Editorial: Life begins at forty
Anna Rankin

Comment: Leadership on the move
Stanley McDowell

From the director: The discipleship factor
David W Porter

Four things for leaders to do at the end of the world
Derek Poole

Pastoring people in prophetic living
David Montgomery

Being a servant leader
Diane Clutterbuck

Interview with Maria Garvey: Oil and water
Anna Rankin

Nurturing the next generation
John-Mark Mullan

The Word made flesh - East Belfast
Glenn Jordan

The Word made flesh - North Belfast
Bill Shaw

The Word made flesh - Derry
Sue Divin

The Word made flesh - Enniskillen
David Cupples

The Word made flesh - Poleglass
Martin J Magill

Resisting temptation
Drew Gibson

Review: And now let's move into a time of nonesense
Claire Martin

Review: Christianity for Dummies
Scott Vance

< Past Issues Archive

FROM THE DIRECTOR: The Discipleship Factor

LEADERSHIP, WE ARE TOLD, IS THE KEY TO THE FUTURE. It is lack of leadership that is to blame for the ills of both society and the church. Bad leadership has got us to where we are; good leadership will help us get out of the mess.

Therein lies the dilemma, for what is good leadership? One thing is certain, good leadership cannot be reduced to a single formula. Context determines what good leadership looks like in any given situation. A person may be a good business leader, but does that necessarily equip them to be a good church leader? And, equally, someone may be a great pastoral leader of a congregation, but not the natural leader we expect them to be when put in the context of a local community group.

It seems to me that, in our panic over the apparent leadership vacuum, there is a real danger of effectively discarding those already in leadership roles. While it is evident to many that the church is struggling to effectively provide leadership in local communities, the answer is not for every member of the clergy to become a skilled community development worker. In most cases that is not their vocation – and it certainly is not the primary job description we have in mind when we appoint people to nurture the spiritual welfare of our congregations.

Certainly, to my mind, one of the things the Centre must avoid in its leadership development programme is any overriding assumption that if you are not at the cutting edge of community engagement then you are not an effective local church leader. The emphasis may be on facilitating a reengagement, particularly with loyalist communities, but it is the church that needs to do this. In my experience, the reason the church does not do this is a matter of discipleship. We have a God-given responsibility for the welfare of society.

If we are to address the discipleship factor then we need to focus on two things: the image and experience of God we present through our worship and liturgy; and the effective biblical teaching of social justice and responsibility. This needs more time, not less, spent on preparing worship and sermons, equipping house-group leaders and working through the ethos and spirituality of our teaching programmes.

It also requires us to begin to acknowledge that the church is already embedded in the communities and the society of which we are a part. The cry for the church to do more, inevitably, is heard as a cry for clergy to do more or as a call to start another programme. As our colleagues at LICC remind us, we are already in place. However, too many of us avoid the obvious, partly because it is in our interests to do so. Can you continue to be the person you are at work if you really believe that what you do there is your ministry to society? And where do you locate your sense of worth as a church leader if your effectiveness is ultimately related to what happens not in the church building, but outside it – in the homes and workplaces of the congregation?

So, if you are looking for the church to provide greater leadership in society and the wider community, when was the last time you acknowledged in public those already providing leadership at various levels and in different roles? Once you start, the list is endless – from the schoolroom to the treatment room; the sports club to the factory floor; the office to the residential home. People who every day provide small and large acts of leadership for the common good.

We need a different perspective on ministry and church leadership before we rush to activity and programmes on the basis of bad and destructive habits. And the worst of those is the unbiblical myth that it is only those who preach, teach and pastor – and in today’s church, lead worship – who truly minister and provide leadership.

Leadership's primary focus is not the ministry of the leader but the everyday ministry of the whole community. The contribution of the leader is vital and necessary. Yet, the real joy of leadership is not in being the leader but in seeing others fulfil their potential. Good church leadership is provided by those who fulfil their biblical mandate to prepare God’s people for works of service.

David W Porter
Director

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