What kind of leaders are shaped for global gospel growth?
No 2: When the going gets tough, the tough get going.
One of the peculiarities about Western colleges and training systems is that they have a tendency to breed students with expectations and opinions. With faculty staff who are generally multi educated, who often by gifting and default have spent longer in the classroom than in frontier mission or local church ministry, who live a settled life in the confines of comfort (the UK or US for example) in the top (3) percentage of wealth in the world. This filters into training. I'm sure much if not all of it is unintended.
I am alarmed at the work/life expectations of UK bible college students have on graduating. Some of this may just be age and needing to grow up, but I note how young people in harder contexts do not have these false expectations and lack of flexibility / teachability. In many ways some trainees for ministry show themselves as little different from those who study any other discipline at University, with the mindset of self motivation, and being ready on the running blocks to sprint into the world as if it is a straight lane race for 100 meters.
- Should graduates in spiritual training name an appropriate wage to churches they visit "with a view"?
- Should "pay"/"wages" be tied to teaching salaries (if so how does this compare in weekly routine , responsibilities and holiday)?
- Should amounts be set at an average of the congregation, or double of the congregation (1 Tim 5:17-18). Should a balanced pay be decided on the basis of needs and appropriateness in life stage, to encourage the servant of God to focus on ministry without regular distraction of financial issues (2 Tim 2:1-10 ) ? Should this always be maintained without discrepancy, shrink or increase when phases of faith stretch, mission stretch, training investment into others grows? Are bonus payments appropriate for encouragement in ministry, or increased help to as costs of living rise?
- Should they expect a certain standard of living? Why does it seem incongruous to many church leaders around the Uk that a growing number of those going into ministry display more consideration or preparedness to talk about boundaries to protect family life / conference time/ expenses/ sabbaticals and holidays than they are to explore the boundaries of the gospel into local communities, or what part of their ministry will involve suffering or sacrifice?
- If we are enticed by a mission initiative, network or church leadership who offer to "look after us well", should this be a reason to sign up quickly or ask some serious questions about what motivates them for gospel living and what that relationship of "looking after us" really means in reality? Is it possible to be bought or paid off to be diverted from God's (spiritual) priorities to fulfil human wishes and build a human kingdom which yields human results ?
Of course I understand the good motives and intended wisdom from which this all the hard work in bible colleges and training initiatives come. We want to protect those we train for the long term. We want to impact those they are married to and their children helpfully for the gospel in the next generation after them. One of my "go to" sessions with pastors who I want to encourage most, is the subject matter of how stay fit and guard the heart, for a lifetime of ministry. I'm sure Peter Brain has had a few royalties from our teams recommendations. This conversation is always needed, whatever stage of ministry we are at. I just wonder if the pendulum has swung a little too much, especially when I look at gospel ministry out of our context, and how fruitful it is in contexts where little of this conversation is ever a priority.
Protecting, nurturing and incubating future leaders is so massively part of our calling for the global advance of the gospel. (2 Tim 2:2) However, this needs to be balanced by biblical realism, the sacrificial nature of fruitful ministry and especially the model / pattern of Christ. Christ had nowhere to lay his head or call home, he left everything and went wherever the Spirit directed. He protected time alone with the father. His training as as an apprentice carpenter, yet his gifting was as the omniscient Lord of the universe. His wage for faithfulness was the cross of ultimate suffering (John 18:4), which he fully knew before he committed to faithful ministry, and perseverance in poverty and pain.
Paul , Peter and every other apostle for that matter knew what it was to pay constantly high prices for seeing the gospel advance. Gospel advance always challenges our comfort, often comes with paying the first price for the church to advance and God will often challenge our boundaries and test our greatest affections. Ministry then is not to be seen as a route to further feather a nest, to a routine of regular centre park breaks, but a route into spiritual conflict for which we need to be fit and armed. Forewarned is forearmed, and this is what this season is about. Having a heads up, helps us, and helps us to help others ... not to make them feel better about themselves necessarily ... but to find their identity in Christ and their joy in him. Worship is a primary driver for all things. Our core identity is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever. Into this we seek to serve and encourage each other to run to the eternal finish line as we engage daily with the eternal battle line.
Questions:
1: What do we call what we do, who we are, and how do we think of ourselves? Is serving Christ or his gospel for a lifetime... a calling, a habit, a job, a privilege, a burden, an act of obedience, an idol, a gift from God, an expression of love and sacrifice/ worship, a static state or something which changes constantly and dramatically with seasons of life and opportunities to follow the Spirit's leading?
- Which of these are more healthy ways of thinking, and which should we be alert to (as dangers) ?
- How does a wrong view of our ministry impact those we serve and those we communicate the gospel to?
- How do we annoy, frustrate or confuse others about our life and work? How much attention should we pay to this?
- Passages to consider: Colossians 3, Ephesians 4, 1 Timothy 5 (17). In each of these passages, (and the ones we discuss in videos/ groups) what are the primary driver, concerns, desires and intentions of the writer. (What is the Context for mentioning the detail?)
- How flexible should we be to serve the gospel ? How does this impact what we say about who we are and what we do, and our readiness for difficulty (whether working elsewhere to pay for our flexibility to minister or willingness to fit in with changing roles and privileges).
- What impact does it have on our families and children, relatives and friends, neighbours and community when we work the predominancy of our lives focussed on taking care of the believing / missional community or within confines of the new community?
- What does the shift worker from the factory, the farm hand, the casual labourer, the postman/ postwoman, the hairdresser, helpfully have to teach us in ministry about work ethic, rubbing shoulders (listening and understanding) those who come from a multitude of opposite and different perspectives?
- What does bivocational life teach us for ministry patterns?
- What skills and expectations does the car mechanic take into ministry (consider the absolutes of the process, customer who does not pay their bill, or the antiquated vehicle which is almost impossible to repair without creativity) ?
- What skills does the Philharmonic conductor take into ministry? (consider the nature of variety involvement in instrumentation, personalities, order, clarity, involvement of emotion and heart, life commitment).
- Given the fundamental truth that God equips us for what he calls us to, how should this impact our readiness to learn and persevere with tough challenges of routine ? How should this impact daily prayer? What are the danger signs that we are starting to persevere too much, do things in our own strength, or things are being damaged by our doggedness not to be beaten by our finiteness?
- Given that we are made to be creative and God has created all of life in its variety, how should this impact our routine, and plans for recreation / rest/ stimulus ? Can we say we are growing in the knowledge of God / to be more like Christ without factoring in these issues ?
- In what ways do you become obsessive ?
- What do have a tendency to idolise in life ?
- What does the enemy do to take us away from healthy, fruitful, generational gospel investment ?
- When last did you have a project which tested you in ways you didn't expect, when last did you complete something nothing to do with ministry (a shelf even if wonky was "put up", n extension was built, a garden vegetable was grown, a painting or bit or music was finalised).
- How do your regular relaxation projects balance life, or do you always have to wait for extended time to relax and do?
- How does this help remember that the kingdom of God will be finalised, and impact the perspective of daily work in the kingdom?
- If we are to guard the heart above all things, how does this impact our routine?
- What do we see more clearly when we are out of the work zone, or not focussed on our predominant roles?
- What is Paul's Context of life?
- What are his main concerns ?
- What are his reality checks ?
- What difference does the love and respect of others make to his resolve?
- What most decides his perspective ?
- How should we nuance this for those with family and relative responsibilities which are different from Paul ?
- What can we learn from those across our world who work under the pressure of persecution, imminent death, imprisonment, false accusation, occupational rule of anti-christian government ? What do they have right which we maybe can learn from? What do we need to do to make more of the freedom opportunities we have been given?
- What is Paul modelling to the church, and what can we learn from this / what impacts our model of work and life to those who watch?
- (Phil 2: 1-11) What role should intended and considered humility have in our lives and work ?
- Should we decide our routine without counsel and consultation of others ?
- What role does life experience and biblical wisdom from others play in our big life and work decisions? What is the importance of balancing male and female perspectives?
- Whatever our view or semantics on the role of prophecy in new community today, how important is it to balance our view of decisions with others who live under the word of God ? When do you take the exact same view of others as starting to bind on your conscience (1 brother/ sister, 2,3, 25?).
- Who is mentoring you, or who is your advice counsel for spiritual and work / life? What is the wisdom of having friends outside of our "role"zone, and how do you make sure that your self seen identity remains primarily as a child of Christ, a worshipper of Christ and a world servant of the creator and redeemer of all peoples ?
- What has been bad advice, given to you that you would want others to be guarded from?
- How is life and ministry reviewed to cross balance what was intended to what actually happened ?
- What are the fundamental things which should help get us out of bed with a bounce in our step every morning ?
- What / who should be our chief satisfaction at the end of heavy working week ? How much does this impact everything else ?
- How much of our working life should we always expect to be fallen and frustrating ? How does this work in ministry ?
- Should we always separate work and life or talk about work/ life balance as distinctions in ministry, and how does this impact us when we reach later seasons of life ? Do those around us see ministry as work, a burden, a privilege from the way we speak and act.
- What difference does life stage make on our extent of adventurousness in faith and mission ? Should it make any difference? Are there blessings that can come from doing things humbly as an older believer - openly acknowledging our frailties and inabilities (loss of hearing, loss of sight in reading, loss of speed in communication, being less tech savvy, causing some frustrations for others)?
- When giving counsel to others on work and life... which passages do you naturally go to ? Which passages should balance this ?
- What other balances do we need to check?
- What role does grace/frustration balance check have ?
- What role does love for others, self obsession balance check have?
- What role does variety in life/ one trick pony balance check have?
- What role does workaholic ("roleaholic"), relational capacity balance check have?
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