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The Essential Element of Leadership
In The Lord's Churches
Written by Dr. Lester Hutson

Copyright - Lester Hutson - 1986
This material is copyrighted and may not be copied or reproduced without the express written permission of Dr. Lester Hutson.

The Essential Element of Leadership In the Lord's Churches

Unit One - The Three Basic Elements of Any True Church

Acts 14:23 & Acts 15:4

"And when they had ordained them elders in every church, and had prayed with fasting, they commended them to the Lord, on whom they believed."

"And when they were come to Jerusalem, they were received of the church, and of the apostles and elders, and they declared all things that God had done with them."

Churches come in many different varieties. Some are very large; many are very small. Some are quite wealthy; most are very poor. Some are very old; some are quite young. Churches meet openly in the free world. They hide to survive in the communist world. There are true churches in almost every country on earth, from the tip of Argentina to the top of Canada, and from Red China to Houston, Texas. They're in big cities and rural hamlets and the jungles of New Guinea. They've been here for nearly 2,000 years. They survived the pagan Roman Empire and the holy Roman Empire. They made it through the Dark Ages and Caste system. They survived the Spanish Inquisition, the Reformation, the French Revolution, the Bolshevik Revolution and Hitler. They'll survive every other storm against them, and be right here in one form or another when Jesus comes. Jesus personally guarantees it in Matthew 16:18.

Regardless of where or when or how big, every true church is made up of three basic elements. Other variables may exist, but these three always remain. They are:

God

People

Leadership,
(usually a pastor with a backing of a base of supportive leaders.)

Two Bible passages show these components clearly. Notice Acts 14:23, "And when they had ordained them elders in every church, and had proved with fasting, they commended them to the Lord, on whom they believed." In this passage, you will see the churches mentioned. Churches are made up of people.(I Peter 2:5) Each church had "elders," their leaders, commended unto the Lord. He's the head over every church, the Savior of the body, and the Power which makes every true church alive. (Ephesians 5:23)

Look also at Acts 15:4, "And when they were come to Jerusalem, they were received of the church, and of the apostles and elders, and they declared all things that God had done with them." All three elements were in the church at Jerusalem. This verse mentions the "church", "apostles", "elders" and "God". Every true church always has all three.

They may do varying things, but there is really nothing else composing a true church than these three elements. They may own property, build buildings, produce programs, conductall kinds of services, and do many things, but these are all what the churches do, not what they are.

There is basically only one true variable in any church. That variable is not God, not the people, but the leadership. The people will vary only in direct relationship to the leadership.

Don't jump to any early conclusion that this is designed to pat pastors on the back. To the contrary, this comes down hard on pastors, and should spotlight the true and heavyresponsibility God has placed on their shoulders. Yes, it will no doubt make pastors who are not doing their job look bad. The truth always exposes slothfulness. This book shouldemphasize to a church how important it is to choose the right pastor, stand behind him, and to perceive how critical his role is to the well-being of the church. Brothers and sisters, you should pray earnestly and faithfully for your pastor and other leaders. This is simply a look at reality, with the intent of placing the responsibility and initiative for the well-being of the Lord's churches where it really is.

Chapter One

God - The Number One Essential Element

God is the most important and key element of all. Every true church belongs to Him. He's the owner. That's why He calls every true church "my" church, as in Matthew 16:18, where "my" is personal possessive. In Ephesians 5:23, He is the "head" of every true church, and He's the Savior or life of the entire operation. Ephesians 5:25 says He loves His churches, and when the members come together to worship Him, He's there. (Matthew 18:20) Without God, a church is dead, absolutely dead, and useless. Jesus said, "Without me ye can do nothing" in John 15:5.

No church is alive because it has people, even many people. The Lord, and He alone, gives life to a church. Programs, however streamlined and greased, do not give life to a church. Lots of activity is no true sign of life. Beloved, it's God in a church that makes the difference in whether or not it's true.

God is in every true church, but He is not a variable. He says flat out that He's not a variable in Hebrews 13:8, "Jesus Christ, the same yesterday, and today, and forever." He said in Malachi 3:6, "I change not." James 1:17 says in Him "is no variableness, neither shadow of turning." He's the same in every church, and one church is not failing while one prospersbecause God likes some better than others and is doing more for one than the other. Godwants to give every church the richest of His bounty. Acts 10:34 says, "God is no respecter of persons." One church may be under His chastening hand, while He's able to open Heaven's windows of blessings on another, but He doesn't do so because He likes one more than another or has a standard for dealing with one different than the standard used with another. He's able to bless some while He judges others with no variation because the leaders and people of some do what He says, while others don't.

No sir, the difference in churches can't be blamed on an "off and on" God who can't be counted on to do things consistently. He's not a God of unpredictable whims. There is nothing more consistent than our God. The difference in churches cannot be blamed on Him.

Chapter Two

The People - The Second Essential Element

As great as God is, churches are not made up of God alone. Though not as critical, people are as much a part of a true church as God is. He's the head, but people are the body. I Corinthians 12:27 says so, "Now ye are the body of Christ, and members in particular." Thus Colossians 1:24 speaks of Christ's body which is the church. The head is surely the most important part of a person. That's where the decisions are made, but the body is important too. Thank God for the people in the Lord's churches. They are the "lively stones" which constitute the "spiritual house" which Paul calls "an habitation of God through the Spirit." People are so very important to any church. Without people, you really don't have a church. You don't have to have masses of people to have a church, but you must have some.

While there are people in every true church, they really do not vary much at all. Oh, you're probably saying, "Yes, they do. In some churches the people are very mature and spiritual while in others they're weaklings and babes. Some churches have rich people while others have poor people. Some are talented while others aren't."

You are right in this regard, that between any two churches, there are many differences in the people. Some are really getting the job done, and some are not. Yet, apart from the influence of their leadership upon them, the people of any two churches are basically the same. The Bible says, "Every man at his best state is altogether vanity," in Psalms 39:5. There are no really basically good people. We all, in every church, have the nature of Adam, a flesh that's weak, and a heart that is deceitful and prone to stray and backslide. We all have to agree with Isaiah who confessed, "Woe is me! for I am undone!" in Isaiah 6:5. While not trying to burst anyone's bubble, the truth is, all of us are a bunch of weak, failing sinners just saved by the grace of God. That's basically all God's people have ever been. In every great movement of God throughout the Bible, and in the ages since the Bible, the people were always such weak and failing creatures. Some have succeeded where others failed, but not because some just happened to be born spiritual giants with great maturity, while others were not. The fact is, in every case they're just weak, ordinary failing men like all other men before and after them.

One of the greatest stories of freedom, victory and success you'll ever hear is Moses leading Israel out of Egypt. The success of his venture was not based on the great maturity and righteousness of those people. There wasn't a more stiffnecked, cantankerous, rebellious, troublemaking, complaining or faithless bunch than they were. Joshua lead Israel into Canaan, but he didn't do it because he had a super breed or race of holy Jews. They too were self-willed and feeble. They had their Achans who stole, and their land squabbles. What a kingdom David had! The people were the same Saul had, like Abner, Shemei, Absalom, Amnon, and a bunch of others who were downright cut-throats. When Nehemiah rebuilt the wall, his leaders cheated the people, fraternized with the enemies and tried to undermine his work. The people wouldn't tithe, they married lost people, and they had no respect for the Lord's day. In the church in Jerusalem there were liars like Ananias and Sapphira, complainers like the Grecians and Hebrews and the Judaizers who tried to destroy the doctrine of the apostles. Paul had his Alexander the coppersmith, Demas and many other troubles within the ranks.

Don't fall into the trap of believing that today some churches are better because they have better people. Maybe some have grown and are mature servants of God, but they didn't start out that way. Somebody lead them there, and even in their advanced state they're not as good as you think they are.

It's amazing how the best churches hold together. Consider the troubles of the people, their thin-skinned natures, their tendencies to harbor offenses, their egos and prides, their legalisms, their lack of balance with truth, their selfishnesses, their lack of commitment, the hold worldliness has on them, and other such things. It's a marvel that any church is able to hold together, let alone prosper.

It's basically the same in every church. Yet, some are prospering in the Lord, and some are not. The people within any church are really not the variable. No. People, wherever you find them, are and always have been, just about the same, and that's not "basically good."

Chapter Three

Leadership - The Third Essential Element

Acts 14:23 & Acts 15:4

Some leaders lead, and some don't. That's an observable fact. Some back off when they're accused of being "a dictator". Others are shut down by interpreting their role to be only preacher, and not pastor. Some don't lead because they're really too timid. With many, the hardness of circumstances and the people they have to deal with stops them. Others get decked because they lack the wisdom and common sense to keep proper balance and an even perspective.

For a wide variety of reasons, most church leaders never really lead the church. One thing or another keeps backing them down and defeating them. Let me remind you of a couple of fundamental elements of leadership. Leadership involves (1) someone out front and (2) someone following. It doesn't matter how far out front one is, he's no leader if no one follows him. Preachers, deacons, superintendents, youth pastors, Sunday school teachers, ministry directors who have none or few following them are not true leaders. That's right! Just holding an office or title of leadership doesn't make anybody a leader.

True leadership is doing the job, not just wearing the title. Folks, true leaders find a way. They may have to back up and retool. They may have to develop themselves a new cadre of supporters. They usually face tremendous and intense opposition. They constantly deal with criticism. Often the money's not there, the location is poor, and they must be constantly educating and encouraging the people. But, by the grace of God, they go on, rolling with the punches, taking their lumps and absorbing their losses, leading the Lord's church from victory unto victory.

And, they don't do it singlehandedly. Like Moses with Joshua, Aaron, and Hur, and like Joshua and the elders who outlived him, true church leaders ever work to develop a base ofsupportive leadership. Thus, the leadership of prospering churches is not just one person, not just a pastor. It's a cadre of people united to rally the people to the common cause of spreading the gospel, baptizing converts, and teaching them the unfathomable truths of our God. That one leader is able to attract and rally people behind him, who in turn are able to attract and rally people behind them. The more effectively he is able to build supporting leaders, the better the church does.

When this happens, the people, who are basically like people in any other church in any other age, begin to rally. They are motivated to serve. They begin to grow in grace. Theyrally to the cause with their money and time and talents, and strangely enough, God is able to use these ordinary people with their ordinary weaknesses in ways that He does not use people in other churches. So one church grows, prospers and does a great work, while others around it sit, wither, and sometimes die.

What's the difference, brethren? Not God! Not the people! The difference is leadership. As Jesus said in Matthew 9:36, people without leadership are like sheep without a shepherd. They scatter. That's what happens to churches where pastors do not lead and do not develop supporters to rally the people in such a way that the God of the church can empower and bless it.

Pastor after pastor blames his failure and the failure of the churches where he goes on some thing or somebody else. They say they just didn't have a spiritual people. It was the deacons. They didn't have people willing to teach or capable of teaching. Their people wouldn't give or co-operate. For a pastor to blame the people is a downright cop-out. From Adam until this very hour, there is not one single case of success because of a great, spiritual people. Some of them got better in time because they had Godly leaders who led them to serve God. The truth is that every leader, or the leader before him, always took raw, and often contemptuous, materials and molded it by the grace of God into something useful and productive to God.

Yet most pastors want to step into a ready-made great, spiritual church, and when they step in and fail, they say they'd have made it except for the people. The vast majority of the people you'll see are sick and tired of having weak pastors who won't lead, always blaming their failures and the failures of the churches on the Lord or on the people. Most of us pastors need to face up to the reality of our failures and quit blaming somebody else. Churches can make it well and prosper without money, in poor locations, without political freedom, without buildings, and without lots of things, but they can't make it without leadership. No wonder Zechariah the prophet cried out, "Woe to the idol shepherd that leaveth the flock! the sword shall be upon his arm, and upon his right eye: his arm shall be clean dried up, and his right eye shall be utterly darkened." (Zechariah 11:17)

Praise God for that rare man, who'll lead one of the Lord's churches. Every now and then a man will sell out to God. He's not waiting to be handed something on a silver platter, but he's willing to go with God to the houses of ruin, to people full of problems and weaknesses, and lead a people who'll never be perfect. He's willing to take them as they are, and by God's enabling grace, rally them to the cause. When that happens, the God of the church can take the frail and ordinary people of the church and give them great victories that testify to the glory of God.

We truly do need to pray "the Lord of the harvest, that he would send forth laborers into his harvest" especially laborers of this breed. (Matthew 9:38) God, give our churches true leaders. Our churches are perishing for lack of leadership. We have a great God. There are plenty of people everywhere, but we're hurting for leaders who can rally God's people to serve our God.

"It Does Make a Difference What You Believe"