Drew Boswell

a place for us to share ideas, talk about life, and learn together.

  • Home
  • Connect
    • Contact Drew
    • Meet Drew
    • Articles
    • Doctrine
    • Philosophy of Ministry
  • Drew’s Blog
  • Sermons
    • Today’s Sermon Notes
    • “Philippians” Unity. Humility. Joy.
    • Simplify. “Doing What Matters Most”
    • “Wilderness” The Life of Joseph
    • Misc. Sermons
  • Podcasts
    • “The Heart of Giving” Malachi 3:1-12
    • “A Call For Commitment”
    • “The Power of Prayer” James 5:13-18
    • “The Importance of Bible Study” Misc. Scriptures

“Leave No Trace” Leadership; Two Principles of Delegation

In scouting there is the phrase “Leave No Trace.” It is an outdoor moral ethic that carries the tenant that upon you entering or leaving the woods, trail, forest, etc. that there are no indications that you have been there. What if we carry over this idea to leadership — “upon your entry or exit there should be no trace of you.” Notice that I did not say your work. A leader’s job is to equip, train, teach, and lead in such a way that others do ministry and do it well. Far too many leaders fail to hand tasks over to others (delegation). Why they do this varies from leader to leader — some simply feel there is no one who can do it like they can, or there is no one there, or they just enjoy doing the task (or many tasks).

Leaders also want to make a difference (see the logo the home page). They feel that if they do less and others do more then they are not “pulling their weight,” or they may lose their ministry position.

Delegation Principle #1 — Let Go

Make it  top priority to get out from under any tasks that other people “can” do. Do you really need to be doing bulletins, taking out the trash, or teaching  in a classroom? Perhaps, but perhaps not. Train others to do the task, and let it go! This is the only way your ministry will ever grow. You can only do so much in 24 hours, 7 days a week, 365 days a year. You don’t get extra points for doing everything. You are actually robbing others of an opportunity to serve Christ. Are you wanting others to see how much you are doing? By letting go of some things, you can pick up new tasks, or do what only you can do, better.

Delegation Principle #2 – Step Back

Leave no trace of your presence. Many leaders are the “linchpin” of their organizations. If they aren’t there, everything falls apart. You will get sick, want a vacation, or just take a breather. How will these things happen if you are the only one who knows how or are willing to do the ministry? Obi Wan had Anikan Skywalker, Batman had Robin, and Jesus had the disciples. Find out and do only what you can do, and then find an apprentice.  That “thing” might be preaching, but if you look and pray hard enough there is someone you can train to do “it” too. Step back and let someone else stand in your place for time to time (like vacation time!)

Back to Leave No Trace

As leaders we want to be remembered for our impact on life — but the cold reality is we won’t. Because it has never been, nor will it ever be about us. It is and has always been about God, and His glory. Your task is to pass on knowledge and skills to as many people as possible as you can so that God may receive glory and His bride (the church) may be strong. Leave no trace of your name, only your work.

Questions to ask yourself:

1. Do I have to do everything? Why do I cling to certain tasks?

2. What is it that only I can do in my organization? What tasks do I need to “unload?”

*This brings up another topic to consider in this process. People are not there to make your life easier — they are people, not bodies to do things for you. You must love them, and have their benefit at heart. How can you help them to do their new ministry better? When will you check on them to see how it is going? Did you write them a thank you note? Do they know that you love them? How?

The primary reason for “Leave No Trace” is so that those who come after you can enjoy nature, just as you have enjoyed nature.  In leadership if you do leave a trace, then those after you have to clean it up, or deal with the disturbance or benefit from the advancement.

Solo Dei Gloria

Staying Healthy in Ministry – Dealing With Negativity

At a Minister’s Family getaway the lead speaker[1] Tom Rodgerson used the metaphor of a virus and how it can sometimes be like church life. The over all big idea was that you can’t control the issues that other people have (the virus), but you can control how you respond to them (the immune system). He suggested that pastors/leaders should focus on the immune system and making sure it is healthy instead of trying to track down and get rid of all the viruses.

So just by way of continuing the discussion and how leaders can stay healthy, let’s push the metaphor of the virus a little further.  In nature in order for a virus to attach itself to the body, it has to have a host cell. And the connection between the host cell and the virus has to be “a perfect fit.” So the body’s condition must be in such a “shape” so that the virus perfectly matches the virus. If it is healthy, it is less likely to connect to the virus. If it is unhealthy it far more likely to “match up” with a virus. So the following are some ways the leader can stay healthy and deal with “viruses.”

1.         Focus On What You Can Control.

Leaders only have so much time, energy, and emotional fortitude, so focus on what you can control – the immune system. There are ways to control exposure to viruses. One could live in a bubble, never go around “viruses” and focus on avoiding “sickness.” But Christ has called those who call on His name to “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations. . .”[2] The world is a very messy and sick place.  Viruses are all around us, every moment of every day. To try and avoid them is not practical.

In church life, “viruses” (i.e. people who don’t know how to have a biblical healthy relationship, and default to unhealthy behavior when anxiety arises) can not be avoided. But the leader who is “healthy” will be far less likely to be affected by the illness. Remember, there has to be a perfect match between the two in order for the virus to spread.

2.         Constantly Reinforce the Mission of the Organization.

Know the Mission. One of the main tasks of the leader is to keep people focused on the mission and values of the organization. If the body as a whole knows the mission, vision, and values of the organization, when viruses attack, the healthy body will be able to fend off attacks that try and get it off task and engaged in ungodly behavior (infighting, gossiping, jumping to false assumptions, etc.).

3.         Recognize Unhealthy Patterns (and Change Them).

It won’t be very long in leadership before the leader will encounter an issue that causes anxiety in the “body.” There are different ways that people deal with this anxiety; some people emotionally distance themselves from the leader, they may pull new people into a two person disagreement, they may pull up old issues that have already been dealt with, or just leave the organization all together.

But when the anxiety comes to the surface and the tension begins to build, leaders will have a default pattern that they conform to in order to deal with the issue. Remember you only have so much time and energy; focus on developing the immune system, not fighting the virus. Part of developing the immune system is to recognize patterns in your own life that are unhealthy.  How do you typically handle stress and anxiety? Is this pattern healthy?

In default mode, in reaction to anxiety, we tend to be reactive. We have a certain way we react to the stimulus (or virus). One may retreat, attack back, get quiet, lash out, loss one’s temper, etc… but instead of reacting the way one typically has always defaulted to (assuming it is unhealthy), one should become curious as to why they react this way.

It is as if one is in pain from an injury – do you ignore the problem, cover it up, or explore getting medical attention?  Be curious about why you are injured.  Why does the virus so easily become attached? What is it about the immune system that keeps letting this virus in and perfectly attaching to it?

When a person learns something new, or even does something new, the brain creates new thinking pathways. Remember we react to certain stimulus in a default way. If we change how we react enough, our brain will actually change in order to adapt to this new behavior. Romans 12:2 says, “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.” The most significant part of dealing with unhealthy patterns in our lives is to change them, then our brains will change, and this will become a new default way of dealing with anxiety and stress.

4.         Prayer and Bible Study.

So how do I change how I react? – through prayer and Bible study. It always amazes me at people who want to lose weight some other way than exercise and eating healthy. This is the tried and true way of having a healthy body (eat right and exercise). But every year there are constant “new discoveries” that always prove to be worthless because they don’t involve exercise or eating healthy.

The same is true for followers of Christ. If we are to be healthy (and fighting off “viruses”) we have to study the Bible and pray. It’s as easy or as hard as that. There are no shortcuts or easy methods for changing our own sin nature and depravity – other than taking in God’s Word and praying to our Creator.

There is a way to think about this process. Imagine you sit down for dinner and putting the food in your mouth (reading), then you chew on the food (reflecting/meditating). Next, you swallow it and it becomes apart of your body because it is absorbed and the nutrients are taken in (responding to the Word, it becomes apart of who you are). Then one has a sense of satisfaction and can rest in the fullness of God’s Word. It does satisfy (and change) the soul like nothing else can.[3]


[1] Tom Rodgerson can be found at http://bcmd.org/staff-directory

 

[2] Matthew 28:19ff.

[3] see Lectio Divina.

A Defense of Pastoral Leadership In the Local Church

Words of John Bunyun in Bedford England are carved on a statue of him that state;
A very great person hung against the wall;
And this was the fashion:
Eyes lifted up to heaven,
the best of books in his hand,
the law of truth was written upon his lips,
the world was behind his back;
he stood as if he pleaded with men;
a crown of gold did hang above his head.

He describes the preacher as being God’s gift to the world. While I do not consider myself in the same high esteem, I do know many gracious men who I could say this about. The position of the pastor is of utmost importance to the church, as well as his role as leader and representative before God.

The preacher is sent on a heavenly mission (as are all Christians). He is to declare the message of God to the world, “Whether they will hear, or whether they will forbear” (Ezekiel 2:5; 7; 3:11). Preaching was recognized as a gift from God in the Old Testament. Noah was “a preacher of righteousness” (2 Peter 2:5) by those whose testimony the primitive world was condemned (Hebrews 11:7). The psalmist and the prophets delivered their messages of truth in pleading, exhortation, prophecy, and promises from the Lord. The prophets were preachers of their day and the predecessors of the New Testament heralds of the gospel.

After the exile the reading and exposition of Scripture were from the beginning the chief feature of the synagogue service, and is frequently mentioned in the New Testament. Jesus, “as his custom was,” went to the synagogue service on the Sabbath day and there delivered the wonderful message of hope recorded in Luke 4:17-22. In Acts 13:5, “after the reading of the law of prophets” the rulers of the synagogue invited the two preachers, Paul and Barnabas, to deliver this message of exhortation. In Acts 15:21, James the pastor of the church at Jerusalem and the presiding officer over the council in Jerusalem, spoke of the fact that “Moses of old time hath in every city them that preach him, being read in the synagogues every Sabbath day.”

The New Testament church, likewise, moves on the feet of those who, “preach the gospel of peace and bring glad tidings of good things (Romans 10:15). It was Paul that declared that faith in Jesus as Lord will save all who call upon him (v. 9), but “How . . . shall they call on him in whom they have believed? And how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher? (v. 14)” This preaching of salvation that Paul referred to is the proclamation of the Word of God recorded in the Holy Scriptures and centered in the redemptive work of Christ. It is a summons of men to repentance, faith, and obedience before the Lord Jesus. It is God’s appointed means for communicating the gospel of hope to the unbelieving world and for the strengthening of the faith of those who have found refuge in our living Lord.

The apostolic message (kerygma), the preaching of the men who first heard the Great Commission of our Lord, consisted of these seven things:
1.    It was a definite body of facts; it was “propositional truth.”
2.    It was not speculative philosophy but an announcement of the intervention of God in human history for the salvation of those who would hear and accept.
3.    It was centered on the redemptive work of Christ, in his cross and atonement, and glorious resurrection.
4.    It was witnessed to and confirmed in the human heart by the Holy Spirit.
5.    It was historically and organically related to the Old Testament.
6.    It imposed a stern, ethical demand upon men.
7.    It was a vast eschatological dimension. It looks forward to a triumphant forever in Christ.

In God’s plan, there is no such thing as the delivery of this glorious message of truth without a preacher. In the elective purpose of God his will and work are made known to us through a living personality. This is the essence of preaching and is the first, primary calling of a pastor. Each generation must experience falling in love, building a home, rearing children. So each congregation must have a living pastor. The truth of God must be made to live again and again.

That is the calling of a preacher-pastor. It is preaching the Word of God that people desperately need. And it is preaching that feeds the souls of Christians. Paul wrote about the services of public worship in Corinth, “Let all things be done decently and in order” (1 Corinthians 14:40).

The verse concludes a lengthy discussion of disorder that marred the meeting of the Corinthian Christians. The worship of God ought to be worthy of his glorious name. Therefore, the pastor has been called to preach God’s Word and to lead the church. He should be allowed to do this so that order and appropriate worship may take place, and the message of the gospel may be preached.

"For by grace you have been saved through faith." Ephesians 2:8

Contact Drew

Copyright © 2023 · Parallax Pro Theme on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in