The Preacher Farm League & Need for Local Leader Development

[@revolutionofordinaries]

Please share your thoughts - How does your church go about developing leaders vs hiring from the outside? What have you seen go well? Looking forward to the conversation!

[@tylermcdonald1774]

Spot on description of what I’ve seen. I’m 32 and in the same congregation I grew up in. I feel like I just now started to get into the farm league! Mentors are so important! Thank you!

[@revolutionofordinaries]

Thanks for your feedback and sharing your experience Tyler! Even if we keep doing it this way we can still work on mentoring the youth, etc...to raise up leaders so that we don't have to be stuck here.

[@robertkersten3971]

Having experienced the institutional church’s way of acquiring preachers/pastors in multiple various methods, I’d have to agree with your final thoughts that none of the current methods can be found in Scripture. I believe that the primary reason that these methods can’t be found there is the fact that these “offices “ can’t be found there either. All of both the ordained “offices” themselves, and the means in which to fill them are novelties from the mind’s of men. When churches are formed in places around the world where Christianity is anti-cultural, these methods of non-organically grown leadership do not exist. The Biblical way that leaders are formed comes from every-member ministries, where every member is encouraged and trained to discover, develop, and utilize whatever Spiritual Gifting that they’ve received, in order to build up the body of Christ. Those with leadership Gifting’s will be made manifest.

[@revolutionofordinaries]

I love this comment very much and agree 100%. You are absolutely right...in other places in the world this wouldn't happen...not unless American missionaries exported our way to them.

[@Fredericko-k7p]

Lovely, lovely lovely point. Beautifully expressed. The thought your comments prove is the idea of ambitions....western people are told they can be "whatever "they want to be. Truth is your are limited to being what your biological and psychological realities predisposes you to be. These are markers set by God.

[@BinghamtonHouseChurches]

The modern leader development system is the only one that will work for the modern kind of leaders we're trying to develop. Even a large church might not be big enough to produce someone with all the talents of a modern day 'lead pastor:' academic aptitude, outgoing personality, great speaker, practical, personable, organizer, businessman, etc., which is one reason modern churches have to go outside their own congregation for a big enough pool to draw from. And if there does happen to be someone like that who grew up in the congregation, but the pastor's son succeeds the pastor, and like most modern churches won't let anyone who has any differing views minister, he will have to leave to get a chance to minister. But as we house church people know, that's not really the goal. The goal isn't to produce one superstar, even from within, but rather many street lights, and maturity for all. So we can't just change the current leader development system without also changing the kind of leaders we're trying to develop. In contrast to a previous comment, I do believe the offices of elders and deacons exist; and that God also gives teachers to the church. But those God-given teachers should be shared among all the born-again believers (the church) meeting in multiple places in a locality. Biblically, in the weekly meeting, the brethren gathered to keep the Lord's Supper, and the principle of "each one has" prevailed there, so all could participate and mature. But in addition to that gathering, either before or after or on another day, there were probably also more extended teaching times by shared teachers who put a lot of study and labor into the Word, and like Paul, "taught publicly and from house to house."

[@revolutionofordinaries]

This is a very insightful comment. The expectations we have set/created for the role may well be getting in the way of what we really need. I love this line you wrote, "So we can't just change the current leader development system without also changing the kind of leaders we're trying to develop." What we have will stick around for a while...while we build on a foundation for what is next and then have some transition. This is why I am careful to not be overly condemning of contemporary churches, because they serve a purpose even with their issues.

[@jenkinsl3]

It's far worse. The mandate to make disciples would naturally produce leaders. The current system actually keep people dependent and immature.

[@revolutionofordinaries]

That’s true. We have talked about that quite a bit. Paid professionals create reliance and stunt growth. If those paid people would train people, delegate and send it would be different.

[@gr8god4u]

A.D. 30 Pentecost church began as what we know as a megachurch congregation of 3,000 men alone and most A.D. 2024 Present church plants are less than 100 with less than a third being men.

[@revolutionofordinaries]

Do you think the similarities between the 3000+ in Acts is enough with today's megachurches to call it a megachurch? Seems to me the DNA was a bit different. Thoughts?

[@joshparnell7755]

I don’t know… while I agree that the current model of hiring mercenaries every three-five years is problematic for all of the reasons that you mentioned, I’m not sure that a homegrown model is any less problematic. There is definitely something to “a prophet is not without honor except in his home town.” While a homegrown minister is familiar with all of the pitfalls, sometimes that familiarity is the pitfall. It is always difficult to speak hard truths, but especially to people who have known you since you were a child. When a homegrown minister pushes for needed change, it feels more like a betrayal rather than an overzealous employee. “How can you say we need to change? We haven’t changed the way we do _______ since before your dad was born!” Conflicts in an environment like that are far more personal and visceral. Maybe they need to be, I don’t know, but the thought certainly makes me reluctant. What about something more similar to what the Catholics and Methodists do? A level of authority above the local congregations who send ministers to congregations where they think they are most needed? I know that’s not a perfect model either, but a first glance it appears to be similar to what the apostles were doing in the New Testament.

[@revolutionofordinaries]

Appreciate you and your thoughts. A few responses. First, the homegrown approach seems to have worked in the early church. The apostles are the exception to this, but they always worked with homegrown people and then left. The church grew exponentially with this model for a few years. Second, having been hired preacher in several congregations, I would say that it might actually be harder to come in from the outside and make change that to do it from the inside. It takes time to build trust, establish relationships, etc. Along with that when you have a paycheck on the line in full-time pay, that makes it even more difficult. The homegrown person who is either volunteer or vocational is going to have much less risk going into the changes. The reason I would be against the model that you are recommending is because it has no new testament example. And for the first reason that I mentioned which is that the church grew exponentially without anything like that. For what it’s worth!

[@Ken-xt3cp]

Sorry, but I wouldn't want to get into denominationalism. Churches are full of spiritually weak men because the men haven't been taught to be leaders. Both in their home and in their church.

[@joshparnell7755]

@@revolutionofordinariesThank you for the video and for your thoughtful reply. I appreciate you.

[@revolutionofordinaries]

@joshparnell7755 I appreciate you! You are a blessing!

[@Fredericko-k7p]

Your comment highlights exactly what a leader is....a true leader would be the one who not withstanding all the challenges that come from the inertia of HUMAN NATURE is specially gifted by God to move people forward through an inborn authority. He commands respect and admiration even from people not prone to demonstrate such. He is always the one to possess virtues he cannot tell how he comes by them. At every stage he displays qualities others desire but lacks and communicates ideas others never thought of but find strangely familiar when the hear them. True leaders get people to respond no matter how difficult their present state. They face unimaginable problems but their imagination and character is gifted with an ability to move people along.