foundations taught to them
· While participating in Level One, each lay leader will be able to memorize the books of the bible and assigned memory verses.
· Be able to defend their faith confidently;
· Also, teach participant will be able to witness and experience Water Baptism and the Baptism of the Holy Spirit as the culminating event of the program.
SUMMARY OF CLDP
ü Build a special mentoring relationship
ü Identifies and trains lay leadership
ü High quality, study program designed to develop leaders
ü Provides practical experience under supervision
ü Promotes self-discovery and personal development
ü Enhances spiritual development
ü Builds group enrichment and relationship building
ü Provides weekly opportunities for sharing and interaction
ü Teaches spiritual disciplines
ü Builds maturity and stability
ü Provides marriage enrichment opportunities
ü Prepare for greater lay ministry involvement
ü Successful completion of Level One qualifies the leader to participate in Level Two.
- CONCLUSION
· CLDP program can do more to strengthen your church and build a strong inner core of dedicated and faithful lay leaders than anything you have probably ever tried.
· CLDP can help to clarify and define your vision/ministry statements.
· Every ministry and lay leader needs a passionate, God-inspired vision of Christian living that transforms and transcends every day life. Whenever we are committed to such a powerful vision, we can transcend fear, discouragement, doubt, and many other trials.
Ptr. Es Pamulo
Speaker
