Cultivating Leaders

Last week, I wrote about the importance of leadership, and the need to cultivate it within the church. An Elder wrote and asked: “How do we do this?” "Elder training is typically 'on the job' and comes after selection and appointment. But that only exposes new elders to 'meetings' and 'budgets.' How do we cultivate leaders?’

[In the Church of Christ, our highest leaders are called “Elders” and must have specific qualifications – delineated by such texts as 1 Timothy 3 and Titus 1 to be appointed. But Elders are not the only leaders and what I am about to suggest will apply to all leadership situations in the Church.]

First, there must be PURPOSE. A current leader, or current leaders, must deliberately come to the conclusion they must plan for and cultivate leaders for the future.

Second, there must be UNDERSTANDING, an understanding of what that specific leaders work actually involves. A teacher in the 6th grade Bible school is a leader. She knows what her job is: to present the word of God. She knows what her parameters are: Not to teach the whole Bible, but to teach the section she’s been entrusted with. She must relate to her students, shepherding them, taking an interest in them and in their lives. She must prepare her lessons to make the Bible come alive and impress upon her students how important is its message.

There must be SELECTION. She must be on the lookout for someone else, who just might take the same interest in young people she does.

There must be MENTORING. She should, with her supervisor’s approval, ask that person to join her in the class. She should explain to the teaching candidate what she is trying to do. She should model her understanding and her method, being open to the ideas of her co-teacher, becoming partners and fast friends.

I well remember two of my 3rd grade Sunday School teachers, Sister Hussey and Sister Garmon (we called all our teachers “sister” back then). Sister Hussey was the leader. It was her class and she was serious as a heart attack about it. Sister Garmon was a dear lady who was her ‘helper,’ but later, sister Garmon became my 6th grade teacher. This is the way you raise up leaders.

You may well ask, what does that have to do with Elders?

Everything! It’s just as simple.

Current Elders need to have an understanding of what their job is. It is decidedly not sitting in meetings – though there’s a lot of that. It is first and foremost, watching out for people. Praying for people. Guiding people. Encouraging people. Teaching people. Current Elders should be on the watch for men who might qualify as Elders. That’s purpose. They should identify and select some of them, perhaps telling them: “I believe you can be an Elder one day. I wish you would make it one of your goals.” Why not then mentor them by asking them to pray with you for people in the church? If there are sensitive matters, one need not share everything or betray confidences, but surely there are plenty of other things to pray about and being specifically asked to do so lends an importance to the job. Take the candidate with you to visit members in the hospital. Share the duty of praying there. Take them as you just visit in the homes of members. Talk with them about the budgeting process and take time to explain the difficult decisions you make.

Some Elders will be good at this. Some won't. Those who can, should.

And what if you select someone who is a dud? Some people, despite the fact that they want a ministry and have all the “scriptural qualifications” are decidedly inept shepherds. Others get in the ministry only to discover they are ill-suited to shepherd people. Why not spot some candidates and walk them through it, giving them an understanding of the work as you do, and observing whether they can, and will, really do it?

I can hear your reply: “Yeah, yeah, you make it all sound so simple.”

It IS simple.

It’s just not easy.

Leadership never is.