When the Lord called me to full-time church leadership it was to be ministry based on Ephesians 4:11-12.   According to this passage the role of church leaders is not just to do ministry, but also to see that ministry gets done. It's all about equipping and releasing others, as well as being prepared to minister in the relatively limited areas that God has gifted me.

Together we can achieve more than any one of us can alone and we must complement one another's gifting.   One of the Bible's pictures of leadership is that of the helmsman of a ship. The helmsman doesn't own the ship, choose the cargo, select the destination or even hire the crew. Instead, the helmsman has to turn the tiller or the wheel. He has to give orders for the raising and lowering of sails and do whatever is necessary to get the ship to the destination on behalf of the owner, even though the wind and the waves will be trying to blow the ship on to the rocks.   I have been working with the leadership team to listen to the Lord through the congregation, the Bible, other Christian leaders and our own spiritual experiences. Together we have been clarifying why we should 'make a journey', 'where' we are going, what we are trying to achieve and we've begun to lay some plans for how. We can guarantee that the 'how' will change as we have to cope with new circumstances, as the ship has to navigate through new winds and currents, but the Lord has seemed to affirm that we are to keep heading towards the destination. The motivation behind writing this is a hope that more can understand and join forces so that we can travel together.   A leadership style that empowers others is about helping other Christians to take responsibility in accordance with God's plans. I find that difficult and frustrating: I've discovered that you can't empower people if they're not willing to be empowered! And I'm learning how to make sure that right and proper accountability is not seen as manipulative control. But I'm trying to ensure that each individual Christian is enabled, supported, motivated and accompanied so that we all become what God intended.