Are We Training Too Many People?

It is easy to arrange Christian ministry training events in many places around the world.  

Training by Addition

Leaders and ministries are in need of training and greatly desire it.  We often begin with training a few, and the few quickly expand to many, and then the many moves to unlimited.

The pressure builds from one event to the next, year after year, for inviting more and more people.  When this happens the costs skyrocket, so does the notoriety, as well as the influence it seems.  

However, it is common that the expectations of the participants is for personal ministry value and resourcing their own ministries.  It can easily become a situation of training dependency. 

A lot of good results from that approach to training, but what if we stepped back from adding more training and including more people?  What if we purposefully reduced the size of our training events and intentionally structured training for multiplication?

Training by Multiplication

A different approach might be to select quality trainers from a number of church planting movements who themselves are already training and influencing others.  For example, invite only two or three from each movement to join a leadership community of about 30-60 trainers.

Part of the training events should include training on training others, and setting up structures leading to reproduction and even further reproduction.  But, the accountability should reside within this national leadership community itself, not with the outsiders.

Leaders frequently talk about multiplication, but not enough make it.  In order for the multiplication to work, more than the training is needed. 

It is crucial that this cohort of leader-trainers see themselves as a learning community, speaking into one another’s ministries, sharing resources among themselves, and responsible to lead each other into a greater and more glorious ministry of multiplication.

In addition, ministry coaching and personal mentoring needs to be built into the system.  On-site visits on occasion will greatly encourage the leaders and their movements, and it will allow for observation and further dialogue. 

Church Set Free

A multiplication approach to training will relieve outside church partners of the growing financial burdens, involvement in planning and unmanageable number of relationships.  

The costs will become more reasonable (especially if shared with a couple additional church partners).  The planning will be shared with the national trainers cohort.  Relationships will grow deeper and more enjoyable.  

This change in approach will renew everyone's vision and energy.  And all of the partners will see their influence increase for the Gospel of the Kingdom!

It Was His Cross Of Glory

We celebrate Good Friday because we consider the Cross of Jesus Christ to be the glorious heart of the Gospel.

How is Christ’s Cross glorious?  Christ’s Cross is observed to be glorious in at least nine ways from this passage in John’s Gospel (12:23-36).  Notice that Jesus Christ Himself says that His Cross is glorious, at the very beginning.

John 12:23–28a ESV “And Jesus answered them, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. Whoever loves his life loses it, and whoever hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. If anyone serves me, he must follow me; and where I am, there will my servant be also. If anyone serves me, the Father will honor him. “Now is my soul troubled. And what shall I say? ‘Father, save me from this hour’? But for this purpose I have come to this hour. Father, glorify your name.”” 

The Cross of Christ is glorious in that it . . .

1.  Accomplishes the purpose of Jesus’ life and ministry.

He was sent for this very hour.  This is the culmination, the climax, of His ministry.  His experience of the wrath of God upon His soul and body, His spiritual agony, was for us.  He established the New Covenant by His very own blood.  He atoned for our sin as our substitute--for the glory of God.

2.  Bears much fruit in the salvation of many people.

He would die for the sins of His people, to actually save them, redeem them for God.  These are the elect of God, Jew and Gentile, all around the world, and all throughout history.  Many would believe on Him for salvation.  From one seed would come a multitude of harvest--for the glory of God.

3.  Sets a pattern of true discipleship for Christians.

Jesus suffered in obedience to God.  Jesus lived a life of righteousness.  We too “hate” our life here so as to keep life for eternity, taking up our cross and following Him to be with Him.  Jesus gave Himself for the salvation of others--for the glory of God.

4.  Brings great glory and honor to God the Father -- “Father, glorify your name.”

Jesus glorified the Father by offering Himself upon the Cross a sacrifice for His people.  God the Father glorified God the Son by accepting His sacrifice; and granting Him the salvation of His people, which in turn also glorifies the Father.  Jesus obeyed and kept the eternal covenant of redemption--for the glory of God.

John 12:28b–33 ESV “Then a voice came from heaven: “I have glorified it [by Christ’s ministry], and I will glorify it again [by Christ’s death].” The crowd that stood there and heard it said that it had thundered. Others said, “An angel has spoken to him.” Jesus answered, “This voice has come for your sake, not mine. Now is the judgment of this world; now will the ruler of this world be cast out. And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.” He said this to show by what kind of death he was going to die.”

The Cross of Christ is glorious in that it . . .

5.  Defeats Satan and his purposes.

Jesus invaded the realm of the devil (by His Incarnation and Ministry) who rules the world in darkness, deception, and evil; and cast him out (by His Cross); and will eventually destroy him in hell (at His Return).  Jesus is the victor at the Cross, for He secured the redemption of His people.  Jesus saved His people out of bondage to the evil one and sin--for the glory of God.

6.  Judges the world in its unrighteousness.

The world is under the domination of sin.  The world displayed its evil in crucifying the Son of God.  Those of the world in its unbelief and unrighteousness will yet be judged--for the glory of God.

7.  Vindicates the identity and mission of Jesus as Messiah, Savior -- of “all people.”

The voice out of heaven came to declare once again the true Sonship and Messiahship of Jesus.  As the Divine Messiah, He will save many multitudes from among all the peoples of earth.  The elect of God will be drawn to salvation by the very glory of the Cross--for the glory of God.

John 12:34–36a ESV “So the crowd answered him, “We have heard from the Law that the Christ remains forever. How can you say that the Son of Man must be lifted up? Who is this Son of Man?” So Jesus said to them, “The light is among you for a little while longer. Walk while you have the light, lest darkness overtake you. The one who walks in the darkness does not know where he is going. While you have the light, believe in the light, that you may become sons of light.”” 

The Cross of Christ is glorious in that it . . .

8.  Anticipates the resurrection of Jesus, the Crucified One -- “The Christ remains forever.”

Jesus would be lifted up on the Cross; and He would be lifted up in the resurrection and glory.  In three days, Jesus will rise from the dead, ascend to heaven, and be exalted on high.  The anticipation continues unto the hope of final glory in the New Heavens and New Earth.  And those who share in this glory of Christ are His people--for the glory of God.

9.  Becomes the focus of our faith -- “While you have the light believe.”

We love Jesus Christ because of His beauty as the Son of God and Messiah.  We love Jesus Christ because He first loved us.  If you do not know the love of Christ in your own soul, now is the time to believe, while you can see the glory of Jesus in the Gospel told you.  Waiting to believe is waiting for darkness to come and seal you in your unbelief.  We express our love for Him by faith in Him and His Cross--for the glory of God.

Good Friday is ultimately about rejoicing in the Cross of Christ because it is the Glory of God and our salvation!  We most certainly are humbled because we are the very sinners whose sin required such a horrendous event.  And yet, in order to truly and fully honor the Cross of Christ, we must fill out our perspective with the real joy, and not just the solemnity, of the event.

Shepherding As A Team

How can one single pastor effectively pray and care for a whole church?  Or, how can one ministry leader by himself or herself do the same for those in his or her ministry?

Pray Weekly, Touch Monthly

We elders put together a list of the families in our congregation and divided up that list among ourselves.   A list of 10-20 families each would be manageable.  An elder would easily be able to pray for each family weekly, and be able to have some level of personal “touch” or conversation monthly.  Each one of us would stay connected with those on our list, pray for them and with them.

Assignments were based on our existing relationships, depending on which of us knew certain people well.  If the family was not well known, we selected by stage of life or patterns of involvement at church, so that hopefully our paths would cross naturally.  And we would keep the lists current.

We worked hard not to make this system burdensome on ourselves, nor seem intrusive to those we loved.

1 Peter 5:2a ESV “Shepherd the flock of God that is among you, exercising oversight, not under compulsion, but willingly, as God would have you.”

This was a more casual, even natural, approach to pastoral care.  It was not our only system of pastoral care, but an added level that become meaningful to our church, and helped us to lead and care better.

Taking a Team Approach

Shepherding as a team became enjoyable, and turned out to be much more effective than we even imagined.  We would devote the beginning portion of our elders meetings for shepherding concerns and prayer.  We could quickly go over our lists of family units and bring up items and pray without having to have lengthy discussions because we trusted one another to minister well and take care of matters.

As a pastor, I learned a lot by this team approach.  Obviously, it was a great help in carrying the load, but more importantly I learned that others have even greater gifts of shepherding and that there are a variety of ways to serve the needs of a congregation.  I gained new perspectives on people, problems, possible solutions and how best to pray for the church.

Together we did a much better job of staying in touch and fulfilling our responsibility to “pay careful attention . . . to all the flock, in which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to care for the church of God, which he obtained with his own blood.” (Acts 20:28 ESV)

Many people felt doubly cared for as a result of us taking this assertional informal approach.  And as a church grows in size such a team approach can be implemented at each level of ministry with its leader and leadership team, so that everyone feels connected to and cared for by their spiritual leaders.

One Passage Evangelism

There are many ways to share the core of the Gospel message.  My preference is to simply use the Scriptures themselves.  This is because I believe it is best to keep the Word of God at the center of the conversation.  

Remember, God brings about salvation directly through His Word:  1 Peter 1:23, “you have been born again, not of perishable seed but of imperishable, through the living and abiding word of God.”

Pick A Passage And Stay Put

Even then, I prefer to stick to one passage rather than flip around to multiple places in the Bible.  This is easier on the person sharing the Gospel and the one learning about it for the first time.  There is no need to worry that something important might get left out.  Because you know the Gospel story so well, you can simply fill in the details in the course of the conversation.

All one has to do is have a few passages in mind that might meet a few different types of people or situations.  By staying in one paragraph of the Bible, the conversation will flow more naturally and include dialogue, rather than consisting of a presentation and a response to it.  It will be much easier to listen sincerely to one another; likewise it will be much easier to discern the work of the Holy Spirit on someone’s mind with the Word He Himself wrote.

Some Easier Passages

There are many passages that could be used, and theoretically every Bible passage could be used for evangelistic purposes.  However, some are more readily understandable and accessible than others, and so selectivity is important.

For those who want to discuss the basic storyline and ideas, try the teaching passages in the Gospels and Epistles.  One of the most user-friendly, straightforward passages is Ephesians 2:1-10.  The statements of Jesus Christ Himself can produce amazing conversations, such as His “I Am the Good Shepherd” speech (John 10).

For those who like stories, or perhaps relate better to stories because of their cultural background, try the parables of Jesus.  Some of the more easily used would be the Parable of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10) and the Parables of the Lost Sheep, Coin and Son (Luke 15).  Also, the story of Zacchaeus (Luke 19) makes vivid the realities of salvation.

The Conversation Will Live On

Those with whom you have a had such a conversation will be able to return to the one passage easily and replay the conversation in their mind over and over.  This is also a result of having a real and relational discussion about the Gospel.  It is harder to remember a Gospel presentation that includes a bundle of Bible references, and harder yet to find all of them and decipher their meanings.

The key point to remember when doing one passage evangelism is not to leave any ambiguities regarding the main points.  The main points are always going to be the unique divine-human person of Jesus Christ, his unique work upon the cross and in the resurrection, and that faith in Him alone, and not in one’s attempts at good works, will lead to new life and eternal salvation.

What other passages might you select?  I would encourage you to make a list, give each of them a try, and share your stories of success with others.