To conclude, I wanted to share some practical words for shepherds, deacons, and ministry leaders that I have learned in my five decades of working with churches. They are applicable to anyone leading anything.
The first word is communication. Men, can we admit that for most of us, this is not a natural inclination or ability of ours? We’re like the person who said, “I’m so good at communication, a lot of times I don’t even need to say anything!” Yep, that sounds like us.
No relationship of any kind does well without communication. It may survive, but it will never thrive. One church recognized this and appointed a man to do just one thing—oversee the church’s communication with its membership and with the community.
1. If you’re in a leadership role you must take the initiative to communicate—don’t’ wait for people to come to you—that’s clear sign you haven’t communicated well.
2. To successfully communicate, you must over-communicate. In order to reach everyone, a lot of people will have to hear it a few times—that’s just the way communication works.
3. Don’t assume. Close the loop on emails, texts, and other messaging. It’s not only the courteous thing to do, it’s also part of being a team player. “An ounce of prevention really is worth a pound of cure” in this area.
The second word is delegation. If you don’t delegate, you will inevitably end up majoring in minors. Why do you think Paul left Timothy at Ephesus while he went to Macedonia? He was delegating! And why was Timothy to appoint shepherds and deacons in the church. That’s delegating. And Timothy didn’t expect the shepherds and the deacons to do everything—they were to lead, not do everything.
The final word is regulation. You will have people in the church who are spiritually sick. Some will have the equivalent of a cold. No doctor can cure a cold, they can just treat the symptoms. In the same way, people will spiritual colds need to be encouraged and in time, they will get better.
But that doesn’t work in all situations because sometimes someone has a broken leg. Giving them a pat on the back and encouraging words doesn’t cut it. They need someone to x-ray their leg, set the bone, and cast their leg. If you don’t do that they will hobble around the rest of their life.
Leaders need to recognize that sometime regulate a situation. After assessing the circumstances (taking the x-ray), they must lovingly but firmly help set and cast the leg. It’s not an easy thing to do and people don’t always appreciate it, but the leader’s goal is to make people holy, not happy.
Paul closes the section with these words, “Those who have served well gain an excellent standing and great assurance in their faith in Christ Jesus” (3:13). Leaders provide the body of Christ with a wonderful gift through what they do. They are a great blessing to the church.
But no one outgives God. What they receive is both outward and inward. Outwardly they receive “an excellent standing” from those they serve. Healthy churches recognize and express their appreciation to and for their leaders. What does this do? It gives them “great assurance in their faith.” When was the last time you’ve expressed your appreciation to those who lead you?
A Taste of Grace with Bruce Green 