Calvin Synod Herald, 2010 (111. évfolyam, 1-12. szám)
2010-01-01 / 1-2. szám
CALVIN SYNOD HERALD 7 Personal Spiritual Growth of Our Lay Leaders You must understand that leading and transitioning the church is all about leading and transitioning people. - Brad Powell, Focus on the People Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ. - The Apostle Paul, 1 Corinthians 11:1 Jesus Christ is the ultimate example of what it truly means to be spiritual. - Randall Niles, Spiritual Growth - The Qualities As we discuss the doctrine of the Priesthood of All Believers it is very important to talk about the spiritual growth of our presbyters and lay leaders. Constant spiritual growth is foundational in our relationship with Jesus Christ and in our Christian faith. In my experience, there are quite a few church members in our Reformed congregations who do not know about and cannot describe what it means to be a healthy, spiritually mature follower of Jesus Christ. Therefore I would like to share some practical advice that I found helpful for church members, especially for lay leaders, in growing in their relationship with Christ. Daily Personal Quiet Time with God The most important discipline in the spiritual growth of lay leaders is that of keeping a personal quiet time with God on a daily basis, so they may experience a growing relationship with Him. The pastors can encourage and motivate them and give them some guidance on how to read the Bible and pray. First and foremost the pastors need to set a good example before them. They need to model for the lay leaders how to keep a daily quiet time with God and show why it is beneficial. Robert J. Clinton summarized this very well: “A leader first learns about personal guidance for his own life. Having learned to discern God’s direction for his own life in numerous crucial decisions, he can then shift to the leadership function of determining guidance for the group that he leads” (Clinton 1988, 27). Constant Relationship Building between the Pastor and Lay Leaders The other great way to help lay leaders grow spiritually is if there is a constant relationship building between the pastor and lay leaders. This basically means that the pastor spends time with the lay people who will be entrusted with leading others through different church ministries. Personal meetings between the pastor and potential lay leaders are very important. These gatherings should be for the purpose of building up a relationship. At these one-on-one meetings the participants can talk about personal issues, things that the other person is dealing with or struggling through. These conversations should be uplifting. The purpose, again, is to just get to know each other better, building up the relationship with one another. The location is not especially important, however, meeting with each other in a more neutral place, such as a coffee shop or a restaurant, would be more beneficial than in the church. Some church members told me they appreciated these meetings because it was the first time that they shared things about their personal lives with someone. Participating at Conferences, Going for a Retreat or Holding a Workshop Another way to help our church members, especially potential lay leaders, grow spiritually is to encourage them to participate in Christian conferences. How can we do that? In my experience, one of the best ways to do this is to invite some of the church members, who I see could be potential leaders, to come with me, the pastor, and participate in a conference. I found it very beneficial and this also helped build our relationship. As the pastor gets to know his or her lay leaders more and more, it will be easier to recommend what conferences would be the best for them. For example, if some would like to grow in their leadership skills then the annual conference organized by the Willow Creek Church can be recommended. Or, for strengthening their marriage or dealing with marriage issues, we can recommend Gary Chapman’s conference. In addition to this, going for a short retreat for one or two days with some of the church members is a great blessing, too. I found an interesting story that grabbed my attention about the importance of pastors and lay leaders working together for the same purpose at a retreat or workshop. When clergy and laity work together towards the same goal it definitely helps both of them grow spiritually. Mapleton’s New Beginning Shortly after her arrival at Mapleton, Pastor Amanda Jacobs began praying for ways to encourage her congregation to accept their calling as the priesthood of all believers. She invited four interested people to attend a nearby lay worship leaders’ retreat and workshop with her. It was the beginning of new vision, energy, and commitment for the little church. During the weekend, the scriptural and theological foundations of worship were laid, along with ideas about music, children in worship, and how to explore scriptural themes for services. On Sunday afternoon, following a service of praise and communion, each team received a blessing and commissioning. Participants left deeply moved and motivated for the ministry of worship planning and leading. The team from Mapleton was particularly excited; they knew their pastor was eager to implement many of the ideas they’d heard. The ride home was anything but quiet! “How are we going to actually do this, Amanda?” Charlie Davis asked, barely allowing time for the minivan to leave the retreat center road. All eyes focused on Amanda, who was driving. She smiled, inwardly thanking God for the work of the Holy Spirit in these faithful people. “I think we begin with a meeting this week, where we pray and figure out when we could lead a Sunday service, and then just get started planning it,” Amanda suggested. “Advent might be a good time to do our first service together. People expect something different anyway, and we could go beyond having families light the Advent candles this year,” Margo Weitz offered. “We received some great resources this weekend that we can put to good use,” Bruce Clark noted. “I had a chance to look at The Worship Sourcebook and found a lot of excellent prayers and
