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The
Practice
of
Equipping That clear focus, bolstered by the young president’s obvious resolve, led to the formation of plans, the creation of programs, the development of vehicles, and the recruitment and training of personnel to allow that dream to become a reality. By 1969, America had realized the president’s vision in what has to go down as one of the most remarkable achievements of technological advance and human resolve and courage in all of history. Something akin to this is needed if local churches are to realize the promise of equipping for ministry as the new millenium begins to dawn. Jesus told His disciples that they (and we as their spiritual descendants) would not only do the same works that He had done, but greater works than these, because He was going to His Father and would send the Holy Spirit among them in great power (John 14:12, 26; 15:26, 27; 16:7-15; Acts 1:8). For the most part, local churches do not appear to be realizing this promise through their efforts to equip the saints for ministry. Indeed, instead of being exalted as chief among the mountains in these last days (Micah 4:1-4; cf. Matthew 5:13-16), the Church has become increasingly marginal and ineffective at stemming the tide of modernism and postmodernism in our society. A culture of unbelief dominates in a ship of state rocked by growing immorality, crime, and social decay, where storm-tossed leaders cast about for every possible solution to the ills that beset them, while the Church, like Jonah, sleeps safely in the hold, warm and secure among the trappings of material prosperity. This is not the vision of the Church that the Lord Jesus taught us. Nor does our presence in the world today –for all our abundance of resources and boasts of numerical growth – add up to anything even remotely approaching that of those first believers who turned the world upside-down for Jesus Christ (Acts 17:6). And, while there are no doubt many explanations for our current ineffectiveness, certainly one of them – perhaps the greatest of them – relates to our failure adequately to equip the saints for the work of ministry in the normal contexts of their everyday lives. We need to regain a sharpened focus for the work of equipping. That is, we must target more specifically those who are to be equipped. We must devote ourselves more earnestly to a program of readying them for their individual callings. And we must commit to meaningful assessment of our labors at each step in the process. Let’s consider each aspect of this renewed focus for the work of equipping the saints. Each member of the Body of Christ must seek the Lord’s leading for his or her own work of equipping (Colossians 3:16, etc.). Parents must renew their devotion to equipping their own children. Elders must resolve to take on the responsibility of helping to grow in grace all those who have been entrusted to their shepherding care. Sunday school teachers and Bible study leaders must review their own work and rededicate themselves to more effective equipping through their labors. Individual believers must make the equipping for ministry of their fellow church members a matter of daily encouragement and example (Hebrews 10:24). Here, however, we can address in more detail only the work of teaching elders. If the pastors of our churches can gain a renewed vision for commitment to their own work of equipping the saints, we can expect that the rest of the congregation will experience that renewal as well over time. It falls to the pastor, in the first place, to develop and maintain a clear sense of his calling as the primary equipper in the church. He must see his own work of equipping the saints as the catalyst and driving force for all other equipping for ministry in the church. This means that he must employ himself in the work of equipping with maximum effectiveness, devoting his time and energies to those weekly tasks which will produce the most ongoing disciple-making throughout the congregation. Like Paul, he should cultivate a vision of his own work of equipping reaching to a third generation of equippers beyond himself (2 Timothy 2:2). Certainly his preaching should lay down a solid foundation for such work. The pastor must expose all the people under his care to the whole counsel of God, that is, both to the treasures of the Old and New Testaments as well as the system of doctrine as a whole. In his preaching he should move back and forth between the Testaments, according to the needs of the congregation. And his focus should include doctrinal instruction as well. While each sermon will necessarily involve a doctrinal component, there is a need for more concentrated devotion to doctrinal preaching. I have found it helpful, once during the year, to preach through a chapter of the Confession, using the proof texts as guides for working, clause by clause, through a chapter, or, alternately, to take a section of the system of doctrine and develop a series of messages devoted to a more in-depth examination of the particular topic. At the same time, the pastor must use his preaching to inculcate a growing understanding of the calling to be a disciple. He must challenge the congregation, week after week, to consider the implications for their own callings of the message of God’s Word. Working with the ruling elders in the work of shepherding, the pastor must inquire concerning the specific ways and means by which the members of the church are applying in their daily lives and ministries the truths they are hearing each Lord’s Day. The exhortation to faithful hearing and doing must go on beyond Sunday morning into meetings of sessions and deacons, committees and small groups; in counseling sessions and informal gatherings; and during pastoral visits of all kinds. Let the preaching be broad-based, visionary and yet practical, and let it serve as a touchstone for all other aspects of ministry in the church, and we will find that a solid foundation for equipping the saints is being laid. Beyond his ministry to the entire congregation, however, the pastor must focus on those who will be most likely to extend equipping for ministry throughout the rest of the church: He must devote himself to more specific equipping for ministry for the ruling elders, the lay leaders, and the men of the church. First among these groups must be the elders. They are called of God to be shepherds of the flock (Acts 20:28; 1 Peter 5:1-3). Following the example of the Good Shepherd, they must devote themselves to getting to know the people under their care, and to being known by them; to leading the people to feed on God’s Word and to enter into the fellowship of mutual encouragement and care; to guarding the sheep against false teaching, the temptations of the world, and the ravages of the devil; to nurturing the fruit of eternal life in them; to bringing others to the knowledge of the Lord; and to the self-sacrifice that such critical ministry requires (John 10). [1] No elder enters his office fully prepared for this work. He must be equipped for it, and that responsibility falls to the teaching elder. He must arrange for the initial orientation such ministry requires. He must provide the ongoing training and refinement of skills that elders need. In our church the work of orienting and providing initial training for nominees to the office of elder falls to the ruling elders, under the supervision of a teaching elder. In addition, a portion of each Session meeting is devoted to ongoing elder training. Finally, the pastor must be available to work individually with each elder to guide and assist him in fulfilling his calling. As the Lord Jesus spent a large portion of His time equipping His disciples, so we must believe that teaching elders will need to devote significant time to the effort of equipping the shepherds of God’s flock in their congregations as well. Second, the teaching elder must ensure that the leadership team of his church is being adequately equipped and encouraged in the work that has been given to them. At least part of this can be accomplished by having ruling elders, in addition to their work of shepherding, serve as liaisons to the various departments, programs, or ministries of the church, to provide oversight, encouragement, and trouble-shooting for the ministry team leaders. They, in turn, will minister to their team members. I do not encourage elders to chair ministries or committees; lay people can fulfill these tasks quite well, freeing the elders for more general oversight alongside their work of shepherding. In addition, the pastor should take the lead in providing regular workshops for the leadership team. In this context vision can be nurtured and individual concerns be addressed, the vocabulary and skills that leaders require can be developed, planning and review can proceed on a regular basis, new leaders can be assimilated, oriented, and trained, and leaders can affirm and assist one another in the more effective prosecution of their labors. In our church we hold three such workshops each year, in September, January, and June. Further, the pastor should be available to individual leaders to guide and equip them in specific ways according to their needs or concerns. This will not take much of his time, however, as the work of the elders and the encouragement and example of other leaders should satisfy most of this need. As a third priority the pastor must concentrate on seeing that equipping for ministry is available for as many of the men of the church as is possible. He can do this in a variety of ways, beginning with his personal ministry to men. In our church I lead four Bible studies each week, specifically directed at the equipping needs of men. I am also involved with a handful of men each week in various kinds of equipping relationships (nurturing, evangelism training, marriage training, etc.), as well as meeting with the elders on a fairly regular basis. Through our “Iron Men” ministry (Proverbs 27:17) men are paired together for mutual discipling and accountability. Our annual men’s retreat allows us two days of concentrated equipping and fellowship, as well as a context for renewing Iron Men relationships. In addition, each of the elders has sought out one or two men to assist him in the shepherding that his flock requires. And the men of each shepherd group are regularly encouraged to take advantage of the equipping opportunities that are provided through Sunday school, growth groups, Bible studies, and other discipling opportunities. Thus the pastor can make sure that opportunities for equipping are available for all the men in his church. Finally, there must be meaningful assessment of the effectiveness of the various equipping activities of the church. Meaningful assessment begins in careful planning and is carried out in both a formative and a summative manner. Again, in our church the ministry teams, together with the elders and pastors, spend the summer months developing the ministry plan for the coming fall through summer. This work begins in the June leadership workshop and is carried out under the oversight of the elders and the direction of the ministry leaders, according to the church’s vision statement and three-to-five-year priorities. At the September workshop, ministry teams present their plans for the year, prepared according to a uniform format, using common vocabulary, and focusing on one or more aspects of the church’s vision. Pastors and other church staff also present their ministry plans at this time. The Session then approves the ministry plan, which becomes the basis for all subsequent assessment. Written reports are received by the Session each month, from pastors, elders, and ministry teams, detailing specific kinds of progress in ministry, raising various concerns, and sharing requests for prayer. At the January leadership workshop a mid-course assessment is taken by all participants to determine the state of the ministry plan and to make whatever adjustments are needed. At the June workshop an overall assessment is taken as part of the run-up to the ministry plan for the coming year. Staff plans and progress are also evaluated and reviewed by the Session. The Scripture tells us to “look well to know the state of your flock” (Proverbs 27:23), to “make the most of the opportunities” (Ephesians 5:16), and to apply ourselves unto a heart of wisdom in the use of our time (Psalm 90:12). Only by careful planning and meaningful assessment can we hope to fulfill the requirements of these and related verses. And the pastor must take the lead in bringing this discipline into the work of equipping the saints for ministry. A fanatic has been defined as someone who redoubles his efforts once he has lost sight of his goals. In churches today we do not need more fanatics, starting more and more new programs, tinkering with the worship service every two or three months, or running off to this or that seminar in order to discover the latest good idea for renewal. We need men with clear vision, a sharpened focus, and a devotion to equipping for ministry that will enable their congregations to make steady progress in unity and maturity as the Body of Christ (Ephesians 4:11-16). They must be men of prayer, men of the Word, and men who by their example and faithful endeavor extend the work of equipping for ministry to all the members of their churches. Let us beseech the Lord for a sharpening of our focus on equipping, for the commitment to planning we will need in order to bring the focus to reality, and for a dedication to meaningful assessment that can enable us to observe with praise and thanksgiving the Lord’s work in our midst. We may not land any men on the moon, but if we begin to realize more of the power and glory of heaven right here on earth, then our undertakings will certainly have been worth the effort.
[1] For a more complete study of the work of ruling elders, see T. M. Moore, Shepherding God’s Flock, available through Chesapeake Publications, 601 N. Hammonds Ferry Rd., Linthicum Heights, MD 21090 (410-789-5242).
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