Pastor Blake Hickman of Providence Baptist Church kicked-us off this morning by reiterating the three-things the conference hosts hope to accomplish today.
1. That we will make “much of Him.”
2. That the gospel of Christ and its rich provisions will once again be proclaimed as our only hope.
3. That pastors and church leaders will be inspired to do ministry “on His terms”.
We then enjoyed a wonderful time of worship through singing led by Daniel Renstrom. We sang Not to Us, Beautiful One, Praise to the Lord the Almighty, Come Thou Fount, and Here I Am to Worship. After that, Leon Tucker, Pastor of Education Ministries at Providence Baptist Church, gave a message entitled Foundational Issues for Ministry.
Pastor Tucker has been married for over thirty years and is going on his fourteenth year in ministry at Providence. He prayed that God would align our hearts with His. Tucker opened by noting that many conferences emphasize technique as opposed to timeless principles. Many ministries today lack direction but are going Mach 2. Many Christian conference speakers will give messages that never open the Bible. By contrast, we see the example of Paul, who was not ashamed by the gospel (Rom. 1:16).
I. VALUES ARE FOUNDATIONAL
Values are foundational because they give us direction. We know if leadership is good or bad by the direction leaders take those who come behind them. In Matthew 5, Jesus shares His value system–a system which must, in turn, become our value system. We are to seek His kingdom and His righteousness (Matt. 6). We must chose between two foundations to build upon: one will endure, and the other will not (Matt. 7).
II. TRUTH-CENTERED APPROACH TO MINISTRY
Jesus Christ is the truth (John 14:6); He is to be the integration point in our lives. Tucker challenged attendees to ask themselves if their lives and ministries are focused upon Christ. Is He the center?
A. Authoritative truth (Col 1:9-11)
In Christ “all things hold together.” Christ wants us to not only know and understand the truth, but also to be skilled in application. God’s truth must truly guide us; we are to live in complete dependence upon God.
We can tell how much we’re really asking God to lead us and to develop our skill by how much we’re praying. Prayer is a conscious recognition of our need for God.
B. Relational truth (I Jn 4:8,16; Phil 1:9-11)
In Phil. 1:9-11, Paul is making a very similar prayer as he offered on behalf of the Colossians, but here Paul emphasizes the relational aspect of applying love in relationships with wisdom. After all, God is a God of truth and love, and love is inherently relational.
C. Study the truth to develop skill of a craftsman (II Tim 2:15)
We need to study God’s word, so that we can apply it like a master craftsman. We are to sharpen one other so that we can put God’s truths into practice with skill.
Tucker shared that his dad, a construction worker, got him into the construction industry as a teenager. He saw “master craftsmen” and thought wow – I want to be like them. Likewise, we should live with skill as Christians – master craftsmen – so that others will look at us as examples.
Tucker reflected upon the example of his youth pastor and some of the college students doing youth ministry. These were skilled Christian ministers, continually challenging Tucker to live for Christ as a teenager.
We talk about a postmodern age today. But remember, Paul and his followers were having to live out their faith in a hostile, pagan world. Paul’s world had no more reference point to Christianity than our current secular/post-modern culture.
What do see in Acts? The disciples were modeling Christ-centered love with each other. They didn’t have any gimmicks or entertainment tricks. And the people were standing in line to know more about them.
In the business world, if you have a product for which there is a growing market, that is called a target-rich environment. People today are hungry for ultimate purpose and deep, genuine relationships. Christianity holds the key to both.
III. THE RESPONSIBILITY OF PASTORAL LEADERSHIP (I Timothy 3, 4)
From the youngest child to the oldest adult, as pastors we are in the business of cultivating Christian character. Most of the leadership at Providence is grown from within. And the cultivation of personal character is a big part of this process.
A. Personal character (I Timothy 3:1-3)
People that are trustworthy, pure, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable. The idea of respectable is essential; people naturally admire such people and want to follow them.
B. Relational skill (I Timothy 3:4-7)
1) Nuclear family oversight (v.4-5)
If we cannot do it in our family, how can we do it in the larger family?
2) Skill of maturity (v.6)
Growing people to maturity takes time.
3) Noble character with unchurched (v.7)
You would think this one would go without saying. But the biggest criticism of the church is that we say one thing and do another. We cannot be one thing inside the church and another thing outside.
C. Modeling the role (I Timothy 4:12)
We need to live in a way that makes much of God: our conduct, love, faith, and purity. If we do, then we’re like “two by fours” that God uses to influence others for His glory.
See also II Tim 2:22-26. We need to live for God, and then let God do His work. We must be able to articulate the truth, but then we must let God draw people to himself. We don’t have to be combative.
IV. THE LEADERSHIP “CONTINUUM”
This is the flow of biblical leadership.
A. Leadership is about direction
B. Direction is driven by values
C. Values drive purpose
This may look different in different families (e.g., one family has a 10 PM curfew, another 11 PM). But we’re all to be shaping our vision from God’s principles.
D. Purpose drives vision
E. Vision drives strategy
F. Strategy drives priorities
G. Priorities drive life/ministry management
We’d all say that our family is a priority since it is a biblical qualifier. But we have many pastors today that are not living out leadership in their families. So many of us manage our life by our schedule – the priorities that others (or circumstances) assign to us. In reality, we need to schedule our priorities.
H. Life/ministry management drives relationships
I. Relationships drive contentment
J. Contentment is to be modeled (this is part of healthy spirituality)
K. Modeling is the role of leadership
V. PRAYER IS CRITICAL
Prayer is to undergird the entire leadership process (Prov 3:5-6; I Thess 5:17).
A. Personal dependence upon God (Rom 1:17; I Cor 2:9-16)
1) Discovery: knowledge, insight, application
2) Fruit of the Spirit produced.
Emphasize faithfulness over fruitfulness. God will take care of our producing fruit.
3) Moment by moment prayer (II Cor. 10:5)
B. Ministry dependence upon God (Col 4:2-6; Eph 3:14-21)
Just as we are dependent upon God in our personal life, so in our ministries we are totally dependent upon God. If there is dependence upon God expressed in regular, corporate prayer, then when God does big things, we don’t become egotistical. Because we know where the power came from. Minister with your colleagues as a team of God-dependent friends.
VI. IMPLEMENTING CHANGE
A. Regularly evaluate and be able to state your personal and ministry continuum.
B. Model your convictions
Work within your spheres of influence (personal, family, and ministry). Let God expand your influence as he chooses to do so.
C. Pursue incremental change
D. Commit to longevity
Sadly, many pastors never make it through one cycle of ministry life at a particular church. It ought not to be this way. Servant-leaders ought to persevere.
Update: Message Audio in MP3 Format