Steve Ogne is a nationally known church planter trainer, coach and consultant for Church Resource Ministries & coauthor (with Bob Logan) of several church planter training manuals, including the best selling Church Planter’s Toolkit. He is also the co-author of the popular study kit Empowering Leaders through Coaching (ChurchSmart Resources) with Tom Nebel. Steve’s previous ministry experience includes pastorates at Community Church and Crossroads Community Church, both in California. He is a graduate of Azusa Pacific University, Talbot Seminary and is presently a doctoral candidate at Northwest Graduate School of Ministry. Steve and his wife, Jane, live in Somis, California, and have 3 sons.
This is another Advanced-track workshop.
WORKERS & LEADERS — THEY ARE DIFFERENT
Church planting pastors must mobilize others. To do so, it is important to differentiate between a worker and a leader in the congregation. Simple definition of a leader: Somebody who people follow. In the effort to mobilize everyone, it is easy to forget to develop leaders. By default, we thereby mobilize those who would be leaders into being worker bees. The result is that God-given skill is not properly utilized.
SPOTTING POTENTIAL LEADERS
In a typical congregation, about 10% are capable of leading. Church planters need to spot them. If they are not raised up, people may naturally follow them anyway, potentially leading to division.
How to spot? Look for commitment to the church. Listen for their ministry interests and passions. Look for people who are capable, available, responsible, enthusiastic, and teachable.
ASSESSING POTENTIAL LEADERS
Once you’ve spotted them, you need to evaluate their placement for ministry. What are their spiritual gifts? How will their personality impact their ministry? Are they a leader or a strong player for the team? How strong is their spiritual and ministry commitment?
Ogne noted that if you have HR people in your church, they may already have the gifts to help you assess.
CHALLENGING POTENTIAL LEADERS
Describe the assignment and its value. Give a clear assignment, including a job description. Ask them to pray about it. Follow up.
One man attending the workshop shared that he struggles to get men in his church involved in leadership capacity because they are so busy with their jobs. Ogne noted that the temptation in that case is to give these men nothing more than a small job. But Ogne noted that if they are indeed leaders, you have to give each something big enough and important enough that he feels compelled to re-prioritize his schedule to make it happen.
NEED TO HAVE A CURRENT LIST OF MINISTRY OPPORTUNITIES IN THE CHURCH, AND JOB DESCRIPTIONS TO GO WITH EACH OF THEM
List everything — even the jobs you are only dreaming about. That way, if God brings that person along, they have a job to do.
Job Description: Include who the person is responsible TO, who he/she is responsible FOR, and three to five specific objectives.
INVOLVEMENT
Clearly define a pathway for involvement. (Example: I need to be here at least three months before I can apply to be a Sunday School teacher. If my application is accepted, I then need to attend a leader’s training meeting, get interviewed by a pastor, and then I am good to go.)
Part of involving people is making sure that, as a pastor, you teach about spiritual gifts. Make sure you record it. Then you can include the CD in a baggie that you give to potential small group leaders (for example).
Have a person that they can talk to: “You want to get involved in children ministry? Talk to Mary. You want to get on the welcoming committee? Talk to Joe.”
Sometimes we get so busy filling slots, then we don’t empower people to do what they are gifted at and what God has laid on their heart. Ogne once had a nursery coordinator (which he desperately needed), but the woman wasn’t happy in the job. It turned out what she really wanted to do was start a crisis pregnancy center. Ogne replaced her with someone else, and the former nursery coordinator went on to start a CPC, which is still active today (20 years later).
Again, In terms of vetting people for jobs, if you have HR people in your church, they may already have the gifts to help you assess.
“THE BUCK STOPS HERE”
We need to have REAL leadership positions to give out. REAL positions where “the buck stops here” and if they fail, they fail. Leaders learn most by actually leading.
1. Make them responsible for casting a vision and motivating people.
Ogne calls this “buck stops here” leadership. They — the leaders — need to be responsible for casting the vision and recruiting the group. Give THEM the responsibility to cast vision.
2. Make them recruit people and delegate responsibility. (They can’t be a figurehead only.)
3. They need to coach and mentor other leaders.
4. If you want them to become pastors/church planters someday, they need to practice raising money and balancing a budget.
Lots of green pastors are financially unprepared.
So if they are responsible for a particular ministry, make them responsible for the budget for that ministry. If they want to do a retreat, make them responsible for raising the money. If they go over budget, make them go find the money somewhere else. Ogne mentioned that if you have a youth pastor who later wants to plant a church, this could include making him get a part-time job to make up the overage if he goes over budget. The man is very likely to learn his lesson if he is not “bailed out,” and he will be a better church planter later on.
Don’t establish policies that prevent lay leaders from developing the gift of fund-raising (for fear that it will hurt the offering). It limits developing them. Give accountability and guidelines, but avoid the extremes of (a) we’ll give you all the money and (b) you cannot fund-raise.
HAVE A VEHICLE FOR STEWARDSHIP TRAINING
Ogne is a big fan of Crown Financial Ministries. He requires it for certain people in leadership positions.
How to learn fund raising? Ogne recommends People Raising: A Practical Guide to Raising Support
OTHER BASIC LEADERSHIP SKILLS
1. Developing a budget.
2. Developing an accountability plan.
3. Public speaking (including handling Scripture).
4. Time management.
POSITIONS TO GIVE PEOPLE WITHIN A CHURCH TO GROOM THEM FOR PASTORAL LEADERSHIP
1. Disciple Making – Relational evangelism combined with basic guidance for Christian life and growth (perhaps in specific areas — e.g., biblical home order)
2. Apprenticing – On the job training for specific ministry assignments.
3. Coaching – Helping people develop their God-given potential so that they grow personally and make a valuable contribution to the Kingdom of God. (This can continue once they are in the pastorate.)
4. Mentoring – Holistic investment in the life of an individual to prepare him or her for a new season of life and a new level of ministry.
WHOM DO YOU MENTOR?
The church planting pastor should consider both general and spiritual criteria.
General criteria for evaluating professional leaders:
1. An ability to communicate
2. Managerial skills
3. The absence of scandal
Specifically biblical criteria for evaluating professional leaders:
1. Proven and consistent behavior, recognized by many (I Tim. 3:1)
2. Character which demonstrates the Holy Spirit’s presence (Gal. 5:22-23)
3. Spiritual wisdom and uncommon sense
4. An amassed and an accurate theological knowledge
5. A natural bond of respect toward the mentor
6. Followers (a group to lead)
HOW DO YOU MENTOR?
1. Spend time with them
2. Help them integrate their life, learning and ministry
3. Give them on the job training
4. Allow them to have exposure to a variety of ministry contexts
Ogne sends them to good and bad churches. He has them visit once or twice and contact one of the pastors and ask a few questions. He wants them to see both good and bad, so that they’ll know what both good and bad look like in a church setting.
THE POWER OF APPRENTICING
In many ministries, a leader needs an apprentice. An assistant stays with you forever. An apprentice is expected to move on. First you do it, and they watch. Then you do it together. Then they do it, and you watch. For unpaid positions, let them do it (with you watching) if they can do it 50% as well as you (because if you can move on to do something else, you still have a net gain in overall productivity, and they can learn the rest “on the job”). But for elder/pastor jobs, don’t lay hands too quickly. Don’t make an apprentice a leader until he is demonstrated faithfulness over a period of time. If he is faithful, his skill level goes up as you give him more responsibility. But if he is not faithful, he is not ready.
Make a list of which jobs require Christians to do them, and which jobs don’t. Give some of the latter jobs to pre-Christians. (Ogne knows of cases when worship band members, not leaders, were non-Christians. They got saved by spending time at church and playing the drums or some other instrument.)
EVALUATING YOUR LEADERSHIP FARM SYSTEM
1. Are you evangelizing and making disciples of Christ?
2. Are you mobilizing people to get involved in ministry in some way?
3. Are you engaging rising leaders in ministry?
4. Are you integrating Bible and theological content into your leadership development?
Steve Ogne recommended these books by Paul Ford:
Unleash your church!: A comprehensive strategy to help people discover and use their spiritual gifts
Your Leadership Grip: Assessment Process
