Training Local Church Leaders Notes

by Jason Gastrich

Liberty Baptist Theological Seminary (LBTS - Liberty University campus

February 10 ~

Brock, 2 chapters are on reserve in the library

Read chapter 1 on involvement

Leadership Defined in the Church

Passage: Acts 6:1-7, Acts 13:1-4, Acts 20:27-31, John 21:15-17, Ephesians 4:11-13, Philippians 1:1, Philippians 2:20-22, 1 Thessalonians 5:12-13, 1 Timothy 3:1, 1 Timothy 5:17, Hebrews 13:7, 17, 24 and 1 Peter 5:1-2.

Titles or implications:

Verbs that define the task:

Reflect and write a paragraph on the above. Give a theology of leadership from what I read. Give a chart and paragraph and make it brief for class next week.

Training Local Church Leaders

Matthew 28:18-20

Making Disciples--by

--Baptism--Assimilation

--Teaching to obey--Indoctrination

The Structure

Matthew 16:18 - Christ's church

--what you are, theoretically, is what you will produce

The Process

2 Timothy 2:2

--Knowledge

--Character (faithfulness, reliability)

--Skills (competent, qualified)

Themes from 1 Corinthians:

Knowledge:

1. Gifts

2. Unity

3. Spiritual Maturity

4. Weaker bro. principle

5. Love

6. Holy Spirit

7. Lord's Supper

8. Resurrection

Character:

1. Holiness

2. Servanthood

3. Love

4. Unity

5. Wisdom

Skills:

1. Discernment

2. Church Order

3. Spiritual Gifts

4. Stewardship

5. Self-control

--one of the subtle dangers of the "Bookstore movement" is we forget to look to the Bible.

The Research Question

1. The Biblical Factors - 1 Timothy 2:2

2. Contextual Factors - "Training must be conceptualized to the receptor culture."

Formal - centralized, structured, intensive

Non-formal - decentralized, less structured, prolonged periods to complete

Informal

--benefits and challenges to formal and non-formal education is for next week!

February 17 ~

elder: 4245. presbuteros, pres-boo'-ter-os; compar. of presbus (elderly); older; as noun, a senior; spec. an Isr. Sanhedrist (also fig. member of the celestial council) or Chr. "presbyter":--elder (-est), old.

overseer: 1985. episkopos, ep-is'-kop-os; from G1909 and G4649 (in the sense of G1983); a superintendent, i.e. Chr. officer in gen. charge of a (or the) church (lit. or fig.):--bishop, overseer.

--Benefits and Challenges to Formal and Non-formal education

Credibility and expertise,

3. Sponsorship Factors--He who pays the bills sets the agenda.

Adult and Continuing Education

Self-directed

Experience Driven

Personal Development

Problem Solving

Direct Application

The word "elder" came from the Jews. The word "bishop" came from the gentiles.

3 Levels of Spiritual Leaders

1. Rule-direct

2. Rule well

3. Preaching/teaching

Peter calls himself a "fellow elder". He brings himself lower and under accountability.

Carson's "Exegetical Fallacies" for more info on Peter's word of love and Jesus' word of love in his restoration.

Give a theological statement on credibility based on

1 Cor. 2:1-5

1 Thess. 2:1-12

2 Thess. 3:7-10

Passage, Positive, Negative, Other

Make a graph and write a paragraph

Read Creating Understanding (we'll read of the book in this course)

Chapter 1

Communication is Involvement

"with" is a major word in scripture; "God with us", "I am with you always," etc.

Expedition (crusades, etc.) vs. Involvement (more personal): Discuss the differences between the two in terms of ministry philosophy.

Communication vs. Technology: At what point are the two not the same?

Involvement is being "with" us.

--technology has depersonalized ministry as far as involvement is concerned. When technology comes, ask yourself if it's pulling you away or toward people. ATM machines have taken us away from people. 2/3 of the world is very "people-orientated" and the west is moving more to isolating people. Consider technology before you buy it and promote it. Encourage people not to get obsessed with technology or let it get in the way. Just because we are televising or emailing the gospel, it doesn't mean that the people are getting it; it doesn't mean that a huge amount of people are reading and watching.

Become Involved:

Learn the language

Share experiences

Participate in the culture

Understand beliefs

--we must speak the language of the people we are speaking and sharing with. It will be offensive or of little use if we do not speak the language of the people.

Involvement With How Many?

Jesus worked with 3, 12, 70 and then the multitudes.

The Principles and Practices of Indigenous Church Planting: Chapters 7, 9

"Thinking Producible" in every aspect from beginning to end

--Use materials which can be reproduced at the local level

--A good leader uses transferable leadership methods.

--The targeted culture will help to determine the type of leadership methodology.

The term of leadership needs to be taken back so that "Joe Average" can be a leader. If there are only great people who can be leaders, then there won't be enough.

--Use only the methods that can be obtained by your "target market".

"Communication increases commitment".

How to employ indirect leadership in church planting:

--Indirect leadership is group centered rather than leader centered. (Brock)

February 24 ~

Chapter 6, 9 and 17 we are looking at case studies. They will be on reserve in the library.

Developing Leaders - chapter 3

--there is not a whole lot of structure in scripture for leadership. It is funny how we have so much structure in leadership, now.

Training for Leadership 2 Timothy 2

Proverb 5:20 "Counsel in the heart of man is like deep water, But a man of understanding will draw it out."

-focus less charisma

-character

-not directive

-facilitator

-context sensitive

Acts 15:1-22 During the Jerusalem council, who spoke and why?

Vs. 4 says, "They" spoke to the council." to tell them that circumcision wasn't necessary

Later the Pharisees spoke to say it was necessary. And Peter spoke and said that Gentiles were in God's plan of salvation. Barnabus and Paul spoke about the miracles God had done. James spoke and said that they should not trouble the Gentiles to be circumcised, but they should abstain from eating food polluted by idols, from sexual immorality and things strangled and blood.

--James, Jesus' brother, spoke up in this meeting. He referred to Peter's speech because Peter was more liked than Paul. People weren't sure about Paul at this point. Barnabus' home church was here in Jerusalem, so they liked him.

***Assignment for next week:

Identify the structures established for training from the following passages:

Mark 3:13-16

Matthew 10

Matthew 16:18-20

Acts 2:42-47

Acts 18:1-8

Acts 19:1-10

Ephesians 4:11-15

Identify the cultural structures which have been used to facilitate education and development of the church. One example is: Sunday school class.

Creating Understanding

Chapter 7: The Messenger and the Message

Proposition #7: The communicator's personality and experiences modify the form of a message.

Which factors shape the messenger?

Background, physical appearance, personality, socioeconomic status, intellect, education, core values and attitudes, relationships, view of God, God-given abilities, spiritual gifts, preparation (mastery of content), the message itself

Which factors shape the message?

Audience, environment,

Chapter 8: Images and Reality: Who Really is the Audience?

Proposition #8: The communicator's image of the audience and understanding of the context are primary factors in shaping the form of the message.

--messenger's image of the audience is the key

--how do we learn our audience?

--learn ourselves (strengths, weaknesses, tendencies, thoughts about other preachers, likes and dislikes, etc.)

--formally and informally learn our audiences (informal: ask questions, formal: give a quiz)

--communication to resolve tension

--What drives us to know our audience? The fact that we want them to know the message and understand it. Christ's love is a motivating factor. Paul was motivated this way. Compassion is another reason.

Chapter 9: How many audiences?

Proposition #9: A communicator almost always communicates with multiple audiences.

The more contact with the audience, the more chances you have to understand them.

Who are the audiences?

Primary and secondary (the message is most impacting when the audience is small) Dr. Falwell speaks to a few thousand in church and hundreds of thousands on tv. Some people in other countries get different cultural impressions.

--different age groups. I.e. graduations when lots of different aged people are there.

Who will be my primary target?

Chapter 10: Persuading Yourself

Proposition #10: Communication increases commitment

How does the messenger develop convictions?

Convince yourself, role of confession

Brock chapter 7

"Thinking Reproducible" in Every Aspect from Beginning to End

--God has not willed people to become born again without becoming a part of a local congregation of believers.

--Everything must be considered when used at a reproducible church. Movies, instruments, electronic devices. These things must be used if they can be reproduced. However, the indigenous people will want them in their next church. If they are used to them and cannot get them, they may consider their church sub-par or a failure. Be wise when choosing what to use in the ministry of a reproducible church. Everything used by the planter should be within the power of the people's economy to provide.

--The church planter should not do anything the people cannot do shortly after they are saved.

--The greater the nationalization (having people from the native land helping in ministry positions) from the beginning of a church planting project, the more likely the planted church will be a reproducing church.

--Simplicity has a beauty appreciated by all who are searching for God.

March 3 ~

Leadership structures

Creating Understanding chapter 16 - 24^th of March, 17 - 31^st of March, 18 April 7^th

--read 5 articles on reserve in the library on audiences: how various cultures process information

--what structure best facilitates the training up of leadership?

The ones that work best. Don't think that a church cannot exist without a certain program. Use the one that works best and don't worry about doing everything or having to do a certain program at all costs.

....Methodist lay circuit rider preacher (1 pastor over several churches)

....Sunday school movement

....Wednesday night prayer meeting

....cell groups

....local church institutes

....Bible institutes

....Bible colleges

....Bible seminaries

....seminars

....most crucial structure was and is the local church

Developing Leaders, chapter 3 -- How TEE Developed

--early essentials included:

home study materials

practical ministry experience

regular seminars

--goal was reflection-action-reflection

--issues:

residence vs. local training

desire for training in context

desire to train at the local level

need for effective seminar leaders

who should study? Pastors and laity?

structure without the support of the local churches

contextualized material (be careful when someone produces some material that should be acceptable by the whole world; some cultures won't understand our ways)

is accreditation desirable?

how should it be evaluated?

who's going to pay for it?

Patterson's goals:

1. Must be directly related to the local church

2. Fits the needs of the local church

3. Permits the spontaneous expansion of the church

4. Trains others in a chain according to Tim. 2:2

5. Builds into its program a workable system of accountability

How does one minister effectively?

--be relatable

--be a good, clear communicator

--loves the people and God

--know the material, subject and have a plan

--skill

--using your gifts

--equipping others

--strong personal relationship with the Lord, spiritual authority

--learning the culture and language: acculturation

--being a servant-leader/model (being an example)

--wash another's feet

--communicating the whole gospel

--involvement in lives (don't leave the pulpit and not talk to anybody)

--contextual the ministry

--transferable methods and materials

--time management

--organizational structure

Credibility--through spiritual authority

Credibility--through gift-ed-ness

Master content

Willing involvement

Know your audience

Proper philosophy--reproducers mind-set

Appropriate structures--organization

*** Things for our teaching project:

Who your audience is.

What you'd like to teach them.

What was the result.

Get their feedback.

--options for teaching project: the qualities for leadership, how to become an effective leader,

March 10 ~

7 Ways of Knowing Intelligence:

1. Logical/Mathematical (deductive and inductive reasoning)

abstract symbols, formulas, outlining, calculation, pattern games, problem solving, forcing relationships (black and white: "it's there, do it")

2. Visual/Spatial

guided imagery, active imagination, drawing, painting, pictures, mind-mapping, pretending, color schemes

3. Musical/Rhythmic

rhythmic patterns, vocal sounds and tones, music composition and creation, humming, percussion, singing, tonal patterns, music performance

4. Interpersonal (person to person relationships and communication)

giving feedback, division of labor, cooperating, communication, receiving feedback, sensing others' motives, group projects

5. Intra-personal (thinking about thinking, self-reflection, awareness of spiritual realities)

silent reflection methods, thinking strategies, emotional processing, complex guided imagery, mindfulness practices, meta-cognition strategies, focusing/concentration skills

6. Verbal/Linguistic

reading, vocab, formal speech, creative writing, poetry, humor, debate, storytelling

7. Body Kinesthetic

folk and creative dance, role playing, physical gestures, drama, martial arts, body language, physical exercise, mime, inventing, sports games

Church form and functions: (both are separate and different)

structures, methods, essence, mission

--What we get for free, we may not appreciate.

Assumptions About Multiple Intelligence:

1. These are all the ways a human can learn.

2. Each have all of these kinds of intelligence, but not all of them are developed equally.

3. People have a preference of usually one kind of intelligence and usually learn best using it.

4. These kinds of intelligence are equally distributed among the population. 85% may not connect.

5. These kinds of intelligence are culturally conditioned, not primarily genetic (however, there are some genetically inherited characteristics and tendencies).

Methodologies of the 7 groups of Intelligence or Multiple Intelligence:

Verbal/Linguistic: Outline, advance organizer, reading, journaling

Logical/Math: puzzles, activities

Musical: instrumental

Spatial: shapes/forms, puzzles/mazes, arrangement abilities

Body/Kinesthetics: exercise, movement

Interpersonal: seminar, counseling, cells, friends

Intra-personal: meditative, journaling, prayer, silence, counseling

Vella's 12 Principles of Adult Learning:

1. Needs assessment

2. Safety in the environment

3. Sound relationship between teacher and learner for learning and development (respect, humility, open communication)

4. Careful attention to sequence of content and reinforcement (knowledge, skills and attitude--some cultures only learn by modeling or certain ways)

5. Action with reflection--learning by doing (teaching, reflecting and acting)

6. Respect for learners as subjects of their own learning.

7. Cognitive, affective and psychomotor aspects: ideas, feelings, actions: HEAD, HANDS, HEART

8. Immediacy of learning (what makes the most lasting impact is what you can do today and tomorrow)

9. Clear roles and role development ************** (role expectations by teacher on culture)

10. Teamwork: using small groups

11. Engagement of the learners in what they are learning (having us go do it, teach on it)

12. Accountability: how do they know they know? (Feedback, evaluation)

March 24 ~

Read Smith's Book - Chapter 17, Chapter 6 in Developing Leaders for next week

"EE-TAOW" video. Write down the following:

-need analysis and material analysis-

Needs:

Food - wild pig

Involvement

Rituals (spirits)

Material Analysis:

Mask

March 31 ~

Material Analysis - Bring samples if possible

Assignment: Review Five (5) Study Guides

Find different kinds of study guides: I.e., campus crusade, Navpress, etc.

1. Cover Design - What is it communicating?

2. What is the purpose of the guide? What is the structure? One on one? Small groups? Large groups? (Look inside and see if they are communicating correctly)

3. How was the material developed? (Q/A, Fill in the blank, look for statement of goals, does it conclude each section with summaries?, is the Q/A content?, discussion?, opinion?, etc., is the material inductive or deductive in orientation--probably inductive)

4. What level of proficiency would be required of the teacher?

5. How reproducible is the material?

6. What knowledge/character/skills is being concentrated on in the material?

-----typed, single spaced, company name and the study guide itself. "Navpress study guide on Proverbs". Then go through the questions.

April 7 ~

The Great Commission Passages:

Matthew 28:18-20 - Make disciples

Mark 16:15 - Go and preach

Luke 24:44-49 - Repentance and forgiveness of sins, starting in Jerusalem

John 20:21 - Jesus wants us sent, He's sent by the Father

Acts 1:8 - Be witnesses all over the world with the Holy Spirit's power

Define your audience:

1) Age, present church/leadership responsibilities, your relationship to audience

2) Determine the need you will address and why. What are you trying to address and why?

3) Develop a statement/strategy of how you hope to address the need.

4) What aspects of the 2 Timothy 2:2 paradigm (knowledge, skills, character) will you use to address the need?

5) What methods will be employed in the actual teaching? Didactic, Q/A, music, memory, homework assignments, video, notes, transparencies.

6) Describe the context of the teaching environment. Local church setting or other, small group, etc.

7) Develop a 10 question format to interact with your audience for feedback. ***For next week!

8) Pastoral/spiritual leadership feedback - critique of teaching, general observations, benefits, suggestions for improvement

April 14 ~

The Challenge of Leadership

Why don't we have more leadership development?

1. Insecure Leader

2. Autocratic style - unilateral decision making. Whenever decision making is highly centralized, people aren't learning or being trained how to think.

3. Carnality hindering

4. Focus on maintenance - lack of vision

5. Lack of know-how

6. Disobedience to God

7. Lack of character - follow-through

8. Fear of the battle

9. Nominalism (spectators only) in the church

10. Lack of structure

11. Lack of resources

1. Include the eight points under - Feedback

Measuring impact

a. Typed, each number and identified

b. Summarize the response of the 10 questions feedback; include the questions used

c. Pastoral response should be typed

2. Lesson Report

a. One page, typed, single-spaced report on each lesson taught

b. Lesson report should include

1) Topic

2) Introduction - purpose of topic, audience, which aspect of 2 Tim 2:2 (knowledge, character, skills), inductive or deductive (concrete)

3) Main points taught with explanation - paragraph

4) Conclusion - Explaining what was accomplished

--numerate points on the page. Do it in outline format.