by When following Jesus, each disciple is to mature into a disciple maker and continuously multiply. Becoming a leader is part of the process and Jesus supplied some people as the gift to the church to equip the disciples. An effective discipleship program will identify and create strong Christian leaders as the process is similar regarding the focus on bringing people closer to Christ. Blackaby and Blackaby explain, “Spiritual leaders should heed Gardner’s emphasis on persuasion and example as leadership tools rather than bullying and dictatorial methodology. However, this secular definition fails to take into account God’s will and the guidance he gives to leaders.”[1]In Christian leadership, the relationship with God is the primary focus and the people are the ones to bring Him glory.
Great Commission Leadership
Definition of “Leaders” and “Leadership”
Developing disciples enables the Great Commission leaders to emerge as they need to mature into leadership through spiritual transformation. There are three themes within the definition of a “leader” and “leadership”: Influence/Character, Vision, and Development. Dempsey explains, “A Christian leader is a person of influence. He or she follows God’s vision for his or her life, and influences others to follow God’s plan for their lives.”[2] Each of these will be examined noting the similarities with United Baptist Church (United) regarding the development of disciples and Great Commission leaders.
Great Commission leaders are those leaders that get off the traditional treadmill of church operations and focus on multiplication through effective spiritual transformation of the disciples. Dempsey states, “You must develop and implement effective discipleship systems and environments.”[3] There is a need for the pastor to be a coach and directly involved with the spiritual growth of the leaders.
Influence/Character
The first aspect of a leader is influencing others through the leader’s character with different methods and resources. Not everyone is influenced the same way, but with the assistance of God, Great Commission leaders have additional support that secular leadership does not. This week’s handout has different definitions of a leader and the first one states, “Leaders have two important characteristics: first, they are going somewhere; second, they are able to persuade other people to go with them.”[4] In this example, the disciple is maturing and has the spiritual gift of leadership which influences followers to mature in their discipleship. A Christian leader must lead by example and with their heart which is what followers are looking for. They are looking to make sure the leader walks the talk and cares about them. Only then will they be open to a leader that can influence them.
Vision
The Christian leaders receive the vision, the big picture, by spending time and communicating with God. They get direction and can “see” the path forward to effectively discern next steps, know Truth, and identify spiritual gifts within the disciples. Looking forward is important as there is a reason the rear-view mirror is so much smaller than the windshield when going from place to place. A vision is needed to provide clear direction for each disciple to do their part within the Body of Christ.
Development
Developing disciples to be all that they were created to be by God is an important aspect of Great Commission leaders. There is a lot of potential in every disciple and maturing them to their maximum potential is something a leader does. Dempsey states, “I believe the central task of the Christian leader is to encourage, equip, and empower individuals to grow and become what God intends them to be.”[5] The only way to have a healthy Body of Christ is to develop each disciple fully. The goal for every leader should be where each disciple can stand before Christ and hear, “Well done, good and faithful servant!” (Matt. 25:23, New International Version).
Developing Disciples and Leaders at United
There are some similarities between developing disciples and developing Great Commission leaders at United. There are four Bible study sessions each week led by different teachers which include the pastor, deacons, and those with the spiritual gift of teaching. One is Wednesday evenings, another is Friday at noon, the third is Saturday morning, and the fourth is Sunday morning. Once a month, the pastor has a meeting with leadership (deacons, trustees, and directors of ministries) to mature them into Christian leaders. The expectation is that the pastor disciples the leadership team of approximately sixteen leaders and then they disciple to their teams. Every active member of the church is supposed to be in a ministry so this method should mature every disciple within the church. The pastor is in the role of coach and is equipping his leadership team to do the same with their ministry. This is very similar to the servant leader and coach role being explained this week in the reading assignments.
Leadership (Compare and Contrast)
There are many similarities between Earley/Dempsey and Putman/Harrington/Coleman, and some items could be viewed as differences of opinion. Earley/Dempsey provide more high-level analysis in roles and responsibilities and Putman/Harrington/Coleman is more tactical on how to implement. They both explain the role of leadership to be servants to their disciples versus being managers of people to achieve business results. They have some overlap on the subjects and content, but they complement each other more than contradict.
Similarities
Both books iterate the importance of keeping Jesus Christ at the center of attention and everything should be done by following Him. Both explain the importance of using God’s Word as the main tool for discipleship and both explain the importance of discipleship over a “come and see” church attraction model and pastor. Making disciple makers and having the pastor be more of a coach is something that is similar between the two as well. The importance of Ephesians 4 is explained and used as an example on where in Scripture God is informing everyone to be active within the body of Christ. Maturing disciples into disciple makers has a strong emphasis for each as well.
Differences
There is a difference in the qualifications for being in leadership. Dempsey states that a leader’s household should be managed properly to where the family would not bring shame or embarrassment to the leader. Both authors reference 1 Timothy 3 but have a slightly different interpretation. Putman explains, “This list of qualities reflects the character of the man, not his skill level or intelligence.”[6] Dempsey may have meant the same thing when he said it was like looking into a character mirror but is message was not as direct. Putman goes on to explain how a lot of pastors think they need to be the perfect role model and not show any weakness or embarrassment which has long term consequences. There are some other differences but only because of the level detail and personal background of the authors.
Goal of a Healthy Church
Each disciple is part of the Body of Christ and the only way a church can be healthy is if its members are. Dempsey states, “In the simplest terms, a healthy church looks like and acts like a healthy body.”[7] Ephesians 4 is a great chapter to teach disciples on the importance of actively being part of the church and maturing in the body of Christ. This also stresses the significance of identifying and using all the spiritual gifts given. There is a direct link between the health of the disciples and the health of the church. The healthy church assessment reviews the three different directions of love which is the same as the personal assessment where the directions are upward, inward, and outward. If each disciple is becoming a disciple maker, then multiplication will occur at the church and the maturity of the church will continuously increase.
There is another assessment of twenty questions that can be used to determine the health of a church and they measure the average maturity of the disciples. Some of the questions involve the amount of time giving the gospel, baptizing the new believers, if the disciples are totally surrendering to Jesus Christ, there is an appropriate dedication of time to new believers, everyone is giving financially, whether disciples are growing in maturity and unity with love for one another. The mission statement should be focused on the Great Commandment, the New Commandment, and the Great Commission. An example would be, “United Baptist Church exists to win the lost to Christ, to equip them to grow spiritually, and to empower them to accomplish His mission for His glory.”[8]
When evaluating the health of a church, it is important not to use the size of the congregation as an indicator of health. Hull explains, “Whether God blesses you with large numbers or small, if you’re making disciples, you’re leading as Christ led and instructed. So set worthy goals, lead by example, and leave the results up to God.”[9] There does need to be an inventory on those in ministry. Gray explains, “Many Christians think of ministry as something the clergy do. Not so, according to the Bible. The Holy Spirit gives each Christian a spiritual gift or gifts to be used “for the common good” (1 Cor. 12:7).”[10]
** Note from Professor – Great job analyzing Great Commission leadership and noting the similarities between developing disciples and developing leaders in your church/ ministry. Leadership defined sets the expectations for disciple-making and it is still true that everything rises and falls on leadership. – Dr. Jonathan Geukgeuzian
Bibliography
Blackaby, Henry T., and Richard Blackaby. Spiritual Leadership. B&H Publishing Group, 2006.ProQuest Ebook Central, http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/liberty/detail.action?docID=619173.
Earley, Dave, and Rod Dempsey. Disciple Making Is . . .: How to Live the Great Commission with Passion and Confidence. Nashville, TN: B&H Academic, 2013.
Gray, Joan S. Spiritual Leadership for Church Officers: A Handbook. Vol. 1st ed. Louisville, KY: Geneva Press, 2009.
Hull, Bill. The Complete Book of Discipleship: On Being and Making Followers of Christ. NavPress Publishing Group, 2006.ProQuest Ebook Central, http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/liberty/detail.action?docID=5395074.
“Leader Definitions.” Class handout in DSMN 500 at Liberty University, Lynchburg, VA, Spring 2023.
Putman, Jim, Bobby Harrington, and Robert E. Coleman, DiscipleShift: Five Steps That Help Your Church to Make Disciples Who Make Disciples. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2013.
[1] Henry T. Blackaby, and Richard Blackaby. Spiritual Leadership, (B&H Publishing Group, 2006).ProQuest Ebook Central, http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/liberty/detail.action?docID=619173.
[2] Rod Dempsey, “Comprehending Spiritual Leadership,” in Disciple Making Is . . .: How to Live the Great Commission with Passion and Confidence (Nashville, TN: B&H Academic, 2013), 198.
[3] Rod Dempsey, “Maintaining a Tight Focus,” in Disciple Making Is . . .: How to Live the Great Commission with Passion and Confidence (Nashville, TN: B&H Academic, 2013), 224.
[4] “Leader Definitions” (class handout in DSMN 500 at Liberty University, Lynchburg, VA, Spring 2023).
[5] Dempsey, “Comprehending”, 197.
[6] Jim Putman, Bobby Harrington, and Robert E. Coleman, DiscipleShift: Five Steps That Help Your Church to Make Disciples Who Make Disciples (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2013), 103.
[7] Rod Dempsey, “Creating a Healthy Church,” in Disciple Making Is . . .: How to Live the Great Commission with Passion and Confidence (Nashville, TN: B&H Academic, 2013), 211.
[8] Dempsey, “Maintaining”, 226.
[9] Bill Hull, The Complete Book of Discipleship: On Being and Making Followers of Christ (NavPress Publishing Group, 2006). ProQuest Ebook Central, http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/liberty/detail.action?docID=5395074.
[10] Joan S. Gray, Spiritual Leadership for Church Officers: A Handbook vol. 1st ed. (Louisville, Ky: Geneva Press, 2009), 1.