06 1c

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Section 06: OVERSEEING AND PLANNING, Foundation Level 1c

06 1c: Release many for ministry, including women

Commission new leaders when they are ready and the opportunity is there.

The timing is crucial. Doing it too soon creates pride and confusion. Waiting too long discourages the worker and causes the work to stagnate. Both errors cause many unnecessary failures in ministry.
Follow the guidelines that the apostles left us.

Paul the apostle apparently waited a year in the church of Antioch to be commissioned (Acts 11:25-26); it was a well established church with many leaders (Acts 13:1-3). In Galatia, however, where there were no experienced leaders at all, he did not wait long (Acts 14:23). The timing depends a lot on the need and the maturity of the church; it does not require very mature leaders to lead a flock made up entirely of babes in Christ, but to shepherd a church with mature Christians obviously requires more experienced leaders.

Allow for new believers like Cornelius, Levi or the Philippian jailer to serve as catalytic leaders to bring together 'gathering' groups (their relatives and friends) for evangelism.

They are not commissioned as permanent home group leaders, of course, because they are new; we simply enable them to use the leadership position they already have, to gather their people.
Disciple them behind the scenes, so that they become a leader in the full sense.
Be quick to recognize that spiritual maturity that some seekers have before receiving Christ, such as God Himself recognized in Cornelius (Acts 10).

Find in 1 Timothy 5:22 a guideline for commissioning a new leader.

*Find in Exodus 18:13-27 how leaders at different levels shared the pastoral work.

*Find in Nehemiah chapters 3 - 4 how Nehemiah divided up the work among many.

*Find in Judges 4:1-24 what two women did to rescue Israel.

*Find in Acts 18 two examples of Priscilla's service for the Lord.

Find in 1 Corinthians chapters 12 - 13 how the work of the Body of Christ is coordinated.

*Find in Acts chapters 1 - 12 examples of how God disciplined and governed His new church. Nearly every chapter has stories that are excellent for children.

*Use your concordance or a Bible dictionary to find, study and relate the stories of great leaders in Scripture, such as Abraham, Joseph, Moses, Joshua, Gideon, Deborah, Esther, David and Solomon. Look for qualities that they had in common, and for principles that apply today.

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* Stories (better, for letting the Word flow from friend to friend)

2(Optional Documents, to view, download or translate, for additional help)

Supervising the Lord's Work in a Large Area. Cited from Church Multiplication Guide, Patterson and Scoggins, William Carey Library, Pasadena, CA, USA, Chapter 13, Section 01. "Titus, my true son in our common faith, grace and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Savior. The reason I left you in Crete was that you might straighten out what was left unfinished and appoint elders in every town, as I directed you." Titus 1:4-5. Click the explanation you want now, of why and how God wants a field supervisor to oversee God's work in a large field:

A. Oversee God's Work in a Large Area the Way Christ Says
B. Help Those with Apostolic Gifting to Choose Their Field Wisely
C. Evangelize Victims of Brutal Class Discrimination in Resistant Fields
D. Help Task Group Members from Another Culture to Bond with the People and their Culture
E. Help Task Groups to Make New Disciples the Way Jesus Commanded
F. Train New Leaders the Way Jesus and His Apostles Modeled it
G. Make Realistic Plans to Help Believers Do Effective Ministry
H. Use Time Wisely as You Serve in Ministry
I . Organize to Reproduce Congregations

For mentoring to prepare for church organization, planning and overseeing, for seminary credit or certificate, contact Dr. Galen Currah and ask about the course Mentoring for Ministry, DIS538. Call (503) 517 1912 or e-mail galencurrah@westernseminary.edu

For video courses that you can take at home, contact Jon Raibley at Western Seminary's Center for Lifelong Learning. Ask about courses related to overseeing and planning, including for women. Call (503) 517 1899, or e-mail CLL@WesternSeminary.edu or view courses offered on http://www.westernseminary.edu/. On the home page click on Enter, then Academic Programs, then Distance Education, then Course Listings.

Ü(T&M)

T&M Student Activity Guide page 17b

Leadership Handbooks of Practical Theology, edited by James Berkeley, Volume 3,

Christian management methods: section 26
Responsibilities in leading Christians (servant leadership, leading instead of enabling or pushing) section 13
Setting up safeguards, handling success and errors, special responsibilities of leadership, section 14
Understanding and motivating Christian workers, section 15
Mobilizing volunteer helpers: section 22

If you work cross-culturally:

Take time to learn from several persons how leaders were chosen in their social groups.
What character qualities do they look for in leaders? Which of those are biblically condoned?
Also discover whether leaders are chosen for cultural reasons unrelated to personal qualities.
Learn to use the people's leadership vocabulary and let leaders arise that the people are willing to follow.
In perhaps most cultures, young men and women cannot lead those who are older than themselves.

For help: Research

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