The Gift of Shepherding

Normally we think of “shepherding” as the responsibility of the Pastor.  However, anyone can have this spiritual gift. When I discovered that this was one of my gifts I understood why I enjoy leading small groups and being the spiritual gifts coordinator for our congregation.  Here is some information about this gift from my Fanning the Flame material.

Literal Meaning: To shepherd a flock

Description: The gift of shepherding is the special ability that God gives to certain members of the Body of Christ to assume a long-term personal responsibility for the spiritual welfare of a group of believers.

Distinctives:

• Take responsibility to nurture the whole person in their walk with God
• Provide guidance and oversight to a group of God’s people
• Model with their life what it means to be a fully devoted follower of
• Jesus Christ
• Establish trust, loyalty, and confidence through long-term relationships
• Lead and protect those within their span of care

People with the gift of shepherding have the following traits:

• Influencing
• Nurturing
• Guiding
• Discipling
•  Protecting
• Supportive
• Relational

If you have this spiritual gift you might use it as a small group facilitator, Sunday School or Confirmation class teacher;  leader of a program for New Members of Discipleship training.

For references to this gift see: Ephesians 4:11;  1 Thessalonians 5:12 or 1 Timothy 3:1-7

For other posts on spiritual gifts see:

The Spiritual Gift of Leadership

The Spiritual Gift of Service

What are the Spiritual Gifts?

 

The 21 Indispensable Qualities of a Leader by John C. Maxwell–Book Review

The Fanning the Flame process our congregation embarked on over a year ago taught me that good leaders are lifelong learners.  Leadership is one of the things we need to cultivate among our members, and so I checked this book out of the local library in the hopes I would find some suggestions about how to do that.

I actually expected it to be rather dull, and it has been on the bottom of my reading stack for a while now.  Surprisingly, once I started reading, I couldn’t put it down!  Far from a boring, business treatise, The 21 Indispensable Qualities of a Leader takes a hard look at leaders from many arenas — church, sports, politics and more.

Each chapter focuses on one quality.  There are quotes, real life examples, a succinct listing of the characteristics of a person with that quality, reflection questions, suggestions to grow that quality in yourself and finally a daily “take-away” with another example that reinforces the theme of the chapter.  Each chapter if short — about 5 pages.

I read it quickly, but the author actually intends it to be read slowly, so that the information can be digested and put into practice. The qualities are:

1.  Character
2.  Charisma
3.  Commitment
4.  Communication
5.  Competence
6.  Courage
7.  Discernment
8. Focus
9.  Generosity
10.  Initiative
11.  Listening
12.  Passion
13.  Positive Attitude
14.  Problem Solving
15.  Relationships
16.  Responsibility
17. Security
18.  Self-Discipline
19.  Servanthood
20.  Teachability
21.  Vision

VERDICT:  5 Stars!  I went out and bought my own copy and suggested that my husband use it as a training tool with our council and elders.

For more on leadership see these posts:

Fanning the Flame #20 –The Leadership Dynamic

Servant Leadership

Luther on Leadership edited by David D. Cook—Book Review

The Spiritual Gift of Leadership

Look Before You Lead by Aubrey Malphurs–Book Review

This book would be an excellent resource for churches looking for a process of revitalization. I read through it pretty quickly, because many of the ideas were already familiar to me — they are very similar to the Fanning the Flame process that our congregation has been pursuing this past year.

Before embarking on change, a congregation needs to assess where they are in the present, and gain acceptance of the change process.  Communication is key. Spiritual gifts are an important emphasis. This book is somewhat more academic and technical than From Embers to a Flame (previously reviewed on our blog From Embers to a Flame — Book Review). There are a number of helpful appendixes for assessing and auditing character of church leadership, maturity level, culture, core values and more, and well as personal assessments for personality, temperament and gifts.

Several chapters deal with the pastor as change agent, and helps for the pastor in reading and changing the church culture. Malphurs notes that some personality types are better at promoting change than others.  At the end there are suggestions for closing a church or merging with another church as alternatives to congregational renewal.

Author Aubrey Malphurs is a professor of pastoral ministries and leadership at Dallas Theological Seminary and president of the Malphurs Group which engages in church consulting and training.  You can visit their website by following this link:

Home

VERDICT:  4 stars.  I preferred From Embers to a Flame, but this book was also helpful and had some additional and interesting assessments.

 

How it Works–The Fanning the Flame process, Part 3

Continued from yesterday …..

A thought dawned on me:  for years our congregation had bemoaned our lack of young people.  In years past, large Sunday School classes filled the church each week.  “Where are all the children now?”  we asked.  I felt God answering, “Here are some of my children who need you.  Will you help them?”

We’re starting small.  The plan is to host some of the children two evenings each month.  We’ll have snacks, library books to choose, and a program which will include Bible study, games or a movie.  Our first meeting in mid-May was a success.  The girls especially loved my peanut butter chocolate chip bars and they are interested in baking classes to learn to bake for themselves.  Some have come to church on Sundays.  God is definitely at work.  We don’t know exactly where we’re going or what will happen next, but we know who’s leading the way.

How It Works–The Fanning the Flame Process, Part 2

Continued from yesterday …..

We were already serving meals at a local mission in partnership with another AFLC congregation.  A hospitality team formed to continue that ministry and begin adding monthly collections to help other caring ministries —everything from the local crisis pregnancy center to a women’s ministry in India.  Some of us began making “blessing bags” of supplies for the homeless and carrying them in our cars to hand out.  We were on the right track, but we still didn’t have a congregational ministry that was uniquely ours.

About this time, our daughter, Beth, went to work at Brook Lane, a nonprofit organization that offers mental heal services.  Beth has the gift of mercy, and a passion for children.  At Brook Lane she began working as a direct caregiver to adolescent girls in their residential facility.  Many of these girls are wards of the state and live at Brook Lane due to a history of neglect or abuse.  Some leave fairly quickly to live with foster families, some return to their own homes, but many are there for quite a while.

The education program includes certified special education teachers, behavioral specialists, clinical social workers and nurses.  Related services offered are psychiatry, psychology, art therapy, addictions counseling, family therapy and speech/language therapy.  Part of Beth’s job was to take the teens in her care to activities in the area — the YMCA, the local park, the movies and so on.  Our church had started a Little Free Library and we are just a few miles from Brook Lane.  I suggested that she bring her charges over for books.

stay tuned for the final section tomorrow ……

How it Works — the Fanning the Flame Process, part 1

This article was published in The Lutheran Ambassador, our denomination’s magazine.  It gives you a look at how the whole Fanning the Flame Process is working at St. Paul’s.  

I’m a member of St. Paul’s Free Lutheran Church in Leitersburg, Md.. Located in a small village, the congregation has grown smaller and the membership older over the years.  In an effort to become healthier, we embarked this year on a program of revitalization called “Fanning the Flame.”  Our ten-member team has been meeting, studying, and praying for the Holy Spirit to guide our efforts.  During this time of spiritual introspection, God has revealed our need to change our focus.  We must look outside of ourselves into our neighborhood, community and even the world.  We are small, but God still has a purpose for us.

Many member participated in a spiritual gift assessment to learn how we, as individuals and as a group, are best suited to serve God.  As Romans 12:6-8 says.

“We have different gifts, according to the grace given to each of us.  If your gift is prophesying, then prophesy in accordance with your faith;  if it is serving, then serve;  if it is teaching, then teach;  if it is to encourage, then give encouragement;  if it is giving, then give generously;  if it is to lead, do it diligently;  if it is to show mercy, do it cheerfully.”

One of the most prominent gifts in our congregation is the gift of mercy.  This gift is the special ability God gives to some members of His body to feel empathy and compassion for other people who are dealing with physical, mental or emotional problems, and to translate their empathy into deeds that reflect the love of Christ.  (For a listing of all the spiritual gifts see Romans 12, 1 Corinthians 12, Ephesians 4 and 1 Peter 4).

People with the gift of mercy are naturally attracted to caring ministries, ministries that help people meet all sorts of needs.  Caring ministries are also a great way to evangelize.  Why?  According to Pastor Harry Reeder, who developed Fanning the Flame, here’s what can happen when a congregation undertakes mercy ministry:

• First, God is glorified because others see the gospel in action
• Then, people are influenced by encountering authentic Christians
• Last, church members are encouraged and edified, becoming better disciples as they participate in ministry

Since more than 50 percent of our members have the gift of mercy, it seemed like a no-brainer.  St. Paul’s needed to invest in mercy ministry.  Where would we start?

…… to be continued

No End

Whoever loves discipline loves knowledge,
but whoever hates correction is stupid.  Proverbs 12:1

I learned in Fanning the Flame that there is one thing in life that should have no end — learning.  Good leaders are lifelong learners.  When I encounter a problem, my first impulse — get a book about it!  Look it up on the internet!  And of course, does the Bible have anything to say on tis issue?  I love to read, study and learn, so I don’t understand why this isn’t the case with everyone.

The verse above from Proverbs addresses some of the reasons people don’t like to learn.  Number one:  learning takes discipline.  God doesn’t just pour knowledge into our brains, we have to seek it out.  Number Two (this is a big Lutheran one):  we never did it that way before.  Once we set out to learn about something, we may find out that we’re wrong!  We may have to begin something new.  We may have to change and step outside of our comfort zone.  Now, these things are not easy for me either.  Loving to read about or study a subject doesn’t mean that I always like what I find, or have an easy time assimilating it into my life.  It just makes it easier to take that first step.

The thing is, everyone studies the things that really interest them.  What is your passion?  If it’s your children, you may have a computer app (like my daughter) that tells you about each developmental stage they are passing through.  If it’s health and fitness, you probably go to the gym, take exercise classes and buy equipment and DVD’s to use at home.  Is it sports?  I bet you’re glued to the TV each time your favorite team plays, and you can recite the relevant statistics of key players.

As Christians, whether study comes naturally or not, we should have a passion for God and His Word.  That means we will want to learn about Him and read His book.  These days there are a host of ways to do this.  There are audio books;  there are computer programs;  there are movies.  There are many translations of the Bible.  You can join into Sunday School, Bible study or a small group.  Ask your Pastor or a friend like me who loves to learn.  They’ll help you find the right spot to live and learn.

The End of the Beginning?

Last week the Fanning the Flame team had our last face-to-face meeting with our coach, Joe Weatherly.  He will still be available to us, by email and phone, and all the resources available from the ministry will be ours as well.  However, He will no longer be reaching out to us — we must reach out to him.  Like baby chicks we’re spreading our wings and going out on our own to apply what we’ve learned.

Joe explained that although our meetings are over, this is not the end of Fanning the Flame as St.  Paul’s.  It is not even the beginning of the end.  It is possibly, the end of the beginning of our efforts to revitalize our church.

Where will we go from here?  Well, our team will keep meeting.  We’ll go back to the beginning and choose another strategy for improving the health of our congregation, and we’ll decide how to work on it.  Our first strategy, small groups, is already up and running.  We’ll keep praying.  We’ll keep reading books and learning.  We’ll grow in faith, and hopefully, what we’ve learned and done, will spread out through the congregation and even into the community.

Has it been worth it?  I think so.  I’ve grown in my faith as an individual, and I’m sure other team members have as well.  I’ve learned some practical things about running a meeting, starting a new ministry or mission and persevering in spiritual disciplines.  There has been an impact on our congregation as well.  The pot is bubbling.  What will rise up?  Well, that remains to be seen.  Keep praying of St. Paul’s dear readers.  God is not done with us yet!

Let the Nations Be Glad by John Piper–Book Review

This book review was written by Barbara M., one of our Fanning the Flame team members and presented at our last meeting.

Part 1 discusses making God supreme in missions through worship, prayer and suffering.  He discusses missions not being the ultimate goal of the church — worship is because God is ultimate, not man. When the redeemed fall on their faces before the throne of God, missions will be no more. It is a temporary necessity, but worship abides forever. He uses a lot of Biblical texts to “back up” his statements and he uses many statements to make his point.

Part 2 discusses making God supreme in missions — the necessity and nature of the task.  The supremacy of Christ as the conscious focus of all saving faith and the supremacy of God among all the nations is the focus of this section, which also has many Biblical texts to back up his statements.  Emphasis is made regarding reaching all the nations.

Part 3 discusses making God supreme in missions –the practical outworking of compassion and worship.  Piper says that Jonathan Edwards (18th century pastor and theologian) impacted his thinking regarding worship and missions “so much it is incalculable.”  He says if by the mercy of God, Christ becomes the treasure of the nations and God becomes their delight, then He is honored and we are saved — the goal of missions.  Therefore the twofold motive of missions, mercy for man and glory for God, is one coherent goal.  Also discussed was the inner simplicity and outer freedom of world wide worship.

There is a four page conclusion and then an “afterword” by Tom Sellar, Pastor for Leadership Development, Bethlehem Baptist and Dean of Bethlehem College and Seminary.  Some of the above descriptions of the book are taken in part of whole from the book itself.

 

Missions at the Local Church Level–Fanning the Flame CD

This past weekend, our Fanning the Flame team listened to a talk on CD given by Tom Cheely of Briarwood Church on the topic of missions at the local church level.

In the 12th chapter of Genesis, Abraham is told,

“all the people on earth will be blessed through you.” Gen 12:3

and in Matthew 28, Jesus instructs the disciples:

“Therefore, go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.”  Matthew 28:18

The key is that the Good News is for “all nations” — it is not right to eliminate anyone in our efforts to spread the Gospel.

Here are the points Mr. Cheely made in his presentation on missions.

1. The Pastor and lay leaders must publicly and vocally support missions in the church.  They must teach and live the work of God in the community, nation and the world.
2. Ministry needs to be done by the church members.  If it is only the job of the Pastor, when he leaves, he will take the mission ministry of the congregation with him.
3. There should be written policies and guidelines for ministry:  i.e. what types, times and locations of ministry will the congregation be involved in?  Without proper research and prayer, ministry will fail.  This is also a teaching tool to assist lay leaders in administering the program.
4. There should be aggressive prayer ministry for missions.  God responds to us when we pray for his guidance.
5. Ministry has a cost.  This can be a line item in the budget, a specific percentage of collections (both of these approaches are limiting) or it can be faith promised giving, leaving the results in the hands of God.  It may mean an adjustment in lifestyle for individuals:   for example, examining whether the things we do are always essential or necessary, or it may mean taking a second job to earn more to give away.  Ministry also takes people.  We need to be willing to give up people in our congregation so that they can be bearers of the Word in other places.
6. We must be conscious of the world around us, and reach out to those who are not like us.  This might involve short term mission work, across town or in another country.
7. We must share what we’ve learned with others in order to help other congregations with ministry development and discipleship in ministry.

Above all, remember this:  MISSION OUTREACH IS NOT AN OPTION.  It is what we have been commanded to do as the Body of Christ.