2 Timothy 2:1-2 speaks about this issue. In that passage Paul writes, “Timothy, my dear son, be strong through the grace that God gives you in Christ Jesus. You have heard me teach things that have been confirmed by many reliable witnesses. Now teach these truths to other trustworthy people who will be able to pass them on to others (NLT).” This passage specifically instructs Timothy to educate leaders so they can train others. This is not just preaching to the congregation; this is training new leaders who will teach the congregation. This training occurred in the context of the local church.
Current thinking about leadership training in churches often follows this scenario; people express a call to vocational ministry, they are encouraged to go away to various seminaries to learn how to fulfill their calling, they graduate from seminary, then churches hire them to serve as pastoral leaders. Though there is nothing inherently wrong this system, it is very different from how people were trained in the New Testament. Most of the leaders of the New Testament church were trained on the job as they served alongside other leaders. The local church was the primary training experience for ministry.
Churches need to regain their understanding of Titus 1:5-9, “The reason I left you in Crete was to set right what was left undone and, as I directed you, to appoint elders in every town: someone who is blameless, the husband of one wife, having faithful children not accused of wildness or rebellion. For an overseer, as God's manager, must be blameless, not arrogant, not quick tempered, not addicted to wine, not a bully, not greedy for money, but hospitable, loving what is good, sensible, righteous, holy, self-controlled, holding to the faithful message as taught, so that he will be able both to encourage with sound teaching and to refute those who contradict it (HCSB).”
This passage indicates that Paul left Titus on Crete to finish what was left undone, which was the appointment and training of leaders for the churches. Notice that Titus was not instructed to accomplish this by gathering the leaders together and sending them off to some formal seminary in a distant place. The indication is that he was to train them in place.
These leaders were not just secondary helpers charged with menial tasks that Titus did not want to do. They were to be overseers of the church with significant responsibilities. These leaders were given the charge to teach the scriptures to the congregations they led. They were also given the charge to refute those who were teaching false doctrine. It is one thing to be able to give a proper lesson to those who agree with you. It is quite another to rebuke a person who is teaching a false theology. The fact that the overseers were expected to do this speaks to the highly developed level of their training and abilities, all of which was formed in the context of the local church.
Many people who sense God calling them to a deeper level of service will be unable to attend a formal seminary. Though many will be able to take advantage of on-line programs and distance learning, the reality is that the needs of small churches across America are so great that we need people to be training in place and in context so they can help lead while they train. Some schools have figured this out and have started adding this component to their formal education programs. But ultimately, it is not the schools’ jobs to solve this problem. It is the church’s job to train leaders. Though we may use some formal courses or partner with Bible colleges in the process, ultimately each church must accept responsibility for training their own leaders. When that begins to happen on a regular basis, churches will be healthier and more people will come to faith in Christ.
These ideas are adapted from the book, Developing Leadership Teams in the Bivocational Church,
Holy apprenticeship.
ReplyDeleteThe local church was the primary training experience for ministry.
DeleteThe local church should never outsource its leadership development.
ReplyDeleteIn order to build effective leadership teams, the church must once again become the preeminent place for ministry training.
DeleteI agree whole heartily Terry! As one who was and honestly still is being trained.. Why send a passion filled person off to seclusion for several years when the need is so great! I have seen at least one young man go off to seminary on fire for God and never enter the ministry -- sad...
ReplyDeleteAmen Michael.
DeleteTerry, this was my philosophy as a missionary in Kenya. At the second Church I planted, I determined to train up young people to do ministry. The name of that church was KEY Outreach - Kisumu Evangelistic Youth Outreach. I was eventually able to turn the church over to a Kenyan pastor. There are dozens of young people who came out of that church that are still active in ministry. There is still a huge need for training church leadership in THEIR context in Kenya. I am figuring out how to do the same thing in mountain communities here in Idaho. Your book will be very helpful.
ReplyDeleteMany people who sense God calling them to a deeper level of service will be unable to attend a formal seminary. Though many will be able to take advantage of on-line programs and distance learning, the reality is that the needs of small churches across America are so great that we need people to be training in place and in context so they can help lead while they train.
DeleteSo, a man doesn't have to go into debt to achieve a college education and then have to pursue a seminary degree to be used by God? I thought that was the only way for a person to be in the ministry. Are you telling me that our denomination is not following the New Testament blueprint? Interesting.
DeleteJamie, most churches are not following the New Testament model. Leaders are supposed to raise up other leaders. Bible colleges and seminaries arose because churches could not or would not do what they should.
DeleteI was being a smart alec. I am a strong believer in the apprenticeship model of education for every job, especially ministry related ones. But, most of my pastor friends have bought into the "send them off to school" philosophy because only the seminary can train a preacher. Btw, has anyone noticed that most of our "dead" churches get their pastors from the same schools?
DeleteJamie . . . God had me take a hybrid approach . . . I got my "seminary" training through Liberty University's "distance learning program" while I was being "apprenticed" in my local church . . . It was a win(God)-win(Kingdom)-win(church)-win(me) . . . The NT model doesn't preclude formal schooling by its absence . . . Sadly many pastors are unwilling or feel ill equipped to "equip" the saints & the misguided demands of the people in the church consider a pastor to be "shirking" his "responsibility" to them if he devotes his time to training individuals . . . That congregational mindset allows Satan to deter leader development under the guise of "playing favorites" . . . I pastor a very small church but I tell people that if you want more of the pastor's time & attention then avail yourself to the "mentoring" opportunities of ministry WITH me beyond Sunday morning at from 10:00-11:30 a.m. . . .
DeleteI'm with you Mike. That is my approach as well. But what irritates me is when I see churches advertising for pastors and they require "Seminary" education and do not consider what this man has done in ministry or whether or not he is anointed by the Lord. Some things cannot, I say cannot be taught in a classroom.
DeleteMore and more these 'training institutions' are trying to recreate the local church environment to better equip the students for life back in the field. Okie-dokie then.
ReplyDeleteI believe seminaries have a definite place in pastoral training, as a resource. But they're not meant to be, and shouldn't be, the main training ground for ministry. Mentoring by more seasoned pastors in the local church is the way to go, in my opinion. But that being said, very few pastors are gifted in all the areas a future pastor may need training. A seminary gathers experts on not Old Testament, New Testament, Greek & Hebrew, counseling, church history, etc.
ReplyDeleteBut the bottom line is reaching people and building the Kingdom. The stats being thrown to us by the SBC is that 90% of our membership have never shared the gospel. I'm curious to know how many seminary professors have personally led someone to Christ in the last few months or years. I'm not trying to cause any trouble, just thinking out loud.
DeleteI don't think being a seminary professor has anything to do with it, personally. I don't miss the academic grind, but even 25 years later, I still miss some of the brothers who taught me, real men of God who loved us & loved Christ. Most of them had been, or still were, in local ministry even though teaching, & had a real heart for people.
DeleteJamie . . . Amen brother. . . That's why I am so excited about the ability to be trained at a distance in the things that Joel mentioned above . . . We have an incredible opportunity for young men to be trained right where they are & for them to be a blessing to the church God has placed them in . . . If God is calling them away then they have to follow His leading, but how many churches could use men who are in training to advance the Kingdom right where they are & then once they are fully trained send them out to plant another church to reach people . . . When people in our little church say, "Pastor, more people need to be in church" I ask them who they talked to about Jesus this week . . . Usually it's crickets . . . But they're getting better at engaging people in the public square as I am willing to train them through preaching, teaching & up close modeling . . .
DeleteLong-distance education is definitely helping, Mike, I agree. But I hope campus-based seminaries & Bible schools continue too, as there's something about learning in community. You get some of that as future pastors are mentored in the local church, as you say. But, speaking for myself, I found seminary broadened my view of the worldwide church, having fellow students from around the world, & from numerous denominations & theological stances. For example, I'm not in favor of female pastors: My main experience with women in authority before seminary was feminist church members trying to prove they could do anything a man could do. At Gordon-Conwell, I met women training for pastoral ministry who, like me, loved Christ & were students of God's Word. We disagreed on how to interpret passages like 1 Timothy 3, yes, but these sisters showed me that you don't have to be a liberal or into feminism to be in favor of women as pastors. I also learned how white & western the American church could be, with black friends and others from other countries around me all the time.
DeleteBrethren, I believe the Bible teaches that the local church has all the gifts it needs to do whatever God wants it to do. A pastor is supposed to "equip the saints for the work of the ministry." If a pastor cannot do that, he should not be a pastor. Either that or needs to learn how to do that effectively. That is THE primary role of a pastor.
DeleteAye, aye! In 16 years of serving in the mountains of far western Maryland, I've seen the Lord raise up at least two pastors who are locals and never had the advantage of "going away" for training for every one who came with that, whether local or not. As the Lord calls more and more from "amongst us", we must help each other in our churches get this development job done.
ReplyDeleteSeminary was good for me in that it opened me up to authors I would not have otherwise known and gave me some basics for sermon prep, theological positions, and church government. it did not train me to deal with day to day problems at the church, how to help addicts/suicide threats, or making disciples. My local church did that. Seminary isn't bad, but it definitely doesn't create pastors
ReplyDeleteSeminaries create theologians. And that is not bad. But theologians only know how to teach other theologians and write commentaries. We also need pastors, and that is learned through mentoring, on the job training, etc. Seminaries COULD be part of that, if they wanted to. But from my perspective, few do. One of the reasons I chose Golden Gate Baptist Theological Seminary for my DMIN was that is exactly what their passion is. And for me, it was a great fit.
DeleteGood and timely article. I am working on a Discipleship course for my Church. I have had a burning desire to get the Church moving in this direction.
ReplyDeleteAmen, and I pray for your church to become a discipleship example to other area churches. God bless.
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