Failures and Fixes of Leader Training, Part 1

A night club, a recording studio, an apartment complex, a tae-kwon-do facility. No, these are not answers to the questions from the winner’s circle of the $25,000 Pyramid gameshow. This is the reality for many church buildings in America. Places that once boasted the gathering of worshipers for Jesus Christ, are now lamented as monuments to “empires” of the past. Some were edifices built not for the King, but for a king! Buildings that were meant to be for worship, instruction, and edification of believers and a place where the next generation could grow and learn, are now fashionably re-purposed like an antique bathtub or wood from an old barn.

In some cases, the churches still have attendees, but given the process of death, it is only a matter of time before they too succumb to the demise of others before them. Sadly, in some situations, a lone pastor is benefitting financially from the assets of the building while singing softly to himself, “Hold the fort, for I am coming.” The question that remains is, how did a once vibrant, active place become a canvas for an adaptive reuse architect? There are, perhaps, several reasons for the death of a particular congregation, but none so glaring and obvious as a failure to train leaders for the church.

Charles Spurgeon in an article published in Sword and Trowel (1889), said, “to compromise on leadership is the most suicidal act a church can commit.” When it comes to church life, there are countless congregations who would according to Spurgeon, qualify for suicide watch. However, because we are autonomous congregations, there is not much that can be forcefully done from the outside. If something is going to begin to change, it must change on the inside. So, pastor, deacon, church leader, it is up to you! You may need to self-declare that your congregation is on suicide watch and do everything you can to prevent the self-inflicted death that comes when leaders are not trained.

So, what happens when leaders are not trained?

Doctrinal Deficiency

Paul told Titus that as he raised up men to be elders, he needed to be sure they knew God’s word, could teach God’s word, and could defend God’s word (Tit 1:9). Many churches are simply satisfied to have men who “agree” with the church’s statement of faith. In fact, when most pastors look for elders or deacons or other leaders, they simply stop with the question, “Is he a member?” In their minds, they have satisfied Titus 1:9. But have they? Do they know God’s word? Can they teach God’s word? Can they defend God’s word against the onslaught of doctrinal error ravaging churches? What process is in place for helping men to know, teach, and defend God’s word? Have you accounted for those three components in your leadership development? When you fail to raise up leaders according to God’s word and standard, you can be assured that doctrinal deficiency will be present.

Ecclesiastical Anemia

According to the Mayo Clinic, anemia “can make you feel tired and weak.” When leaders are not trained or developed in a church, that congregation will become anemic. Anemia will be seen as the congregation becomes increasingly lethargic. The church will be sluggish, indifferent, and slow to respond biblically to matters. This lethargy will result in pragmatism in how decisions are made and what ministries are adopted. Does it work? Will it bring people in the doors? Will our attendance increase? This pragmatism will result in compromise. “Maybe if we sacrifice truth or biblical standards, we will be able to see more ‘success.’” Of course, if there is doctrinal deficiency present, there will be fewer and fewer voices showing concern over this direction. Compromise will eventually lead to the inability of the congregation to fulfill the Great Commission and the Great Commandment such that God is glorified. This eventually means that the congregation will become nothing more than a social club. The gospel will be replaced with self-help and motivational speeches and the cycle will just repeat itself.

Impaired Vision

When we fail to train and develop leaders, especially those men who serve as elders and deacons, the congregation will reap the consequences of impaired vision. God does not intend for His church to be directed through one man’s vision. Every leader has blind spots. Often our greatest strengths as leaders are our greatest weaknesses. When we do not do our due diligence and train and develop leaders, by default, the congregation is shackled to our blind spots. The congregation becomes bound to suffer from our weaknesses because there are a limited number of other leaders who are speaking into the vision, direction, and philosophy of ministry. When this happens, usually after decades in ministry, the sole leader is left lonely and without a team around him because in many cases he was not faithful to train and develop leaders that God brought him. God has not designed His church to be run by one main leader. God has designed His church to be run by a plurality of godly men who can sharpen, challenge, and assist one another in the leading of the bride of Christ. God has also designed the leaders of churches to do their part to train and develop other leaders.

Increased Control

In 1926, the world was introduced to Eeyore when A.A. Milne wrote and published the book, Winnie-the-Pooh. Pastors who fail to train men for leadership often become sardonic (gloomy, cynical, or even bitter) in their attitude. This is seen in how they respond to people in their church, describe their church to other people, and generally view the future of Christianity. When we peel back the layers of what is happening, we often see that it is because he feels that he is the only one who is doing anything, who cares, who is dependable, and so on. As the “wheels fall off” the church, whether by necessity or by intent, the main leader will take more and more control over the church. He will see himself as the one who must do everything and have everything “flow through” him. The congregation will be limited in what they can do and how they can function within the ministry of the church. This will occur because if he does not have control, then the life of the ministry is at risk since no one else has been trained and developed as a leader. The result is the congregation is shackled even more to his blind spots and their motivation to serve will only diminish leading to more ecclesiastical anemia. To the sardonic person who wants to respond that he was in a rural area without many people around and therefore it isn’t his fault, there are a myriad of examples of men both here in the U.S. and around the world, who have faithfully ministered in rural areas training and developing leaders as God sovereignly provided for the church. This isn’t a geographical issue; this is a philosophical/character issue.