Principles of Church Leadership by John P. Lathrop

How Shall We Lead the Church?

In this Pneuma Review conversation, Pastor John Lathrop says that New Testament leadership should be scripturally based, marked by servanthood, Spirit-empowered, and equipping everyone for ministry.

Jesus Christ has a very real relationship with the church. He described the church as His and said that He would build it (Matt. 16:18). Paul, in his address to the elders of the church of Ephesus said that God purchased the church with His own blood (Acts 20:28). The reference to purchasing with blood indicates that Jesus, the second person of the Trinity, is the one being referred to in this verse. The church belongs to Jesus. In a couple of other texts the apostle Paul affirms that we (believers/the church) have been purchased by Jesus Christ (1 Cor. 6:19-20; 7:23). In addition to His ownership of the church Paul also says a number of times that Jesus is the head of the church (Eph. 1:22; 5:23; Col. 1:18). Jesus’ leadership of the church is not just a position of power and authority, but also one of service. Ephesians 5:29 tells us that the Lord feeds and cares for the church. Romans 8:34 and Hebrews 7:25 indicate that He is now constantly praying for His followers. The one who has the highest authority in the church is its greatest servant. The Lord can, and certainly does, feed and care for us as His people; He does this for us both as individuals and as a body. The Lord can minister to us directly, or He can work through the earthly spiritual leadership of the church. These men and women have been placed in the church by Him (Eph. 4:11) to accomplish His plans and purposes.

In the New Testament we find a number of different words used to describe leadership ministries in the church words like: apostle, prophet, evangelist, pastor, elder, overseer, teacher, deacon and deaconess. All of these words describe various leadership ministries.

Without question all of these ministries existed in the New Testament church, and I believe that all of them exist in the church today. However, some of these leadership ministries do not seem to have been found in every local church. For example, there is no concrete evidence in the New Testament that every church had apostles and prophets who remained in the congregation on an ongoing basis, they seem to have been more mobile ministries¹ Local church leadership seems to be entrusted more into the hands of pastors/elders, teachers, deacons and deaconesses.

It is not my intent to make this a highly academic paper. Neither do I intend to go into a detailed description of any of the ministries listed above. Instead I would like to focus on four characteristics that I believe should mark all leadership ministries of the church. These four essentials of ministry are that it should be: scripturally based, marked by servanthood, empowered and directed by the Spirit, and should equip people for service.

Let us turn our attention now to a brief consideration of these four essential qualities.

Scripturally Based

The church belongs to God, because this is so we need to build it in accordance with His instructions. These instructions are found in Scripture; the Bible should be the blueprint for the church. Now I know that not everyone holds the same view about how a church should be governed. Some people feel that a church should be pastor/elder led, based on texts such as 1 Timothy 5:17, Acts 20:28 and 1 Peter 5: 1-3. In these verses elders/pastors are given the responsibility of providing direction and oversight to the congregation. Other Christians lean toward a more congregational form of government. They may cite Acts 6 where the larger church body chose the seven men to take care of the widow’s distribution. It should be noted in this case that the larger church body made the decision only after the apostles gave them the criteria for who could be considered for this ministry. The apostles authorized the congregation to make the choices. I personally believe the Bible teaches that the church should be led by pastors/elders. Regardless of the view that you or your church holds we should all agree that the Bible is to be the source of authority for the beliefs and practices of the church.

In the Old Testament the Israelites were told that they were not to live by bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of God (Deut. 8:3), Jesus affirmed this teaching in the New Testament  as well (Matt. 4:4). It is a truth for us; we are to live by the revelation of God, the teachings of Scripture. A sampling of other verses that indicate that we are called to live a scriptural life include: Luke 6:46; 2 Timothy 3:16-17; 4:2-4; 1 Timothy 4:13 and 1 Timothy 3:14-15.

In Luke 6:46 Jesus said “Why do you call me, ‘Lord, Lord’ and not do what I say?” In this verse Jesus indicated that if we acknowledge Him as Lord then we should do the things that He says. In other words, we are not just to listen to Jesus’ words, we are to obey Him. Our acknowledgement of His authority (Lord) requires the appropriate response in our life, the response of obedience. In the words of James 1:22 “Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.”

The apostle Paul also affirms the authority of Scripture in our lives. In 2 Timothy 3:16-17 Paul tells us that Scripture finds its origin in God. He also tells us that it has a number of purposes, it is for “teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness.” In other words the Bible benefits us in that it sets forth a standard that we are to live by. The Bible directs us into the path of right living and church practice not just through condemning wrong or ungodly ways but also by providing positive instruction.

In 1 Timothy 4:2-4 Paul urges Timothy, and by extended application, all persons responsible for the care of a congregation to “Preach the word.” In this text too he cites both the “tearing down” and the “building up” aspects of the Word of God. He tells Timothy to “correct, rebuke, and encourage” (2 Tim. 4:2). The immediate context as well as some of the other content of the epistle indicates that Timothy is in a church that is plagued by false teaching. Paul’s counsel for dealing with this is to preach the truth, God’s Word.

The primacy of the Scriptures in leading the church is also seen in 1 Timothy 4:13. In this verse Paul tells Timothy to give himself to the public reading of Scripture and to preaching and teaching. Here again we see the high place that the Word of God is to hold in the church. People need to be exposed to the truth and have it explained to them. So Paul holds these things out to Timothy as things that he should give himself to. In fact he says that Timothy should devote himself to these things.

Lastly, in 1 Timothy 3:14-15 we find Paul stating that the things that he has written to Timothy are so that people will know how they are to conduct themselves in the house of God (the church). Some of the things that Paul wrote about earlier in the epistle include, the primacy of prayer, how men and women should conduct themselves in church, and the qualifications for church leadership. 1 Timothy 3:15 also says that the church is the “pillar and foundation of the truth.” The church should be lead by a strong and solid exposition of the Word. The leaders of the church should declare the Word and be submitted to it themselves. Leadership should be careful not to go “beyond what is written,” our only safe and sure authority is what God has revealed.

In order for a leader to be, or remain, scripturally based there are a number of things that he or she must do. First, they must regularly read the Bible, this should go without saying. Second, they need to go beyond merely reading. Reading is good and essential but leaders need to study the Bible. That is, they need to put in time actually digging in to finding out what the Bible says. This involves looking into things such as the context, history, cultural background, and the original languages of the text. Third, the leader must remain teachable. No matter how long one has been in ministry or how much education one has the leader should not think that they know everything. Leaders should be prepared to learn when they come to the Bible. As my friend would say we need to “surrender to the text.”

Marked by Servanthood

A second principle that is very important for those who lead the church is the idea of servanthood. Jesus was a servant (Matt. 12:15-18; Mark 10:45) and He made it very clear that His followers were to be servants as well. Perhaps His most direct statement of this is found in Matthew 20:24-28. In this text Jesus plainly told His disciples that they were not to follow other leadership styles that they were familiar with. Specifically, He told them that they were not to follow the example of pagan Gentile leadership which was domineering. Jesus told His followers not to take their cues from this leadership style but rather from His.

The importance of leaders being servants is taught in other New Testament texts as well. For example, leaders in the early church regularly referred to themselves as servants. Paul used the word in reference to himself (Rom. 1:1; Gal.1:10; Titus 1:1) and other Christian workers (Rom. 16:1; 2 Cor. 4:5). Other New Testament church leaders also applied the word “servant” to themselves. James does (Jas. 1:1), Peter (2 Peter 1:1) and Jude (Jude 1:1) do as well. The apostle John also is referred to as a servant (Rev. 1:1). In fact servanthood is not reserved for Christian leaders, all believers are to serve, they are to serve God (1 Pet. 2:16) and they are to serve one another (Gal. 5:13).

The word servant is not just a label; it is a mindset and heart attitude that expresses itself in practical acts of service. Servanthood must start in the inner being; if it does not exist first in the heart and mind it will not be evident in a person’s public ministry. There must be a root before there can be fruit. The Lord calls Christian leaders to give. Authority in the church is not a position or office of power, but a ministry of service.

Paul exemplified this characteristic in a number of ways. One way in which he demonstrated servanthood was by working a “secular” job when necessary, in order to preach the gospel and not be a burden to the people he ministered to (1 Thess. 2:9). Another way in which he modeled servanthood was his involvement in things that were not specifically part of his primary calling of preaching and teaching.  Paul organized the offering for the poor in the Jerusalem church. He put considerable effort into this in that he got help from churches in Macedonia, Achaia and Galatia (1 Cor. 16:1-4; 2 Cor. chapters 8 & 9). He did not receive any funds for himself for doing this. Another thing that he did was to try to “smooth things over” for a run away slave. Paul devoted a whole New Testament book to trying to mend the relationship between Onesimus and his owner Philemon.

Leaders today also need to demonstrate that they have a servant’s heart. They can do this in a number of ways. They could provide transportation to people who need rides to and from church (I am not suggesting that this is something that only the pastor should do), they could help load the truck when someone is moving, or bring food to a family during a time of need, whether after surgery or during a time of bereavement. However it is expressed, servanthood needs to be evident in the Christian leader. This holds true in the church setting as well as outside of it.

Empowered and Directed by the Spirit

Leadership in the church is not an entirely human activity (at least it is not supposed to be). While a person’s personality, will, education, and a host of other factors go into making up the man or woman of God, these should not be the only elements influencing the leader. Church leaders should be people of the Holy Spirit. The necessity of this should be clear from the New Testament. There are a number of passages that indicate that the Holy Spirit is essential to effective ministry.

The Holy Spirit is important for leaders (and others) in building the church numerically. Jesus taught this. In Acts 1:4 He told His disciples not to leave the city of Jerusalem until they received the gift that the Father had promised. The reason that they were to wait was given a few verses later; they would be given power to be witnesses to Jesus after they were baptized with the Holy Spirit (Acts 1:5, 8). In Acts 2 we find that all of the disciples received the promise and were filled with the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:4). After they had received this experience Peter got up and preached. His ministry was powerful, those who heard him were “cut to the heart” (Acts 2:37), as a result 3,000 people came to the Lord. This shows us the importance of the Holy Spirit in evangelism. Other texts that speak of leaders being empowered by the Spirit while proclaiming the gospel are Acts 4:8; 1 Corinthians 2:1-4; 1 Thessalonians 1:5 and 1 Peter 1:12. It is worth noting here that these texts speak of ministry in different areas of the ancient world. In all of these passages the Holy Spirit is seen to have been involved in instances of effective evangelism.

The Holy Spirit is also important in giving guidance to leaders. He can do this with regard to the ministry of evangelism. In Acts 8, Philip the evangelist (see Acts 21:8) was directed by the Holy Spirit to go up to the chariot of the Ethiopian eunuch. In Acts 10, we find the Spirit directing Peter to go to the house of Cornelius (Acts 10:19). In Acts 13, the Spirit sets Barnabas and Saul (Paul) apart for a special work. This special task was what we have come to call a missionary journey, which brought the gospel to many cities. This seems to be a regular aspect of the Spirit’s work, not only does He empower for ministry but He also gives direction to the proper field.

The guidance of the Holy Spirit is not limited to the ministry of evangelism. In Acts 15 we find that the church leaders gathered in Jerusalem felt that the Holy Spirit had helped them make a difficult decision regarding a problem that was affecting the church at that time (Acts 15:28-29).

Though the Holy Spirit is not specifically mentioned in the texts there are biblical passages that seem to indicate that the Spirit gave leaders insight into various situations. For example, in Acts 5 Peter was able to see through the hypocrisy of Ananias and Sapphira. Later in Acts we find Peter able to read the heart condition of Simon the sorcerer (Acts 8:20-23). In all of these cases mentioned above the leaders had to be open and sensitive to the Holy Spirit.

Leaders today also need to be open to the Holy Spirit. If we will make ourselves available to Him I believe that He will actively empower and guide us. At times we may be very aware that He is working in and through us and at other times we may not. The important thing is to leave room for Him to work in and through us.

So how does one cultivate sensitivity to the Holy Spirit? This is an important question. While we should not create a rigid checklist for this I think that there are some things that we can do. First, we can pray and ask Him to come. I ask the Holy Spirit to empower the preparation and delivery of the sermons I preach. I have also prayed and asked the Lord to edit my sermon even as I am preaching it, having me emphasize what He wants emphasized. I have also prayed that the Lord would lead and guide me when I have a counseling session with someone. In addition to praying we also need to make time to listen for His promptings.

Equipping People for Service

As we saw earlier church leadership is a ministry of service. However, leaders are not to keep ministry for themselves. This practice is both unbiblical and counter-productive. One of the functions of church leadership is to help train or equip other believers for ministry. This leadership responsibility is clearly set forth by Paul in Ephesians 4:11-13. In this passage Paul teaches that apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors (elders), and teachers are to equip other believers for ministry. This ties in with the doctrine that is commonly referred to as “the priesthood of all believers.” The Bible refers to all believers in Jesus in priestly language (1 Pet. 2:5, 9; Rev. 1:6).

Equipping people for ministry makes perfect sense. The fact that the Bible tells leaders to equip the saints should be reason enough for us to do it but there are some very practical reasons as well. First, the Lord has given the church great responsibilities. The responsibilities that He has entrusted to us concern both the people of the church and the people of the world. He has called believers to minister to one another. There are a number of “one another” passages in the New Testament. For example, we are to accept one another (Rom. 15:7), love one another (John 13:34), and serve one another (Gal. 5:13). When we gather together, we are to encourage one another and urge each other on to love and good deeds (Heb. 10:24-25). Believers are called to care for each other. Depending on how many people are in your local church this could be a pretty sizeable task.

In addition to caring for those who are part of the family of believers (Gal. 6:10) we are also to care for unbelievers. One of the primary responsibilities that we have to them is to present the gospel to them (Matt.28:18-20; Mark 16:15). In view of the number of people that are to be served in the church and the world we need all of the help that we can get. Equipping the saints for ministry is one strategy for helping to meet the needs of peoples that we are called to serve.

A second reason why equipping people for ministry makes sense is because the Lord has gifted each of His children with different gifts and talents (see Romans 12 & 1 Corinthians 12). One person may not be especially good at a particular type of ministry while another may be very good at it. It seems logical to employ the services of the one who is good at it. The Lord has given different gifts in order to meet certain needs. It is the responsibility of leadership to help identify, train, and release people to use their gifts.

So how do leaders equip believers for ministry? I think the first step is recognizing that someone is gifted or has potential. This discovery may come about by observing an obvious gift in a person, or by seeing potential in someone as they become more involved in the church. Once gifting or potential is recognized then the leadership of the church should seek to develop that person. This may be done by placing the individual in an existing ministry in the church that will help the person mature in their gift or a mentoring type relationship can be established. For example, a person with a gift in evangelism might be teamed up with a proven evangelist, or a person who seems to have prophetic insight might be mentored by a more seasoned prophetic person. Training should include not only the imparting of information and wisdom but also actual involvement in ministry. However this is done part of the training should include the necessity of their ministry being developed around the essentials: it should be scriptural based, marked by servanthood, and open to the Holy Spirit. As they mature then they too may become those who equip others.

Summary

In this article we have looked at four things that should characterize the ministry of every church leader. Their ministry should be scripturally based, marked by servanthood, empowered and directed by the Spirit, and should equip people for ministry. These qualities are important whether one is an apostle, prophet, evangelist, pastor/elder or teacher. There is certainly much more than could be said about church leadership but I believe that if we can get these four principles in place a lot of the other particulars of ministry will naturally flow out of them. These four truths are a solid foundation on which we can build as we seek to be co-laborers with the Lord and lead the church according to His plans and purposes.

Notes

¹ John P. Lathrop, Apostles, Prophets, Evangelists, Pastors, and Teachers Then and Now (Xulon Press, 2008), 121-122.