The Gospel Coalition

Great Leader, Great Teacher contains a helpful chapter on different kinds of churches. Bredfeldt argues that most churches tend toward one of two extremes, on two different planes. The first pendulum is “spirit” and “truth.” Bredfeldt claims that Spirit-oriented churches focus on God’s nearness and spiritual formation, while Truth-oriented churches focus on God’s transcendence and authoritative preaching (155). The second pendulum is “faith” and “works.” Faith-oriented churches focus on reflection and the quality of spiritual growth, while Works-oriented churches focus on evangelism, programs, and outreach (159). The key is leading a church to avoid one extreme over the other and to seek a biblical balance.

Bredfeldt uses Jesus’ words to the woman at the well from John 4 as biblical justification for the spirit/truth dichotomy. It is not clear from the passage, however, that “spirit” and “truth” are necessarily at opposite poles from one another. Bredfeldt sets up a false dichotomy between “spirit” and “truth” that is not allowed by the limitations of the text. It is hard to imagine Jesus, in his first-century context, speaking about keeping a balance between 21st century worship styles!
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It can be kind of depressing to read books on leadership if your heart is aching to lead, but your current ministry position is not that of a senior-leader. I’d say that the majority of the students in seminary are currently involved in ministry under a leader who is a little older and wiser than they. That’s why every seminary student and every minister who is not the primary leader in the church should read Leading from the Second Chair. This is the first (and only!) book I’ve come across that addresses the specific issues surrounding the “second chair.” As one who is currently Minister of Education and Missions (a “second chair” position), I found this book very helpful.

Authors Mike Bonem and Roger Patterson address the leadership needs of the “second chair” by focusing on three paradoxes. The first paradox is “Subordinate-Leader.” The authors address the sensitive relationship between the first and second chair leaders. The paradox lies in the second chair being a leader while at the same time being a subordinate. Navigating the tricky path between subordination and leadership can be a stressful experience at times, and the authors offer insights from their own experiences working under a “first chair” leader.

The second paradox is the “Deep-Wide” paradox. Second chair leaders have to see the big picture and make major decisions that affect the whole church. At the same time, many second-chair leaders are also deeply involved in the details that senior leaders do not have to deal with. How one manages to stay well versed in the details (deep) and focused on the betterment of the church’s vision (wide) is a paradox that second-chairs must embrace.

The third paradox resonated most with me: “Contentment-Dreaming.” The second chair must seek contentment in the ministry position that God has given him at the time, while continuing to maintain his God-given dreams for future ministry. I feel like I have been living in this paradox for the past ten years – not just since I became a “second chair.” In some respects, this paradox should be true of us all. We are called to dream of the future God has promised us, while continuing to maintain an attitude of contentment no matter what our present circumstances may be.

Leading from the Second Chair is an important book that deserves to be read by first and second chairs alike. The authors give practical, biblical advice on maneuvering through the minefield of potential mistakes that leaders and their subordinates can easily make.

written by Trevin Wax  © 2007 Kingdom People blog

One of the recurring themes in Great Leader, Great Teacher is Bredfeldt’s strong resistance to the Emerging Church emphasis on communally derived truth and its devaluing of propositional truth. Bredfeldt devotes an entire chapter to the twin dangers of cultural accommodation (manifested most clearly in the Emerging movement according to Bredfeldt) and cultural isolationism (a fundamentalism that loses all cultural relevance) (70).

Bredfeldt is right to see accommodation and isolationism as two “ditches” that should be avoided. When he speaks of cultural accommodation, he begins taking broad swipes at the postmodern Emerging movement, quoting specifically from Donald Miller and Stanley Grenz. The section he quotes from Donald Miller’s Blue Like Jazz ends with Miller’s question, “Who knows anything anyway?” Bredfeldt uses this paragraph as evidence of a growing postmodern paradigm that sees truth as constructed and sees anyone who believes in absolutes as seeking to make a power play (74). But a closer look at Miller’s paragraph reveals what is actually an attitude of humility that seems to closely resemble the mindset of Solomon in Ecclesiastes.
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Seminarians deal with a lot of guilt. And almost nobody wants to talk about it.

As I look back at the year-and-a-half I spent in Louisville as a full-time student, I am beginning to realize just how guilty I felt for much of the time.

Now, you may ask: why would a seminary student feel guilty about anything? After all, seminarians have answered the call that God has placed on their lives. Seminary students are training for ministry and missions. Seminarians are hearing good Bible teaching all the time.

Yes, it’s hard to imagine why a seminarian would battle feelings of guilt when we are considering only the seminary education. The guilt doesn’t come from the great education. It comes from life circumstances.

Ministry or No-Ministry Guilt
Seminary students don’t want to just be sponges soaking in teaching without having an outlet to teach and minister to others. So most of us go looking for ministry positions in local churches. We want to serve! Sadly, most of the churches in the immediate area are seminary-saturated. So what does this mean? You probably aren’t going to find a church close-by that will pay you to serve.

This causes one of two problems. Some students decide they want to serve, no matter the cost. But because of family demands, work schedules, and the school work load, the student discovers that serving with no pay winds up costing a lot more than expected. The ministry eats up the last remaining moments of family life. The other problem is that the student turns down good ministry opportunities because his plate is already too full.

So the seminarian deals with guilt on two fronts. We feel guilty because we have said “no” to ministry opportunities in order to not sacrifice our families. Or we feel guilty because we have said “yes” to non-paying ministry opportunities that suck the remaining life out of our already tired bodies. Either way, you’ve got it. Guilt for not serving. Or guilt for serving.

Church-sponsored or No-sponsored Guilt
Another area of guilt comes from church sponsorships. Unfortunately, most Southern Baptist churches do very little in actually helping specific students get through seminary (except through the funding of the Cooperative Program, which thankfully is a big help.) We talk a big talk about “sending people into ministry,” but see little personal investment in preparing people that are going out and away and probably not coming back. So, most seminary students have to seek financial support elsewhere: friends, family, scholarships.
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Bredfeldt surveys the landscape of leadership models currently popular in the church. The traditional models are hierarchical and heroic, focusing on the authority invested in a leader who has proven by his character his fitness to lead. Newer models trade authority for authenticity, focusing on relationships over structure (14). Bredfeldt rightly argues that the biblical model does not force us into an “either-or” decision about these models. Instead, the Bible bases leadership in the teaching of God’s Word (15).

 Bredfeldt’s emphasis on the importance of Bible teaching is refreshing, considering the vast number of books on Christian leadership that only give lip service to Bible teaching before diving into strategies culled from the top organizations in the business world. One only has to look at the greatest of biblical leaders to back up Bredfeldt’s point. Moses may have been a good leader in many respects, but his teaching is what has been passed down to us thousands of years later. David was a warrior, the greatest of Israel’s kings, and a skilled musician, but it was the teaching in his psalms that left the greatest mark on history. Bredfeldt mentions Ezra as a leader who made teaching the top priority and received God’s blessing because of it (40-42). Above all, Scripture tells us that “Jesus came, preaching…” (Matthew 4:17), inaugurating God’s Kingdom through signs, wonders, and his own death and resurrection, but also through his teaching ministry.
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“It is more blessed to give than to receive.”
- the Apostle Paul, quoting Jesus to the Ephesian elders (Acts 20:35)

Why do we work? Some hold a 40-hour-a-week job simply to receive the paycheck. They glance at the clock all day, waiting for the moment when they are freed from their labor. Their reward comes on payday. Others stay in a certain job to receive a promotion that will give them more benefits. Others work because they hope for a good bonus at the end of the year. Some try to make as much money as possible so as to ensure security for the future.

What does the Apostle Paul say should be our reason for working? Speaking to the Ephesian elders, Paul reminded them of the words of Jesus: “It is more blessed to give than to receive.” Yes, we are blessed to receive a paycheck. God blesses our labor. He wants us to work at our jobs with all our hearts, as unto Him. But the bigger blessing comes to those who give. And that leads us to rethink why we work 40 hours a week anyway. We all work to gain. But do we work… to give?

In Ephesians 4:28, Paul claims that the reason we should labor is so that “we may have something to share.” This cuts against both the conservative American mindset that sees everyone individually fending for themselves and the liberal American mindset that keeps entire groups of people dependent on government funds. Paul tells the non-worker to stop being a parasite in the community, to get a job and start helping others. But he tells the diligent worker to keep on laboring, so that he can receive the blessing that comes from giving.

Too many of us think only of receiving. The bigger our paycheck, the better our house, the nicer our car – the more prestige we obtain in the eyes of others. Jesus’ way is radically different. The bigger our paycheck, the more we can give away.

written by Trevin Wax. © 2007 Kingdom People Blog

Gary Bredfeldt’s book Great Leader, Great Teacher: Recovering the Biblical Vision for Leadership states a simple truth that has recently been buried under an avalanche of competing leadership strategies: great leaders are great teachers. The biblical vision for leadership concentrates on teaching as the main area in which the church leader should aspire if he is to lead effectively. In a time of countless books with dozens of differing strategies on leadership in the church, Bredfeldt’s simple thesis comes as a breath of fresh air. Leadership effectiveness is maximized by great teaching ability.

This is why church leaders need to reclaim the biblical emphasis on teaching and preaching. Church leaders must also navigate a path that does not end up leading to either cultural accommodation or cultural isolationism. Finally, Bredfeldt believes that the style of the church should strike a balance between “spirit” and “truth.”

Over the next few days, we will be taking an indepth look at some of the themes of this book.

written by Trevin Wax  © 2007 Kingdom People blog

Tomorrow morning, I head to Louisville, KY for a J-term at Southern Seminary. The class is “The Ministry of Leadership” and the required reading has been fantastic. I’m looking forward to getting back on campus for some classes, even if I am now one of those “distance” learners.

My sister and brother-in-law live not far from campus, so it will be good to stay with them and have some quality time – if there is any time, what with the studying and tests and all. I don’t look forward to spending 4 nights away from my wife and son, but I know it will fly by.

I’ll still be posting this week, even from Louisville. In the works is a 4-part review of a book on leadership and teaching, plus a post called “The Guilt of the Seminarian.”

O God, you gave us the grace to carry the sword of your kingdom of peace; and you made us messengers of peace in a world of strife, and messengers of strife in a world of false peace: make strong our hand, make clear our voice, give us humility with firmness and insight with passion, that we may fight, not to conquer, but to redeem.
  Gregory Vlastos

Watch this. It’s well worth three minutes. Great Jars of Clay clip too!