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This blog on a key issue in world missions outreach is an article in the "Mission briefing" series published in Engage, a monthly online magazine produced by the Church of the Nazarene.
"So many evangelical Christian churches fail in developing their leadership. We don't work on replacing ourselves as leaders in the church, which is one reason the church is struggling so badly in the West." -- Kevin B., Northwest Nazarene University graduate student
In 2 Timothy 2:2, Paul instructs his young protegé Timothy to pass on the teachings he has received to reliable individuals who will, in turn, be able to teach others. Paul does not explicitly say "train leaders." However, what he says contains principles that can be applied to Christian leadership development.
While some denominations set academic standards for ministers, the Church of the Nazarene makes specific abilities the main focus over formal degrees. This focus on outcomes allows for flexibility and diversity in training approaches, including informal apprenticeships, de-centralized Bible colleges, one-on-one tutoring, residential schools, modular schools, and fully online programs. Prioritizing competencies for ministry rather than academic qualifications follows the example of Jesus in training leaders. Stressing outcomes can open doors for people from diverse educational backgrounds to enter the ministry. It creates welcoming and adaptable approaches to ministerial training.
"If anyone sets his heart on being an overseer, he desires a noble task." -- 1 Timothy 3:1
Richard Zanner. himself a veteran of cross-cultural missionary service, outlines important characteristics that missionaries should develop:
When a missionary arrives at his place of service, he must learn to understand his role as someone who has been "called by God and sent by the church" to work toward and accomplish certain objectives.
We can best be humble servant leaders if we:
Christian leaders must understand that they are ambassadors for Christ. So, trying to model ourselves after Jesus Christ will be a helpful exercise.
Culture can be very briefly defined as "the way things are done by a group of people," whether that be an ethnic group or a local church or district situation. Christian leaders need to demonstrate that their interest cannot be primarily directed to their own family and their comfort. Missionaries must see that there are already many differences between them and the constituency. No extra differences or barriers are needed. [ more on cross-cultural understanding ]
We should try to fit in with local Christians while remaining mature Christian models, examples, and teachers. We must ask for God's wisdom in knowing what to accept as culturally neutral (and therefore not necessarily sinful or wrong) and what to challenge as anti-Christian.
If one wants to understand the "soul" of a people, one must be able to speak their language or at least understand it.
Learning a language is not easy. Those who have done this will remember that they initially seemed to have an outward personality change. That is because people speaking a language in what is sometimes described as a "broken" manner will usually have difficulties projecting their true personality).
Learning a language can be humbling. Yet, it is necessary because unless we know a people's language, we will never fully understand their mindset, their thinking patterns, and their emotions. Without mastery of the language, we may never get beyond surface masks of courtesy and politeness. [ more on language learning ]
This becomes important after you have been in a given area for a while and after initial disillusionments have jerked you into facing reality. Unless you can accept ways that are as different from yours as night is from day, you will have relationship problems.
At this stage, a subtle temptation can come for the long-term missionary to become cynical. This can manifest itself in snide remarks or jokes about the local people and it may eventually negatively foster attitudes when dealing with them. Keep a sweet, open, accepting spirit, and you will prevent unproductive attitudes from sabotaging your fruiotfulness as a leader.
The best advice here is to be non-controversial. Some years ago I went to visit a missionary. I did not find him at home. When I asked where he might be, I was told I could find him at his home country's embassy library. Everybody knew that the brother was there twice a week. This made me curious, so I went there. Sure enough, there he sat, watching sports on television.
Of course, there is nothing wrong with him doing that except that, in his case, it typified a lack of adaptation to the local culture. I asked that missionary how often he had watched an African soccer game in the maize fields. He did not know what I was talking about. He had never been to one.
It is quite acceptable to maintain your own personality and mother culture within reasonable bounds. It is also wise to build bridges by developing interest in local enthusiasms.
Make conscious efforts not to speak about "back home" or "over there" even if you need to make comparisons.
In the same vein, when we talk about "our" president, we need to mean the one of the country in which we reside. When we talk about "our country" and "our law," we again talk about our place of residence.
If we will embrace the people and the nation in which we live as our own, new horizons will open up. We, too, will wind up being adopted.
Do not expect others to do what you are not prepared to do yourself. One of the most subtle excuses can be that "they are used to it."
Nothing is so demeaning to people as to be given a task by a leader because that leader was not prepared to personally do that task.
Know your direction. Be clear about what is expected of you. Know what the church requires from you as a "partner in ministry." Have a clear picture of your assignment. Let everybody see that you have a plan and that you have set out to accomplish a certain task within a certain time.
Let everyone see that you enjoy your challenge and that you work with enthusiasm. Think big, and get your fellow laborers to think with you.
Be transparent in your dealings, whatever they are. Be ready to give your rationale for what you do and why you do it "this way." Make sure that there is a report-back or accountability system. If people see that you are answerable to someone else for what you do, they will find it easier to develop accountability as well.
Become known as a person who seeks God's blessings and His guidance. Do not neglect prayer, public or private. Do not yield to the temptation to think that a problem could be too big for you. Believe within your own soul that solutions exist for all problems. Even personality conflicts can be calmed when people meet at the cross. Give credit to others and glory to God.
This article was originally published in Trans-African. Adapted and used by permission
"When the rulers are good, the people are happy. When the rulers are evil, the people complain." -- Proverbs 29:2, Easy to Read Version
Howard Culbertson,