Friday, June 21, 2024
Trellis and The Vine Chapters 10 and 11
Summary of Chapters 10 and 11 of Trellis and the Vine
CHAPTER Ten: People worth watching
God calls his laborers into the harvest field. How can we act intentionally and proactively to call people to ministry leadership and service? "By what means, or through what agency, does God call and raise up the next generation of pastors and evangelists?" (p.127).
"We want to suggest in the chapter that it is by pastors actively recruiting suitable people within their churches, and challenging them to expend their lives for the work of the gospel" (p.128).
"Whatever the reason, most of us are reluctant to challenge people to full-time gospel work" (p.128). Don't leave the call to pastoral ministry or ministry leadership to chance.
Marshall and Payne will deal with some common questions or objections to the idea of 'ministry recruitment':
Understanding the concept of calling - "The Bible doesn't speak of people being 'called' to be a doctor or lawyer or a missionary or a pastor. God calls us to Himself, to be Christian" (p.130). All Christians are called by God to follow Him in a joyful, resurrected-life of obedience and mission. However, the New Testament does distinguish a special office of overseer, or elder. "The key thing seems to be that some are set apart or recognized or chosen - because of their convictions, character, and competency - and entrusted with the responsibility under God for particular ministries" (p.132).
How does one discern this "calling"? Posing this question can be confusing and even harmful in the decision-making process because there is little objective direction provided.
"It has become traditional for the personal, subjective sense of 'calling' to be the determinative factor in people offering themselves for full-time Christian ministry" (p.132-133).
...But the Bible doesn't speak in such terms. "Search as we may, we don't find in the Bible any example or concept of an inner call to ministry" (p.133). What we do see is the agency of elders and ministry leaders identifying and inviting trustworthy men and women to devote themselves to the work of the church and the mission of God's Kingdom.
Should ministry always be full-time paid or can there be variations in capacity? Marshall and Payne seem to say that if it is possible, ministers should be freed up and compensated to devote their full time to the ministry, that that is not the requirement. People can and should be invited to serve faithfully even if they cannot do so full-time. But again, the priority should be placed on enlisting full-time gospel ministers who are able to teach and pastor. Without them, the Church will flounder.
Does the classification of the full-time vocational minister create a caste system in the church? Is everyday, secular work less important? In short, no. All work is valuable and a means of bringing God's Kingdom to reign on earth.
"There are not two classes of disciples - we are all both disciples and disciple-makers." But there is a special place for the work of gospel ministry in the Word and in shepherding the people of God. "Gospel work has a unique significance in God's plans for the world. We don't make disciples of Jesus by building better bridges, but by prayerfully bringing the word of God to people. And this is the duty, joy and privilege of every disciple, in whatever circumstances of life they find themselves" (p.139).
People worth watching
"What we are saying, in effect, is that we should be talent scouts. If the current generation of pastors and ministers is responsible for calling, choosing, and setting apart the next generation, we need to be constantly on the lookout for the sort of people with the gifts and integrity to preach the word and pastor God's people" (p.139, emphasis added).
Don't be ashamed to actively and aggressively recruit the best possible people.
"What sort of people should we be looking for?
faithful in their understanding of and commitment to God's word
blameless in their reputation and example of godliness
gifted in their ability to teach others
proven in their ability to lead and manage a family" (p.140).
Some additional considerations are given on page 141:
gifted communicators
entrepreneurs
natural leaders
academically gifted
people with special cultural, ethnic or demographic connections
There are more excellent qualities and capacities to keep a look out for. Actively seeking, recruiting and training these types of people is critical to the development of ministry. A tactic for furthering this strategy is given in the next chapter.
CHAPTER Eleven : Ministry Apprenticeship
The ministry apprenticeship is a proven strategy for raising up the next generation of Gospel laborers. Marshall and Payne recommend a two-year experience. Here are seven benefits of this type of apprenticeship:
Apprentices learn to integrate word, life and ministry practice.
Apprentices are tested in character.
Apprentices learn that ministry is about people, not programs.
Apprentices are well-prepared for formal theological study.
Apprentices learn ministry in the real world.
Apprentices learn to be trainers of others so that ministry is multiplied.
Apprentices learn evangelism and entrepreneurial ministry.
Marshall and Payne provide some pitfalls to avoid on page 148 and 149, and a final challenge to hold on loosely, because raising up high powered Gospel laborers means you will most likely have to let them go as you send them off to reach new people in new places.
"The training mentality is an engine of growth and dynamism. It multiplies ministry because it multiplies ministers. It continually generates and develops disciple-making disciples - both within our congregations and abroad in the world - to the glory of the Lord Jesus, whose authority extends over all, even to the end of the age" (p.150).
CHAPTER Twelve : Making a Start
Christian ministry is really not that complicated.
However, "the deceptively simple task of disciple-making is made demanding, frustrating and difficult in our world, not because it is so hard to grasp but because it is to hard to persevere in" (p.151). We are suckers for the latest fad "get-rich-quick" strategy because we want the easy way. Ministry is simple, but it requires patient, longsuffering diligence and endurance. It will only work if you never give up.
Marshall and Payne "tie together [their] thoughts with the following propositions":
1. Our goal is to make disciples.
"The fundamental goal is to make disciples who make other disciples, to the glory of God" (p.152). This must be the essential goal for all ministry activity.
2. Churches tend towards institutionalism as sparks fly upward.
The law of entropy applied to churches and ministries is a natural decline toward program maintenance. A slow drift toward trellis-work and away from vine-work. "We stop thinking and praying about people... and focus instead on driving a range of group activities - attendance at which (we assume) will equal growth in discipleship" (p.152).
3. The heart of disciple-making is prayerful teaching.
We become disciples and grow as disciples "by hearing and learning the word of Christ, the gospel, and having its truth applied to our hearts by the Holy Spirit...
"The essence of 'vine work' is the prayerful, Spirit-backed speaking of the message of the Bible by one person to another (or to more than one). Various structures, activities, events and programs can provide a context in which this prayerful speaking can take place, but without the speaking it is all trellis and no vine" (p.153).
4. The goal of all ministry - not just one-to-one work - is to nurture disciples.
"In some places, the 'discipling movement' has hijacked the language of disciple-making to imply that only one-to-one mentoring constitutes true disciple-making, and that church meetings, small groups and other corporate gatherings do not. The goal of all Christian ministry, it all its forms, is disciple-making" (p.153).
5. To be a disciple is to be a disciple-maker.
If you are a follower of Christ, all of life should be aimed at this target. And the range of possible relationships, conversations and activities is essentially infinite.
6. Disciple-makers need to be trained and equipped in conviction, character and competence.
The right kind of training is critical to the Great Commission. "This training is not simply the imparting of certain skills or techniques... This sort of training is more like parenthood that the classroom. It's relational and personal, and involves modelling and imitation" (p.155). Marshall and Payne suggest the categories of conviction, character, and competence.
7. There is only one class of disciples, regardless of different roles or responsibilities.
Pastors and full-time ministry professionals are not a special class of Christians to which belong sole Great Commission responsibility. But they do have a special task within the church. "These are the foremen and organizers of Christ's disciple-making vision, the guardians and mobilizers, the teachers and role models. Pastors, elders and other leaders provide the conditions under which the rest of the congregation can get on with vine work - with prayerfully speaking God's truth to others" (p.155).
8. The Great Commission, and it's disciple-making imperative, needs to drive fresh thinking about our Sunday meetings and the place of training in congregational life.
"What stands in the way?" Marshall and Payne suggest that it is not a lack of people to train, but "stifling patterns and traditions of church life" (p.156). This should cause ministry leaders to rethink the way they lead their church or ministry. We must always ask the question, Is it working?
9. Training almost always starts small and grows by multiplying workers.
We might be tempted to bring our "structural, event-based, managerial mindset to the task of training, and try to work out how to do it in bulk and efficiently. But you can't really train people this way any more than you can parent this way" (p.156-157). The kind of training advocated in this book must begin small, personal and relational, and it will take time, lot's of time. And it will also be messy.
10. We need to challenge and recruit the next generation of pastors, teachers and evangelists.
Current ministry leaders should be active and unashamed in recruiting the next generation of ministry leaders. Marshall and Payne advocate for a ministry apprenticeship program.
It might seem ironic that the anti-program authors advocate for a program. But this is easily reconcilable with the right understanding of what a "program" is. It can simply mean a plan. Having a plan is critical. Planning programs that target the discipleship training of people is necessary. Programs are necessary because planning is necessary.
Making a start
Time to translate things into a "set of concrete goals or action steps" (p.158). Marshall and Payne provide "just one suggested plan for starting to reshape your ministry around people and training, rather than around programs and events".
Step 1: Set the agenda on Sundays
The corporate gathering is the single most potent environment to set forth vision and corporate identity and purpose. Everything you do, especially the Sunday gathering (or whatever is the all-member corporate gathering in your ministry), should be leveraged and infused with the message of the mission of Christ and how/what your ministry is doing to pursue it.
Step 2: Work closely with your elders of parish council
Get your team next to you and go all in with them. It's critical that everyone is on the same page. Do things that shape a unified philosophy like reading or listening to audio and discussing together. "It's all about developing a mindset."
Step 3: Start building a new team of co-workers
Indeed focus on building your current team, but simultaneously focus on building the future team. "The principle is: do a deep work in the lives of a few" (p.161).
"The principle is: do a deep work in the lives of a few."
Step 4: Work out with your co-workers how disciple-making is going to grow in your context
"How?" is a philosophy and strategy question. Build your co-workers while also building your strategy. "There is of course no single correct answer, because it depends so much on the gifts and circumstances of your co-workers, and the church or ministry context in which you're working" (p.162).
Step 5: Run some training programs
"Although we have been emphasizing the need for training to be personal - as opposed to just running people through a three-week course - there are still lots of advantages in running structured or off-the-shelf training programs" (p.163). Formal and structured programs can be very effective if done right.
Step 6: Keep an eye out for people worth watching
Be vigilant about recruiting individuals with real potential. Create an "on-ramp" for them to step toward full-time vocational ministry or greater ministry capacity. "Ministry of the kind we are talking about always generates more ministry" (p.164).
Full text
Chapter 10 Trellis and the Vine People Worth Watching
Where do pastors and other 'recognized gospel workers' come from?
The traditional answer—and it is a very good answer—is that they are
called and raised up by God. Jesus asks his disciples to "pray earnestly to
the Lord of the harvest to send out labourers into his harvest" (Luke 10:2).
Evangelists, pastors and teachers are the gifts of the ascended Christ to his
church (Eph 4:10-12).
However, to say that God provides pastors doesn't really help us all that
much in knowing what part human action plays in the process. We could say,
for example, that people only become Christians because God works in their
hearts, but this doesn't meant that evangelism is a waste of time. On the
contrary, it is precisely by means of prayerful evangelism that God
graciously converts people and brings them to new birth.
God's action and human action aren't alternatives, like deciding who will
perform the action of washing up tonight. God works in our world, but he
isn't a creature. He's the creator, and his characteristic mode of operation is
to work in and through his creatures to achieve his purposes. "I planted,"
says Paul, "Apollos watered, but God gave the growth" (1 Cor 3:6).
So our question would be better framed like this: By what means, or
through what agency, does God call and raise up the next generation of
pastors and evangelists?
We want to suggest in this chapter that it is by pastors actively recruiting
suitable people within their churches, and challenging them to expend their
lives for the work of the gospel. It is by doing what Paul urged Timothy to
do: "…and what you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses
entrust to faithful men who will be able to teach others also" (2 Tim 2:2).
Commenting on this passage, Broughton Knox says:
It must be remembered that it is the duty of ministers in the congregation
to care for the spiritual welfare of that congregation, and one of the
primary areas of care is the continuance of the ministry of God's word
within the congregation. Thus Paul reminded Timothy that it fell within
his ministerial duty to see that the ministry of God's word was
effectively continued. Just as he had the truth from Paul and his fellows,
he was to hand it on to faithful men who would be able to teach others
also (2 Tim 2:2)—four generations of apostolic succession in the
apostolic word.[1]
In many contexts today, this task of raising up the next generation is left to
'someone else out there'. It's the denomination's job, or the seminary's. Or
perhaps we leave it to God to put the idea in people's hearts without any
external intervention.
Whatever the reason, most of us are reluctant to challenge people to fulltime
gospel work. Before we go any further, we should deal with some
common questions or objections to the idea of 'ministry recruitment'.
Four common questions
Question 1: All believers are called to serve, so
why should some be called into 'ministry'?
One of our real problems is the word 'call'. We are used to thinking of
the 'call to ministry' as a kind of individual, mystical experience, by which
people become convinced that God wants them to enter the pastorate.
However, when we turn to the New Testament, we find that the language
of 'calling' is not really used this way. It is almost always used to describe
how God graciously 'calls' or summons people to follow him or repent, with
all the privileges and responsibilities this involves. Here is a representative
selection of verses:
And we know that for those who love God all things work together for
good, for those who are called according to his purpose. For those
whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of
his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers.
And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he
called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified.
(Rom 8:28-30)
…who saved us and called us to a holy calling, not because of our
works but because of his own purpose and grace, which he gave us in
Christ Jesus before the ages began… (2 Tim 1:9)
…having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is
the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious
inheritance in the saints… (Eph 1:18)
…I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in
Christ Jesus. (Phil 3:14)
God is faithful, by whom you were called into the fellowship of his Son,
Jesus Christ our Lord. (1 Cor 1:9)
But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people
for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him
who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. (1 Pet 2:9)
I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy
of the calling to which you have been called… (Eph 4:1)
And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you
were called in one body. And be thankful. (Col 3:15)
To this end we always pray for you, that our God may make you worthy
of his calling and may fulfil every resolve for good and every work of
faith by his power… (2 Thess 1:11)
The Bible doesn't speak of people being 'called' to be a doctor or a
lawyer or a missionary or a pastor. God calls us to himself, to be Christian.
Our 'vocation' (which comes from the Latin word 'to call') is to be Christ's
disciple and to obey everything that he commanded—including the
commandment to make disciples of all nations. In that sense, all Christians
are 'ministers', called and commissioned by God to give up their lives to his
service, to walk before him in holiness and righteousness, and to speak the
truth in love whenever and however they can.
However, even though we have been emphasizing in this book the
'ministry of the many', it is not in order to sideline the 'ministry of the few'
but to create the conditions under which it, too, will flourish. When we train
disciples to be disciple-makers, we will also inevitably discover some
godly gifted people who have the potential to be ministry leaders—to be
given the privilege, responsibility and stewardship of being set apart to
preach the gospel and lead God's people.
The two main categories of these 'set apart' people in the New Testament
are the elders/pastors/overseers who are charged with teaching and leading
congregations, and the members of Paul's apostolic gospel team, the 'fellow
workers' and 'ministers', who labour for the spread of the gospel. These
categories are not hard and fast, as if the pastors are not also to evangelize
(cf. 2 Timothy 4:5 where Timothy is told to "do the work of an evangelist"),
or as if Paul the evangelist did not also labour to build up the Christians who
had been converted under his ministry. In the end, the distinction between
'evangelizing' and 'pastoring' is a blurry one.
This, in fact, is one of our problems in thinking and talking about this
whole area. It all seems so blurry! And the standard Western pattern of
having a professional paid pastor or clergyman doesn't always correspond.
We struggle to speak in the language of the Bible not only because of the
often confusing and inconsistent way that language has been used in Christian
history, but also because the Bible itself does not bother to come up with
precise labels. Consider these distinctions:
• All Christians should teach each other (Col 3:16), and yet not all are
teachers (1 Cor 12:29; Jas 3:1).
• All Christians should 'minister' to one another (1 Pet 4:10-11), and
yet some are set apart as 'ministers' (or 'deacons' or 'servants',
depending on your translation, in 1 Timothy 3:8-13; see also Paul's team
members, whom he calls 'ministers').
• All Christians should abound in the work of the Lord (1 Cor 15:58),
and yet Paul regards himself and Apollos as 'fellow workers' labouring
among the Corinthians for their growth (1 Cor 3:5-9).
• All Christians should make disciples and speak to others about Christ
(Matt 28:19; 1 Pet 3:15), and yet some are identified as 'evangelists'
(Eph 4:11).
There is both continuity and discontinuity. We're all in it together, and yet
some have a special role. When we try to discern what it is that makes that
role special in the New Testament, it's not full-time versus part-time, or paid
versus unpaid. (This is a reality that pastors in the developing world
understand very well.) It's not that some belong to a special priestly class
and others don't. It's not even that some are gifted and others aren't, because
all have gifts to contribute to the building of Christ's congregation.
The key thing seems to be that some are set apart or recognized or chosen
—because of their convictions, character and competency—and entrusted
with the responsibility under God for particular ministries. This entrusting
will happen through human processes of deliberation and decision, but it
remains a solemn divine trust, a stewardship of the gospel for which we are
answerable to God (cf. 1 Cor 4:1-5). It is not a 'career decision' that people
make casually on their own, and then equally casually decide to leave aside
to move onto something else, perhaps when it gets hard or inconvenient. It's
worth noting with what seriousness Paul charges Timothy to stick with his
ministry in 1 Timothy 4.
Perhaps, for the sake of convenience and clarity, we should call these
people 'recognized gospel workers'—not recognized because they are more
spiritual or closer to God or have special powers, but recognized and chosen
by other elders and leaders to fulfil a particular role of stewardship, like the
captain of a team or the board of directors of a company.
This leads us to a second obvious question.
Question 2: Shouldn't we wait for people to 'feel
called', rather than urging them into full-time gospel
work?
It has become traditional for the personal, subjective sense of 'calling' to
be the determinative factor in people offering themselves for full-time
Christian ministry. Perhaps it is a longing for the dramatic personal
commissioning experienced by Moses at the burning bush, or by Isaiah in the
temple; or perhaps it stems from a desire to anchor our decision to pursue
ministry outside ourselves in the call of God. Whatever the reason, it is
common to wait for someone to say to us that they 'feel called to the
ministry' or that they 'think that God is calling me to be a missionary' before
we start to assess their suitability.
The Bible does not speak in these terms. Search as we may, we don't find
in the Bible any example or concept of an inner call to ministry. There are
some who are called directly and dramatically by God (like Moses and
Isaiah), but it is not a matter of discerning an inner feeling.
Almost universally in the New Testament, the recognizing or 'setting
apart' of gospel workers is done by other elders, leaders and pastors. Just as
Timothy was commissioned in some way by the elders (1 Tim 4:14), so he
was to entrust the gospel to other faithful leaders who could continue the
work (2 Tim 2:2). Likewise Titus was given responsibility by Paul for the
ministry in Crete, and he in turn was to appoint elders/overseers in every
town (Titus 1:5-9).
Perhaps it is right in this sense to speak of people being 'called' by God
to particular ministries or responsibilities—so long as we recognize that this
'call' is mediated through the human agency of existing recognized ministers.
Luther puts it like this:
God calls in two ways, either by means or without means. Today he
calls all into the ministry of the Word by a mediated call, that is, one
that comes through means, namely through man. But the apostles were
called immediately by Christ himself, as the prophets in the Old
Testament had been called by God himself. Afterwards, the apostles
called their disciples, as Paul called Timothy, Titus etc. These man
called bishops as in Titus 1:5ff; and the bishops called their successors
down to our time, and so on to the end of the world. This is the
mediated call since it is done by man.[2]
We shouldn't sit back and wait for people to 'feel called' to gospel work,
any more than we should sit back and wait for people to become disciples of
Christ in the first place. We should be proactive in seeking, challenging and
testing suitable people to be set apart for gospel work.
Question 3: Can't we be involved in 'gospel work'
without being paid?
We have been suggesting so far that people should be chosen or
commissioned as gospel workers for the preaching of the gospel and the
shepherding of God's people. Traditionally, we would speak about such
people being called to missionary work or to the ordained ministry, and in
most Western churches these would be full-time positions paid for by the
gifts of God's people.
However, the method of payment and the number of hours worked per
week are not the defining factors. In the New Testament, it's hard to find
many examples of 'full-time paid ministry', except perhaps Paul at some
stages of his mission—as in Corinth where he started out making tents with
Priscilla and Aquila, but then was "occupied with the word" when Silas and
Timothy arrived (probably with a financial gift from the Macedonians; see
Acts 18:1-5). Even during the three years he was in Ephesus, teaching daily
in the lecture hall of Tyrannus and not ceasing "night or day to admonish
everyone with tears", Paul still provided for his own needs with his own
hands (Acts 20:31-34; cf. 19:9).
All the same, the Bible does affirm that those who preach the gospel
should make their living from the gospel (1 Cor 9:1-12; Gal 6:6). Even if we
commence our ministry by supporting ourselves, it is right for God's people
to provide for their missionaries and teachers, at least in part. Within this
framework, various arrangements are possible: part-time work and ministry
(like Paul's 'tent-making'); financial support from Christian friends; full-time
paid ministry funded through a congregation, a denomination or a parachurch
organization; and so on. Much depends on the customs and wealth of the
society.
In the end, it is often a pragmatic decision. If we can minister full-time
with the financial support of others, we will have more time and energy to
devote ourselves to prayer and the word of God. There is a certain romance
to 'tent-making' not usually shared by those who actually do it. It's
frustratingly hard to juggle the demanding work of pastoring a congregation
with the daily grind of secular employment. Wherever possible we should
facilitate full-time ministries, if only because it will usually result in more
gospel work taking place.
Broughton Knox puts it like this:
Consideration of the character of the Christian religion shows there will
always be a place for full-time ministry of the word of God. The
Christian religion is a religion of faith in Christ the Lord. Faith is
distinguished from superstition by being based on the truth and
distinguished from rashness by being based on the knowledge of the
truth. All this depends on true teaching, for we are not born with a
knowledge of the truth. Moreover, Christianity is a religion of personal
relationship, that of fellowship. Fellowship only comes through hearing
and responding to a word spoken. God relates himself to us speaking
through his word and we relate to him by responding to his word. So it
is plain that a ministry which conveys and makes clear the truth about
God and conveys God's word to the mind and so to the conscience of
the hearer is an essential characteristic of Christianity. If this ministry
dies out then Christianity dies out.
The same conclusion may be arrived at from a slightly different
approach. Jesus Christ is Lord but he can exercise no Lordship nor can
obedience be the response of the Christian unless the mind of Christ is
known and known relevantly to the circumstances of the Christian. This
again requires a teaching ministry which understands the mind of Christ
and how it applies to modern circumstance and which accompanies this
teaching with exhortation and admonition, directed to the conscience of
the hearer. A ministry of Christian teaching and preaching is a lifetime
occupation because teaching cannot be discharged without preparation,
and preparation requires time. For the Christian teacher to give himself
to preparation, to the study of the word of God and its relevance, was
never more needed than in the present generation.[3]
The statement that Knox makes, "If this ministry dies out then Christianity
dies out", is not a piece of rhetorical overstatement. It is a simple statement
of fact, arrived at by reflecting on the character of Scripture and by watching
what happens in churches where this teaching ministry is lost, for one reason
or another.
Question 4: Does it demean people who stay in
secular work?
Here's a challenging question: does calling people to 'ministry' create
two classes of Christians—the special, gifted ones who aspire to the noble
calling of full-time ministry, and the rest of the plebs who are consigned to
working a job in order to give money to the special ones? If someone doesn't
have the gifts or opportunities to engage in 'recognized gospel work', are
they condemned to a second-class existence? By giving an important place to
full-time gospel work, are we saying (or implying) that everyday secular
work is demeaning or unimportant?
These questions arise whenever we start challenging people to set aside
secular careers and ambitions and devote themselves to gospel work. It's
partly a misunderstanding about the nature of ministry and the disciplemaking
role of all Christians, but it's also often a misunderstanding of the
nature of work in God's world. It is far beyond the scope of this chapter to
sketch out a biblical theology of work, but the following bullet-point
summary may be helpful.
• Working is a good and fundamental part of being human in God's
world. From the very beginning, mankind was placed in the garden to
work it and to keep it.
• This side of the Fall, work is cursed and frustrating (and don't we
often know it!), but it remains good and worthwhile and necessary.
• Christians are strongly motivated to work, not only because of the
place of work in creation, but also because work (like any other field of
life) is a theatre for our service of Christ. Whatever you do, says Paul to
the Colossians, "in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord
Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him" (Col 3:17).
• At a deep level, when we work at any job, we work for Christ. As
Paul goes on to say in Colossians 3, "Whatever you do, work heartily,
as for the Lord and not for men, knowing that from the Lord you will
receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ"
(Col 3:23-24).
• As Christians, we do not work in order to gain self-fulfilment or fame
or personal kudos. We work not for ourselves but for others, to serve
them, to not be a burden to them, and to have something to share (Eph
4:28; 1 Tim 5:8).
• Secular work is thus very valuable, worthwhile and important. But
like any good thing, it can become an idol. We can start to look to our
work for our significance and value.
• We must remember that only Christ's work redeems humanity. As
useful and helpful as secular work is in our world, it will not save us or
build Christ's kingdom. That only happens (as we saw in chapter 3)
through Spirit-backed gospel preaching.
In challenging people about gospel ministry, there are two errors we
commonly fall into. One is to create two classes of Christians—those who
are really working for the Lord and seeking to proclaim his kingdom (the
'recognized gospel workers'), and the rest. In this model, making disciples is
like Formula 1 motor racing. There is really only one driver, and the rest of
the people involved do their bit in the background. They might work in the
pits, they might help to finance the team, or they might find sponsors and
organize the logos to be painted on the cars. But the driver is the superstar
and the focus, and the rest of the team members are background boys. No
wonder they might feel like second-class citizens.
As we've already seen, this is not how the Bible envisages gospel work.
There are not two classes of disciples—we are all both disciples and
disciple-makers. All Christians are called to deny themselves, take up their
cross, and follow Jesus to death; to give up their lives to his honour and
service. It's more like a football team, where each person does all they can
to advance the ball downfield. There are leaders and captains, but
fundamentally and above all else, everyone is a player. In fact, in many
teams, it's not necessarily the captain who is the best player or the most
valuable contributor in any given game.
The second common error is to react to the first by dissolving the
distinction between gospel work and other work. In this way of thinking,
secular work is 'baptized' as work for the kingdom of God. By being a better
doctor, lawyer, businessman or software engineer (although rarely, it seems,
a better garbage-collector or parking-station attendant), I am helping to
'redeem the culture' and contribute in some way to the growth of God's
kingdom. In this way of thinking, we shouldn't call people out of their secular
careers; we should encourage them to stay where they are for God's glory.
But this, too, is a mistake. Gospel work has a unique significance in
God's plans for the world. We don't make disciples of Jesus by building
better bridges, but by prayerfully bringing the word of God to people. And
this is the duty, joy and privilege of every disciple, in whatever circumstance
of life they find themselves. Secular work is valuable and good, and must not
be despised or downgraded. But it is not the centre or purpose of our lives,
nor the means by which God will save the world. My primary identity as a
Christian is not that I am an accountant or a carpenter, but that I am a
disciple-making disciple of the Lord Jesus Christ. It is really of minimal
significance whether I work with my hands to earn my living as a disciplemaking
disciple, or others support me because of the demands of the kind of
disciple-making that I do. The important thing is that we are all disciplemakers
together.
People worth watching
What we are saying, in effect, is that we should be talent scouts. If the
current generation of pastors and ministers is responsible for calling,
choosing, and setting apart the next generation, we need to be constantly on
the lookout for the sort of people with the gifts and integrity to preach the
word and pastor God's people. And there is some incredible ministry talent
in our churches—people with extraordinary gifts in leadership,
communication and management; people with vision, energy, intelligence and
an entrepreneurial spirit; people who are good with people, and who can
understand and articulate ideas persuasively. If these people are also godly
servants of Christ who long for his kingdom, then why not headhunt them for
a life of 'recognized gospel ministry'?
We may feel a certain theological ambivalence at this point. Actively
recruiting talented people sounds worldly and crass. Shouldn't we just have
confidence in Christ the ascended King, that he will raise up people in his
own time?
It's strange how we have recourse to the sovereignty of God or of Christ
at some times and not others. We don't stop evangelizing or teaching the
word just because we have confidence in the sovereign God to do his work
in people's hearts. We don't stop praying just because God has his perfect
purposes that cannot be thwarted. We don't stop encouraging people to serve
Christ and get involved in church life even though we know that Christ is the
one who will ultimately build his church. God's actions and ours aren't
mutually exclusive. We speak and serve and work and pray, knowing that
God will work in and through all of these things to give the growth.
It's the same with raising up the next generation. We know that the Lord
of the harvest will raise up labourers, but that should not stop us praying that
he would do so, and actively recruiting godly, gifted people when we notice
them. What sort of people should we be looking for? From the pastoral
epistles, we learn that when selecting elders, overseers and deacons we
should look for people who are:
• faithful in their understanding of and commitment to God's word
• blameless in their reputation and example of godliness
• gifted in their ability to teach others
• proven in their ability to lead and manage a family.
To this basic list we could add other qualities and characteristics that
often indicate people have the gifts and potential to be gospel workers:
• communicators who speak and persuade for a living (like salesmen,
teachers, real estate agents or lawyers)
• entrepreneurs who have the drive and intelligence to see possibilities
and start something new
• natural leaders who influence and inspire others simply by the
integrity and force of their character
• academically gifted people who could apply their intellect to theology,
teaching, leadership and strategy
• people with the potential to reach particular groups in our community
or overseas by virtue of their ethnicity, language ability, work
background or hometown.
As we work with people in our congregations, we should be on the
lookout for people with these qualities, or with the potential to develop these
qualities. These are the 'people worth watching', the potential gospel
workers of the next generation. If you begin to notice someone like this in
your congregation, ask yourself some of the following questions:
• Is he (or she) genuinely converted and able to articulate his faith in
Christ?
• Is he reading and asking questions about the Bible and theology?
• Is he faithful in applying the Bible to his thinking and life?
• Is he humble and teachable?
• Is he faithful and trustworthy?
• Is there any past or present sin that could bring Christ's name into
dishonour?
• Does he serve others without being asked?
• Does he work at evangelism?
• Is he a natural communicator?
• Does he show leadership in his school, work or sporting life?
• Are others following him because of his ministry?
• Do people respond to his ministry positively?
• Is his family life healthy?
• Does he relate well to others?
• Is his spouse committed to ministry as well?
• Is he emotionally stable and tough? Will he be able to face criticism,
disappointment and failure?
The kind of person who ticks these boxes has the potential to grow into a
'recognized gospel worker'. And one of the most useful stepping-stones
along this path is a ministry apprenticeship.
[1] DB Knox, Sent by Jesus: Some aspects of Christian ministry today, Banner of Truth,
Edinburgh, 1992, p. 14.
[2] Martin Luther, Luther's Works, American edn, vol. 26, Lectures on Galatians, ed. J Pelikan,
Concordia, St Louis, 1963 (1535), pp. 13-78, cited in R Paul Stevens, The Six Other Days, Eerdmans,
Grand Rapids, 2000 (1999), pp. 154-5.
[3] DB Knox, D. Broughton Knox Selected Works, vol. 2, Church and Ministry, ed. Kirsten
Birkett, Matthias Media, Sydney, 2003, pp. 213-214.
Chapter 11. Ministry apprenticeship
What happens between someone showing the potential to be set apart for
particular responsibilities in gospel work, and them arriving at that point (as
a missionary for example, or an evangelist, or a pastor in a congregation)?
The normal answer is 'seminary' or 'theological college'. However, a
growing number of churches and ministry candidates are making use of an
intermediate step—a ministry traineeship or apprenticeship, which comes
before formal theological education, and tests and trains and develops
people along the path to full-time ministry.
An organization close to both of the authors' hearts—the Ministry
Training Strategy (MTS)—has spent the past 20 years helping churches set
up two-year ministry apprenticeships of this kind in churches throughout
Australia, with offshoots in Canada, Britain, France, the Republic of Ireland,
Northern Ireland, Singapore, New Zealand, Taiwan, Japan, Chile and South
Africa. The basic idea is that 'people worth watching' are recruited into a
two-year, full-immersion experience of working for a church or other
Christian ministry. Their convictions, character and competencies are tested
and developed. Under the supervision of an experienced minister, they
'catch' the nature and rhythms of Christian ministry, picking up valuable
lessons and skills, and testing their suitability for long-term gospel work.
The MTS apprenticeship began in 1979 when Phillip Jensen started
training a few keen, able university graduates who had a heart for God. At
the time, there was no long-term vision or plan for expansion. But since
1979, over 1200 MTS apprentices have been trained in churches and campus
ministries throughout Australia. Of these, over 200 are currently engaged in
theological study in various colleges, and another 400 plus men and women
have completed their formal studies and are now serving as full-time
ministry workers worldwide.[1]
One of the most frequent questions we have been asked over the years is:
Why bother with an apprenticeship? Given that we send our apprentices on
to formal theological study, does the apprenticeship really add anything
significant? It's a big sacrifice for ministry candidates to spend an extra two
years training, and it's a big ask for pastors and churches to provide
mentoring and remuneration for apprentices who are often raw and untested.
What benefits have we seen for those who do a ministry apprenticeship?
Here are a few reflections.
1. Apprentices learn to integrate word, life and
ministry practice
In the classroom, imparting and processing information is the focus, and
it is not always immediately obvious how the word shapes all of life and
ministry. There is an inevitable and quite appropriate level of abstraction.
However, in a ministry apprenticeship, the trainer and the apprentice study
the Scriptures together week by week, and wrestle with their application to
pastoral issues, theological fashions and ministry plans. The apprentice
learns to think biblically and theologically about everything, and works this
out practically with his trainer.
2. Apprentices are tested in character
A pastor working closely with an apprentice can see what might not be
seen in the classroom context. The gap between image and reality is exposed
in the pressures and hassles of ministry life. The real person is revealed—the
true motivations, the capacity for love and forgiveness, the scars and pain
from the past, and so on. A wise trainer can build the godly character of the
young minister through the word, prayer, accountability and modelling.
3. Apprentices learn that ministry is about people,
not programs
We know that ministry is about the transformation of people and the
building of godly communities through the gospel. More than anything else,
an apprenticeship is two years of working with people—meeting with
unbelievers, discipling young Christians, training youth leaders, leading
small groups or comforting those who are struggling. Our goal is that
apprentices spend 20 hours of their week in face-to-face ministry with
people, Bible open. They learn firsthand that ministry is about people, not
structures.
4. Apprentices are well-prepared for formal
theological study
During the two years of ministry involvement, many biblical and
theological issues are raised and discussed in the proper context of
evangelism and church-building. By the end, apprentices are eager for the
opportunity to pursue these questions rigorously in further study. The
motivation and context for further study becomes life and ministry
preparation, rather than passing exams.
5. Apprentices learn ministry in the real world
One of the problems with the classroom is that the student does not need
to own the ideas in the same way as he would in the pulpit or in one-to-one
pastoral ministry. His learning is abstracted from everyday life and ministry.
He learns about ten different views of the atonement in order to pass his
exams, and not because anything hangs on the differences between them.
Teaching the truth to others helps the apprentice understand the importance of
theological training.
Another problem with a purely academic training model is that it suits
certain personalities (i.e. those disposed to reading, thinking, analyzing and
writing). However, some of our best evangelists and church-planters might
be people who struggle in the classroom. These people thrive in a context
where they are talking and preaching and building ministries while being
tutored along the way. In academia they would be deemed failures.
6. Apprentices learn to be trainers of others so
that ministry is multiplied
Because apprentices have had the experience of being personally
mentored in life and ministry, they imbibe what we call 'the training
mindset'. When they are leading a ministry in the future, they instinctively
equip co-workers and build ministry teams. Those who only learn ministry in
the classroom often do not catch the vision of entrusting the ministry to
others. Those who were trained as apprentices tend to look for their own
apprentices when they are leading a church.
7. Apprentices learn evangelism and
entrepreneurial ministry
Apprenticeships provide an opportunity to think strategically and
creatively about ministry. In our post-Christian, pluralistic, multicultural
missionary context, many pastors no longer have a flock sitting in the pews
waiting for the Sunday sermon. Apprentices can experiment with new ways
of reaching people and taking the initiative to start new groups and programs.
IN M ANY WAYS MTS is an application of Paul's words to Timothy: "…what
you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses entrust to faithful
men who will be able to teach others also" (2 Tim 2:2). As Paul draws near
to the end, he knows that the continued faithful proclamation of the gospel
will not be secured by the writing of doctrinal confessions, or by the creation
of institutional structures (as important as these are in their own way). The
gospel will only be guarded and spread as it is passed from one faithful hand
to the next, as each generation of faithful preachers pass their sacred trust on
to the next generation, who in turn teach and train others.
MTS is really about passing on the gospel baton to the next generation of
runners. The MTS handbook of ministry apprenticeship—called Passing the
Baton—has lots of information about what two-year apprenticeships can
achieve, how to set them up and run them, how to recruit and train
apprentices, and so on. We won't repeat the information here.
However, it's worth thinking further about where we've come to in the
cycle of training and growth. We began, you may recall, by saying that all
Christians should be trained to be disciple-making disciples—trained in their
knowledge of God (convictions), their godliness (character) and their ability
to serve and minister to others (competencies). We suggested that the way to
begin was to choose just a small number of potential co-workers and start to
train them, in the expectation that some of these co-workers would in turn be
able to train others. As this cycle of training continues, a workforce of
disciple-makers starts to form—people who labour alongside you to help
other people make progress in 'gospel growth'.
As you keep discipling and training, you begin to notice certain people
with real potential for ministry—people worth watching. These are the
people you challenge and recruit as the next generation of 'recognized gospel
workers'. They embark on a ministry apprenticeship, and then go to Bible or
theological college, after which they head off into ministry to begin training
disciples… and the cycle starts again.
At least, that's how the theory goes. In reality, of course, it tends to be
messier and less easy to chart. Some ministry apprentices don't go on to
theological college—their two-year stint helps them realize (or helps their
trainers realize) that they don't have either the character or the competencies
for recognized gospel work. For those who do go through theological
college, an enormous variety of ministry opportunities awaits them on the
other side—from becoming a missionary overseas, to pastoring a
congregation, to returning to secular work and being a volunteer co-worker
in a new church-plant.
It also gets messy because sometimes we recruit the wrong people. There
are a number of common mistakes:
• We only recruit people like ourselves—people who fit with our own
particular personality or style of ministry.
• We overlook the maverick or the revolutionary, who is harder to train
but might evangelize nations.
• We miss the creative or intuitive person, who is poor administratively
but will reach people in ways we haven't thought of.
• We recruit the flashy, outgoing young superstar rather than the person
of real character and substance.
• We recruit only for one kind of ministry—usually the traditional form
of it in our denomination—rather than starting with a gifted, godly
person and thinking about what kind of ministry might be built around
them.
• We don't let people escape from the box into which we've put them;
we don't let them outgrow the first impressions we have of them.
• We wait too long to recruit someone, and they make family or career
decisions that close off ministry options.
Whoever you recruit, one hard truth must be faced: recruiting people for
ministry, training them as apprentices, and sending them off to Bible college
will result in a steady departure of your best and most gifted church
members. This is a challenge to your gospel heart. What are you more
interested in: the growth of your particular congregation, or the growth of the
kingdom of God? Are you committed to church growth or to gospel growth?
Do you want more numbers in the pew now, or more labourers for the
harvest over the next 50 years?
It's easy to give the right answer in theory. But faith without works is
dead. We demonstrate our trust in the power of the gospel, and in the
worldwide kingdom of Christ, when we keep pushing our best and brightest
young people out the door and off into gospel work.
The marvellous thing about generosity is that God loves it, and blesses it.
In our experience, those churches that don't try to hold on to their people, but
continually train them and generously export them off into further training and
ministry elsewhere, are the churches that God showers with more and more
new people to train.
The training mentality is an engine of growth and dynamism. It multiplies
ministry because it multiplies ministers. It continually generates and
develops disciple-making disciples—both within our congregations and
abroad in the world—to the glory of the Lord Jesus, whose authority extends
over all, even to the end of the age.
[1] See appendix 3 for a fascinating interview between Col Marshall and Phillip Jensen about MTS
training.
# posted by Groseys messages @ 5:21 PM 
