Leadership in the Local Church: Discerning Practical Value and Developing Theological Foundations

 

Developing Theological Foundations

The roles of leaders and responsibilities of leadership in the Church, particularly in the local church, are ultimately determined by the unique character of that ministry setting. Further, understanding not only visible leadership structures but the more subtle underpinnings of leadership as ministry is essential for effective leadership in local church settings.

Unique Character of Church Leadership Context

Developing a paradigm for pastoral leadership that is true to its origins and original intentions must be accomplished within the parameters of a biblical theology of the ministry and its primary context, the church.⁴³ Sound ecclesiology insists pastoral ministry is inseparable from the Church in either its universal essence or its local expression. The leadership ministry of pastor should not be disassociated from its ecclesiological roots and pressed into the image of secular systems of leadership from areas such as business, entertainment, government, military, or sports—a common error.⁴⁴ Although such a secular makeover may rarely be attempted overtly, that is nonetheless the result when non-biblical or theologically suspect systems of leadership are covertly superimposed upon the ministry of pastoral leadership.⁴⁵ While much may be mutually applicable, the reciprocity should never be allowed to extinguish that which distinguishes pastoral ministry and leadership from all secular professions or pursuits. Guiding a congregation for God is a unique enterprise.

The Church is not a building or a denomination but the ekklesia, those called out of this world as an assembly of believers who belong to Jesus.⁴⁶ The officers, ministers, and leaders of the Church necessarily function within the context of the Church.⁴⁷ The ministry gifts such as apostle, prophet, evangelist, pastor, teacher, elder, deacon, etc., work in performance and furtherance of the ecclesial mission of preaching and teaching, making disciples, fostering a spiritual fellowship, inspiring worship, and evangelizing, as well as helping advance the maturity of individual believers, nurturing families, and helping those in need.⁴⁸ Pastor specifically describes “the spiritual leader of the local church”.⁴⁹

The Church is a community of faith that existed in embryo as the people of God in the Old Testament but entered into a new and fuller stage of development in the New Testament through Christ and by the Holy Spirit. Though many metaphors for the disciples of Jesus are employed in Scripture, a trinitarian understanding of ecclesiology may see the Church as specifically the Church of God, the body of Christ, and the temple of the Holy Spirit. The Church exists through the creative call and originating action of God, enjoys a special living bond and relationship with Christ, and experiences the indwelling presence and power of the Holy Spirit.⁵⁰ Structure and order are part of the reality that is Church, but “a pronounced characteristic of the church’s nature is that it is a community or fellowship in Christ [original emphasis]”.⁵¹ The Church may be described as a community that is redeemed, holy, both universal and local, and apostolic. It is also a sending, witnessing, worshipping, and pilgrim community of faith.⁵²

“The ministry and mission of the church are closely related to one another. By its ministry the church carries out its mission”.⁵³ The mission of the Church is given to it by God, and the ministry is given by God to the Church to carry out that mission. Basic to biblical ministry is the idea of servanthood arising from the example of Jesus (Mark 10:42-45; Acts 10:38). The ministry is called by God and empowered by the Holy Spirit. The entire body of Christ is called to serve in ministry though some are gifted “with appropriate spiritual gifts for distinctive ministries of leadership (Eph. 4:11, 12)”.⁵⁴ These ministry gifts include apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, and teachers. The pastor has the responsibility of caring for and overseeing the local congregation. In addition, the pastor leads the church in the task of evangelism and carrying out the Great Commission in the constraining power of love.⁵⁵

Pentecostal ecclesiology believes that “the one church of Christ is composed of all who are regenerate in Jesus through repentance and faith”.⁵⁶ The Church is not primarily institutional but spiritual; it is much more than any particular denomination or organization. Classical Pentecostal theology of the Church is apocalyptic and restorationist. The outpouring of the Holy Spirit is “empowerment for effective evangelism of the entire world before the end”.⁵⁷ Christ’s coming is imminent, and he is preparing his Church for that event and providing them with equipment for winning the lost of the world before the Day of the Lord. The Spirit’s outpouring also effects the restoration of authentic New Testament Christianity. God intervened in the Protestant Reformation to restore the doctrine of justification by faith, to restore the work of sanctification in the Wesleyan movement, and, in the Pentecostal movement, to restore divine power through the baptism in the Holy Spirit and the full range of spiritual gifts.⁵⁸ The Church that had been steadily falling from its pristine place in the New Testament and the early patristic period is being divinely restored to its original experience of pardon, purity, and power.

An amazing unity amidst diversity is an attribute of Pentecostal churches. In a vast array of Pentecostal denominations, organizations, and groups, a unity of the Spirit-baptized based on the working of the Holy Spirit in each believer is perceived as the sovereign work of God. “This spiritual unity was [is] thus seen as personal rather than as institutional”.⁵⁹ Every local church is “considered to be the physical manifestation of the Universal Church in that community”.⁶⁰

Indeed, “the most distinctive Pentecostal contribution to ecclesiology might be made in the understanding of the local church”.⁶¹ Two major ideas come to the fore. First, spiritual gifts are seen as an intrinsic element in the life and equipment of every local church. As Greek Orthodox and Roman Catholic traditions see baptism and Eucharist as constitutive of the Church, so some Pentecostals tend to see charismatic endowments of the Holy Spirit as forming and shaping the Church. Where spiritual gifts are truly operative, the presence of God is being made manifest in the midst of the people of God (1 Cor. 14:25).⁶² Every local assembly can expect to experience the gifts of the Spirit.⁶³

Tags: church, developing, discerning, foundations, leadership, local, practical, theological

Category: Fall 2010, Ministry