For a minute think about established institutions, specifically churches and governments. Think of the people who are employed, elected or supported in a multitude of ways by the currents models of these two institutions. For most it’s all they’ve experienced and known. Thousands are supported by the conventional church and our government and its spending ways. Many believe in these system — others find comfort in them — it’s all they know. Their livelihood depends on it. Change within these “bigger than life” models seem overwhelmingly impossible. But change does come…slowly. Rarely, if ever, does change happen immediately with the exception of violent coups or tragic wars. In civil societies change is achieved via a gathering conversation turned viral culminating in a movement.

The difference between a conversation and a movement is a movement’s chatter has to be sustainable beyond initial, passing curiosity. People may gather around a water cooler and discuss last night’s game but it doesn’t make these fleeting events a movement. A movement has sustainable chatter, with ebb and flow, but it’s always there. Think of it as a buzz on steroids.

It’s been ten years+ that I have been a part of the missional church conversation and it has yet to become a bonafide movement. Unlike the missional church conversation the tea party has become a movement at an amazingly rapid pace changing the conversation in the three branches of the government. But, nevertheless, changing the government’s addiction to spending will not be complete overnight or even the next two years or three. As Ben Stein said on CBS today, “Impossible.”

I love how David Bosch draws the distinction. “The difference between an institution and a movement is that one crosses boundaries the other guards them.” The Tea Party movement proved that when a movement gains momentum, it’s a hard force to ignore. But like the missional church the tea party needs to take it’s victories one step at a time. And more often than not victories comes with small gains.

Many pastors with missional persuasions have been hired by traditional established churches in the last few years. It’s not a complete take over but these are small victories taken one step at a time. The ripple effect of these missional minded pastors now participating in traditional institutional system can spread ideas and make the movement itself viral. Overreaching or rigidly pushing too soon in an attempt to gain more ground than is possible in a moments time will set a movement back rather than advance its cause as well as destroy any influence gained.

Finally, when and if a movement culminates in replacement of an institution the cycle begins anew. A conversations forms … a movement starts and another fight for change begins.

–

Fred Peatross is a Christian who lives and worships in Huntington, West Virginia. He has been a deacon, a missionary, a pulpit minister, and shepherd. Presently Fred is responsible for carrying out the Great Commission and directing a Nuclear Medicine department.

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Down We Go by Kathy Escobar

Title: Down We Go: Living Into the

Wild Ways of Jesus

Publisher: Civitas Press

ISBN: 978-0615467900

Down We Go: Living Into The Wild Ways of Jesus by Kathy Escobar: Civitas Press – 276 Pages – $15.99 – Soft Cover -$9.99 – Kindle

I have read so many books lately in regards to following Jesus, planting churches and the theology around those ideas and so when I read Kathy’s book, I was expecting a few good insights and maybe some nice sound bytes for quoting.

Today I set out to write a review of her book and give you an idea of what the book is about and who the target audience is, but something a little unexpected has happened.  In reading the book looking for flaws, I realized that there is something very special about this book – something more than an educational gap being bridged by oodles of good insight and information.

The book is not preachy, nor is it encouraging or any of those things you might expect from a book of this kind.  It is inspiring to say the least, but so much more than that.  For me the one word that describes this book is transformational.

This book changed me.  It was as if by reading it, it somehow opened up a door in my heart for the love of God to come in and move me forward.  The difference?  Well before I read Kathy’s book I was more concerned with schedules, agendas, programs, tasks, objectives and processes.  Needless to say with all that in my head I would run from task to task accomplishing things and knocking things out.  What was I missing?  The people.

After reading Kathy’s book I did not notice it at first, but days later I found myself compelled to listen to people, really just take the time to listen.  I now have this desire – more like passion – to listen to people and have conversations with folks that I normally would run by in an effort to do more stuff.  I found that not only am I able to get things done, but I also have time for the people around me, those that are not so close, and those that are inaccessible.

I realize that each and every moment I spend with someone else is an opportunity to encounter God in and with that person.  I realized that this desire is not based on some inward inclination to want to save people or meet some Kingdom quota, but on the passion for being where God is and doing the things of Jesus and meeting new friends.  I am indeed a new person, being born again and again by the God-inspired words of my friend Kathy.

I am so excited about this book, I am recommending it to everyone I know that follows Jesus, including every member of my faith community.  So pick it up and read it and share it with others.

Thank you Kathy for having the courage, the persistence and the passion to put it all down on paper for the rest of us!  Thank you God as well for sharing what life is like in the Kingdom of God through your daughter and our friend.

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I guess that’s the heart of the missional mentality. Some people phrase it differently. You might say, “What is God doing and how can I be involved” or something like that but the underlying sentiment is the same. We believe God is busy doing stuff and being his follower means getting involved in the stuff he’s doing. I’m finding more and more that people are wanting to know how to get started.

One resource we like is the APEST (you can take it for $10 at www.theforgottenways.org/apest/). It comes out of the Ephesians 4 passage that says Jesus gave gifts to the church of Apostle, Prophet, Evangelist, Pastor (Shepherd), and Teachers. Taking the test is meant to help you reveal which of these five roles you are most closely aligned with. It doesn’t mean that you necessarily have to get a job that pays you to live out one of those roles; it just helps identify how you are likely to approach your life with Jesus and the mission he has you serving. But here’s what we’ve been noticing lately – we often impose our preconceived ideas about those roles onto the test and answer the questions based on those preconceptions. Does that make sense?

So instead of being able to answer purely and come out as say, an Evangelist, we compensate, trying to move away from the tired old stereotype of the red-faced, bombastic street preacher. Cuz if THAT’s an evangelist then we can’t be that! So I think it would help quite a bit to allow the Holy Spirit to redefine each of those roles for us. First of all, let’s liberate them completely from the idea that they must mean vocational ministry! They don’t. You could be a shepherd and a plumber. You could make your living as a landscaper but be a teacher. In fact, the goal would be to better understand how Jesus wants to give you away as a gift to the people on your job, in your neighborhood and in your family.

So I’m thinking a lot lately about these roles. What does a Shepherd look like in everyday life? How does a person who fits the role of a Prophet be used as a gift to the people she works with? A friend of ours, Rusty Wimberly, has been writing about the modern day prophet lately. Check him out here – http://aboutaburningfire.com/wordpress/prophetic/christian-prophets-series-types-prophets/

These are worthwhile questions. The kind of thing we can be helping each other discover. According to the Ephesians 4 passage that mentions these gifts, they are Jesus’ vessels for equipping the mission and ministry of others. If you thought a person in your life was an Apostle, how could you help get that person going in the mission of his daily life? If I know a frustrated teacher, how can I help her see that role outside of the standard classroom setting? How can we liberate these gifts from the preconceptions too much of the American church culture has loaded upon them?

I’d love to hear what you’re thinking.

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Alan Hirsch: Disciple-Making [VERGE video] from Verge Network on Vimeo.

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This man that functions at a 5-6 grade learning level, is a man convicted of a sexual offense against a child many years before.  He was sitting shackled and in an orange jump suit, listening intently as the judge was about to deliver the verdict on his probation violations.  He was 2 months away from successfully completing probation, but two minor infractions stood between him and 6 years of prison time.

As time stood still for a second while the judge pondered what to do, the other prisoners assembled in the court room looked on in disdain.  Previously, they had not known what this man had done.  But now that they knew he was a child molester the anger burned in their eyes.  Later on they would threaten and tell him what was going to happen if he stayed in general prison population.

The verdict came.  Because he missed a scheduled polygraph test, and drove to a car wash he was going to have serve a two-year prison sentence.  Indiana law states that he will spend a minimum of one year in prison even with good behavior.  Having served three months in the county jail he will now be required to serve 9 months more.

As I questioned and wrestled through my thoughts – many different angles of this story played in my mind.

Halfway through the lawyer’s summation he motioned to a few of us sitting in the court room.  “These people are this man’s support system,” He said.  “Ben Polhemus, a pastor, is willing to vouch for him.”

In those brief seconds in the court room, I am associated by name with a child molester.  In front of all these people I am identified as someone who is willing to stand up for him.

Is this how Peter felt when he was accused of knowing and following Jesus? For a brief second I wanted to leave the courtroom and say, “No! I am a respectable person.  Don’t associate me with this criminal.”

I have no idea who I am suppose to advocate for, or stand in the gap for on a regular basis, but I do know I was sitting in the courtroom for a man most in society, like those other prisoners, look on with hatred and disdain.

I am not advocating what he did in his past.

As I was thinking about this, the passage in Hebrews came to mind of Jesus sitting in God’s presence advocating on our behalf.  Even though He knows our hearts, our actions and our motives he is advocating for us (see Hebrews 7:25).

How easy it is for me to only want to advocate for those I know are going to be perfect in the future.  How I would much rather look for the sure thing.  At the end of the day I want to be standing with the winners and not the losers.

It is hard to be like Jesus – when he was being accused of being friends of sinners.  Could we be accused of that?  Not a person that engages in that type of behavior but rather someone that is with them?

I have been asked multiple times over the last month the same basic question: “Hey you know poor people; is there anyone you know that I can help?”

I take that as some sort of compliment, but it is a little frustrating, because we all know people that are hurting and are poor in all different ways.

The question is, who are we going to be accused of knowing?

Ben Polhemus is the Sacred Grounds Campus pastor for Liberty Bible Church in Chesterton, IN.  Ben has been leading a class in the Michigan City prison system for several years.  He is also a part of The Blackbird Network (you can find it on Facebook), A group of people learning and exploring how to go and make disciples… Or as one member called it, “A support group for people who are doin’ stuff.”

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1.) THE WORD “LEADER” ITSELF IS GENERALLY AVOIDED IN THE NT within the context of the church (with the notable exception of Hebrews 13:17,24). Likewise, the NT writers generally avoid using secular or Old Testament (LXX) titles for authoritative office (See Hans Kung, The Church, 496-497; E Schweizer, Church Order In the New Testament, 174-176; E Kasemann, “Ministry and Community in the New Testament,” in Essays on New Testament Themes, 63-64). The NT instead uses the term diakonia (servant, service) to label people in leadership far more times than any other term in the NT (for example, Rom 11:13;16:1;1 Cor 3:5; 2 Cor 3:6;6:4; 11:23; Eph3:7;6:21; Col 1:7,23; 4:7,12; 1Th 3:2; 1 Tim1:12; 2 Tim 4:5,11). The NT writers therefore used a word to describe leadership in the church which contrasted violently to the current secular notions of office. Hans Kung outlines how the NT writers saw that any words which suggest a relationship of rulers and the ruled were unusable in the new community context (The Church 498-502). The NT on this reading appears to carefully avoid the models of authority available in surrounding society for defining leadership in the church. All this suggests that using the word “leader” as has been defined by the business culture of the N America is highly dubious for the church and, dare I say, “unbiblical.”

2.) WHENEVER THE WORD “LEADER” IS USED IN THE NT – IT IS SUBVERTED BY THE CHURCH so that “leadership” takes on the element of leading by character not coercion, by submission not hierarchy in reverence for the Lordship of Christ. See for example Heb 13:7 “Remember your leaders …consider the outcome of their way of life and imitate their faith.” Wisdom, age, maturity, as well as gentleness and self control “not lording over someone are the signs that someone is leading. This pattern, I would argue is present throughout the whole NT in the way the term “elder” and “overseer” are interchangeable (see for example Titus 1:7) revealing that for the early communities, age, wisdom and maturity were the recognizable traits of “leadership” in the community (elder means older mature person). Even the way “leader” is supposedly translated in Romans 12:8, it is placed within a total communal relationship of the gifts where each person exerts the authority of his/her gift in submission to the others. I would argue then that LEADERSHIP IS NEVER SOMEHOW A POSITION OF AUTHORITY/SKILL PLACED SOMEHOW UNILATAERALLY ABOVE THE CONGREGATION but always in submission to the body. Once again, the word “leadership” as used in the common parlance of business appears to be unbiblical.

3.) JESUS HIMSELF SUBVERTED THE TERM “LEADERSHIP.” The NT was so careful with its use of the words for leadership because the NT church carried the consciousness of Christ’s words, “If any one wants to be first, he shall be last of all, and servant of all” (Mark 9:35). “You know that among the Gentiles those whom they recognize as their rulers lord it over them, and their great ones are tyrants over them. But it is not so among you; but whoever wishes to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wishes to be first among you must be slave of all. Because the Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve, and to give his life a ransom for many”(Mark 10:42-45 par Luke 22:25-27). The NT church bears the image of Christ modeling servanthood when he washed his disciples feet (John 13: 13-17). They remember his words from Matt 23: 9-11 “But you are not to be called Rabbi, for you have one teacher and you are all students, And call no one your father on earth, for you have one father, the one in heaven, and do not be called leaders, for One is your leader, the Christ. But the greatest among you shall be your servant; and whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted”(NAS). Jesus commands his disciples to refuse any titles of the secular authorities including religious (Rabbi), family (father) or group style leadership (leader). Though we may argue how to implement Jesus commands on authority and leadership within the church, we must surely conclude that Jesus instructs the church to resist modeling its own leadership in any way on secular notions of leadership existing outside of the church.

4.) CHRISTIAN LEADERSHIP IS DEFINED BY THE POSTURE OF SUBMISSION- TO THE WORLD THIS IS NOT LEADERSHIP All of this does not discount the need for leadership just a different kind of leadership! This is why I had to repent of my rant last night. I believe we need leaders who lead from below allowing God in Christ through the Spirit to exalt Himself in the midst, leaders who always act out of the authority of his/her gifts as received from Christ (Eph 4:7), who exercise authority as received only in dependence upon Christ. This is the leadership of Christ. We still need this kind of leadership. In fact, we need theological leadership sufficient to guide doctrine and practice in the church (we need ordination which is recognition by the community for this gift). Yet all of these gifted ones “lead” out of submission to God in Christ by the Spirit always offering what God is giving to the body IN SUBMISSION TO ONE ANOTHER. Dare I say, any other kind of leadership is unbiblical?

5.) THE BUSINESS MODELS OF LEADERSHIP WILL HANDICAP US FROM LEADING INTO MISSION. Because business style leadership works top down and often works in only already established authority structures, because business styles of leadership work to passivize the congregation negating participation, because business styles of leadership work well with people who already are acclimated to church and its Christendom structures of leadership, my general prejudice is that the kind of leadership most often taught in our evangelical churches/institutions is poorly suited to lead our churches into post Christendom engagement, i.e. into Mission. I don’t know how biblical this reason is (it may be sociologial?), but it’s another reason to be cautious about traditional “leadership” language,

No doubt this post will raise more questions than it answers. There are thousands of pages to be written on how the submissive (radically subordinate) leader is actually the revolutionary leader. But for now, I’m ready and willing to hear objections and ways this has played out in your own lives.

The Fitch Family

David Fitch is a bi-vocational pastor at Life on the Vine and the B.R. Lindner Chair of Evangelical Theology at Northern Seminary. Sometimes he tweets stuff. His Facebook is here.

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Alan Hirsch: Movements That Change The World [VERGE video clip] from Verge Network on Vimeo.

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However.

I’ve noticed in the last few years a real bandwagon of anti-leadership sentiment in some circles. I think it started as a push-back to the “CEO” model/mentality in some, and as such, I’m sympathetic. But from there, it’s very much progressed straight down the road paved by hurt and abuse perpetrated by poor leaders to where we have many arguing that in the church, any concept of leadership at all should be avoided.

I get where that’s coming from and certainly am in favor of flattening things as much as is possible- but the truth is, there always has been leadership in the church and there always will be- at least in biblical models of the church. There will always be the community as a whole and from that community certain men and women who serve by exercising the role of (depending on how you translate) presbyter, overseer or elder.

And inherent in the concept is a sense of both serving AND leading.

We’ll get to that in a second- Fitch’s five reasons were as follows:

1.) THE WORD “LEADER” ITSELF IS GENERALLY AVOIDED IN THE NT

2.) WHENEVER THE WORD “LEADER” IS USED IN THE NT – IT IS SUBVERTED BY THE CHURCH

3.) JESUS HIMSELF SUBVERTED THE TERM “LEADERSHIP.”

4.) CHRISTIAN LEADERSHIP IS DEFINED BY THE POSTURE OF SUBMISSION- TO THE WORLD THIS IS NOT LEADERSHIP

5.) THE BUSINESS MODELS OF LEADERSHIP WILL HANDICAP US FROM LEADING INTO MISSION.

I’ll let you read Fitch’s specific arguments over at his blog. For now, I’ll just answer with a few of my own points.

1. The word “leader” is found and used in the New Testament.

Fitch cops to the “notable exceptions” of Heb 13: 17 &24 (forgetting vs 7, though!)… but then says that other than that, leadership is about diakonia, or service/servants in the NT. No argument that a biblical model of leadership includes servanthood, but it goes beyond that. Much beyond.

Fitch says “The NT on this reading appears to carefully avoid the models of authority available in surrounding society for defining leadership in the church.” However, this isn’t necessarily true. One of the most common words for leader in the NT, “presbuteros”, often translated “elder” could and did refer to: 1. members of the great council or Sanhedrin 2.of those who in separate cities managed public affairs and administered justice and 3. among the Christians, those who presided over the assemblies (or churches). The NT uses the term bishop, elders, and presbyters interchangeably. (here)

It’s clear that when describingleadership in the Church, the most common terms were also used of leaders in Judaism (both nationally and in the synagogues) as well as the culture around them.

Further, the command was to “appoint elders (presbuteros) in every city (ie, every church community).” (Titus 1:5) Why? That they might help lead and decide the affairs of the church- 1 Timothy 5:17 — “Let the elders [PRESBUTEROS] who rule well be counted worthy of double honour, especially those who labour in the word and doctrine.”

Another common phrase which carried connotations of leadership in the NT was “episkopos”, often translated “bishop.” What were the “episkopos” to do? Among other things “Take heed to yourselves and to all the flock, in which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to care for the church of God which he obtained with the blood of his own Son.”- Acts 20:28

It may be true that the word “leader” is found in only a few places in the NT in relationship to the Church- But when you take the weight and context/usage of the words “presbuteros” and episkopos” along with passages like Heb 13:7, 17, 24 and Gal 2:2, it’s clear- There were leaders in the church, and though they may have exercised a leadership that felt different than the “lord it over you” kind Jesus warned us of, it wasn’t completely different than leadership outside the church. There were still people appointed to responsibility, they still discerned and decided (Gal 2:2-3) and helped lead the church (Acts 15:22).
2. Fitch’s second point is that whenever the term “leader” or “leadership” is used in the NT, it is subverted by the church. He makes the point that leadership in the church has less to do with hierarchy and has more to do with age, wisdom and maturity, that it is something that is never “above the congregation” but always in submission to the body. And while I would agree with the general principle of mutual submission, and that church leadership should be about wisdom and maturity (I don’t know about age- seems like that’s something that actually IS subverted in biblical leadership-1 Tim 4:12), it’s also something that IS, biblically, unilaterally (and carefully, prayerfully, considerately) decided by those already in leadership. How else are we to read verses like Titus 1:5 (“The reason I left you in Crete was that you might put in order what was left unfinished and appoint elders in every town, as I directed you.”)
Seems like there’s a whole lot of leadership gettin’ exercised there.
I won’t deal with Fitch’s last three points except in summary…
I agree with Fitch that the “Pastor as CEO” model is broken- and that to look first to Jack Welch and Co before Jesus for instructions as to how to lead in the church is wrong- but within the context of Christ-like and Christ-honoring leadership, in balance with biblical principles of servant leadership, I just have to ask- are there NO universal principles of good leadership we can learn from good leaders in the secular world? How to take care of those who are serving with and even “under” us? How to lead thru hard decisions/change? How to get the right people on the bus??? (I kid, I kid). What happened to “Truth is truth no matter where you find it”?
I love Fitch and his rhetorical hand-grenades I just see the issue of leadership in the church as one where we are severely prone to a babies and bathwater scenario. I recognize that many have been hurt by the exercising of poor or abusive leadership in the church. But to me, to use that as an excuse to question the whole concept of leadership (which is where I think many will take Fitch on this, even if it’s not where he himself was intending to end up) is like questioning the whole concept of fatherhood because you had a crappy dad.

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Alan Hirsch: God Is Good But Not Safe [VERGE video clip] from Verge Network on Vimeo.

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