#ReCentered Church Leadership is Christocentric * Guest-Post

[Reimagine Curator]

Christocentric Leadership

Robert Condly   

Many Christians have a love-hate relationship with leadership. Some have issues with anyone presiding over them, but others carry on internal debates about the legitimacy of becoming a leader themselves.

This is an enormous subject, so without going into a ton of details, let’s accept the apostle Paul’s take on the matter.

“It is a trustworthy statement: if any man aspires to the office of overseer, it is a fine work he desires to do.” - 1 Timothy 3:1

Paul’s not opposed to leadership! In his mind, it’s a good thing that the church has leaders. This has two implications.

One, seeking to become a leader isn’t necessarily wrong. If our motives are bad, that’s a problem, but endeavoring to move into leadership isn’t an evil desire in and of itself.

Two, being accountable to leaders isn’t improper. It’s how God set up His church. Paul assumes as much when he tells the elders of the Ephesian church to “be on guard for yourselves and for all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood” (Acts 20:28). Also, the writer of Hebrews advises his Jewish Christian audience to “obey your leaders and submit to them--for they keep watch over your souls as those who will give an account--so that they may do this with joy, not groaning; for this would be unhelpful for you” (Hebrews 13:17).

Church leadership is biblical.

Because it’s a large topic, I want to narrow things a bit by focusing this post on a particular group of leaders mentioned by Paul in his letter to Ephesus.

“He gave some as apostles, some as prophets, some as evangelists, some as pastors and teachers” - Ephesians 4:11

Bible scholars debate whether this is a fourfold or fivefold list of ministry positions within the body of Christ. The dispute has to do with the grammar related to the last two sets of leaders. It’s unclear whether Paul distinguished between pastors and teachers or if he was describing the same group with two different terms. I don’t have a strong opinion either way, but I’ll go with the fivefold interpretation for this post.

Why did Jesus give these individuals to His people? Paul goes on to answer this question:

for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the building up of the body of Christ; ¹³until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ. ¹⁴As a result, we are no longer to be children, tossed here and there by waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of people, by craftiness in deceitful scheming; ¹⁵but speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in all aspects into Him who is the head, that is, Christ, ¹⁶from whom the whole body, being fitted and held together by what every joint supplies, according to the proper working of each individual part, causes the growth of the body for the building up of itself in love. - Ephesians 4:12-16

Christ wants His body of followers to grow. To facilitate that process, the Lord has given a range of leaders who have the responsibility of helping people mature spiritually.

But notice that Paul emphasizes Jesus in these verses; He is the focus of fivefold ministry. If leaders draw attention to themselves and not to Christ, they’re failing their calling.

This is a serious issue! Each leadership position points to Jesus because He embodies them all. Before Christ commissioned these leaders, He Himself performed the duties related to their offices. And He did so with humility, which He now requires of these leaders.

The New Testament bears this out.

Apostle

“Therefore, holy brothers and sisters, partakers of a heavenly calling, consider the Apostle and High Priest of our confession: Jesus” - Hebrews 3:1

This is the only verse in the New Testament that identifies Jesus as an apostle. The Greek word apostolos refers to “a delegate, messenger, one sent forth with orders.” God sent Jesus on a mission of salvation. He was to offer Himself as the sacrifice for our sins. He didn’t have to accept this, but Christ sought above all to please His Father. His submission to the will of God demonstrates His humility.

It’s unfortunate that many leaders in the contemporary church define themselves as apostles, but they lack the attitude of a servant. However you understand apostolic ministry today, it’s clear that the humility of Jesus should characterize such leaders.

Prophet

• “And the crowds were saying, ‘This is Jesus the prophet, from Nazareth in Galilee.’” - Matthew 21:11

• “Jesus said to them, ‘A prophet is not dishonored except in his hometown and among his own relatives, and in his own household.’” - Mark 6:4

• “And He said to them, ‘What sort of things?’ And they said to Him, ‘Those about Jesus the Nazarene, who proved to be a prophet mighty in deed and word in the sight of God and all the people’” - Luke 24:19

The Jewish people were split. Jesus is a prophet, so they should honor Him. But many didn’t. He knew who He was, so He didn’t need the approval of the crowd, because God had sent Him and God was with Him.

In the Bible, prophets are individuals anointed by the Holy Spirit to express the will of God. Whether people accept what they say is secondary; what’s primary is knowing and declaring the Lord’s perspective on matters of concern.

Many folks, including Christians, regard prophets as those who predict the future. While dealing with future events is part of prophetic ministry, it’s not the main issue. What’s important is the will of God.

The problem is, everyone has opinions about what God thinks about something. But Jesus had more than speculations or imaginations; He knew the Father! He could proclaim God’s will because He knew Him. And the Father was delighted to bless the ministry of His Son.

In the same way, God wants to bless the work of Christian prophets. But He will do so only if they walk as Jesus did–wholly committed to serving God. Again, humility is key.

Evangelist

“Jesus was going about in all of Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every disease and every sickness among the people.” - Matthew 4:23

This may come as a surprise, but the word “evangelist” (euaggelistes) occurs only three times in the Greek New Testament. (The other verses are Acts 21:8 and 2 Timothy 4:5.) But words like “gospel,” “evangelize,” and “preach the gospel” are much more common. So while Scripture doesn’t label Jesus as an evangelist, it certainly describes Him engaging in evangelistic ministry.

Evangelists are people who announce good news. (“Gospel” means “good news.”) They’re not the subject of the proclamation; they’re messengers. Typically, the news they share is about someone else, like a king or a general who won a military battle. Such messengers had to be loyal to those who dispatched them, and they had to deliver their messages with enthusiasm and accuracy.

Jesus spread the good news of the kingdom of God. Yes, Jesus would get to rule it, but it was the Fathers kingdom which He would grant to the Son. Christ kept the focus on His Father.

The ones whom the Lord calls as evangelists should follow Christ’s example by giving people the opportunity to enter God’s kingdom. Jesus laid down His life and was raised from the dead to give everyone the possibility of receiving eternal life in the kingdom. It’s not something we can earn; none of us deserves a seat at the heavenly banquet. But when we humble ourselves, we can receive the offer of His grace to join Him.

It takes humility to accept the offer.

It takes humility to share it with someone else.

Pastor

It’s funny to me that the Greek word poimen occurs 18 times in 17 verses in the New Testament but in every verse except Ephesians 4:11, it’s translated as “shepherd.” Pastors are shepherds!

We know that Jesus was a Shepherd; we could also call Him a Pastor.

• “I am the good shepherd; the good shepherd lays down His life for the sheep.” - John 10:11

• “I am the good shepherd, and I know My own, and My own know Me” - John 10:14

• “Now may the God of peace, who brought up from the dead the great Shepherd of the sheep through the blood of the eternal covenant, that is, Jesus our Lord, ²¹equip you in every good thing to do His will, working in us that which is pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be the glory forever and ever. Amen. - Hebrews 13:20-21

Shepherds look out for the well-being of their flocks. They protect and provide for them. Jesus did that with His disciples, and He continues to take care of the church down to the present day.

But He delights to use pastors to tend to the needs of His people. Jesus laid down His life for us, so selfless was He. Likewise, Christlike pastors invest themselves in blessing fellow believers. They don’t have all the answers, but God honors their humility by working through their words and deeds.

Teacher

• “And Jesus turned and saw them following, and said to them, ‘What are you seeking?’ They said to Him, ‘Rabbi (which translated means Teacher), where are You staying?’” - John 1:38

• “This man came to Jesus at night and said to Him, ‘Rabbi, we know that You have come from God as a teacher; for no one can do these signs that You do unless God is with him.’” - John 3:2

• “So Jesus answered them and said, ‘My teaching is not My own, but His who sent Me.’” - John 7:16

Jesus was impressive. Without formal education, He nevertheless taught commoners and authorities the truth about God’s plans. No one could match His wisdom because it wasn’t something He created out of thin air. Jesus shared with others what the Father revealed to Him.

But this didn’t make the Lord proud; He lived as He taught–in simple dependence on God for everything. And that’s why the Father lavished His Son with revelation. Jesus was trustworthy.

It’s something those with teaching ministries have to be careful about. God grants insight into His Word to build up the church, not to make a name for teachers. It’s the name of Jesus that should be exalted! And if that’s our aim, the Lord can pour His wisdom into us and communicate it through us.

Conclusion

Church leadership is Christocentric. (Fancy theological word there–it means Christ-centered!) Leaders are servants of Jesus who Himself is the ultimate Servant of God.

Whatever role you have in the body of Christ, and whatever role you desire in the future–strive to glorify Jesus through your ministry. If you walk as He walked, in humility, God will be pleased with you and will use you to fulfill His purposes.

That’s the purpose of humble Christian leadership.

 

 

(The verses in this post are from the NASB20 version of the Bible.)

(Image is from https://media.istockphoto.com/id/1638953264/vector/jesus-ascending-to-heaven.jpg?s=612x612&w=0&k=20&c=LLpbfZFnkbCBpJzI1l0UomQ6MCiVv66VS_Q4-GZOi38=.)

 

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