Leadership Gifts And Mending Nets

Leadership Gifts And Mending Nets

The following article is Chapter 8 of our second “Safe Houses of Hope And Prayer” book. I hope you enjoy.

© Copyright The Parousia Network 2010

Consider the following story a “leadership parable”.

Shipwreck! Leadership Lessons I Learned While Swimming To Shore

It was a beautiful day when I went down to the seashore to enjoy the sunshine and read my book.  I had scarcely gotten situated in a comfortable beach chair and had begun reading when I noticed it. Out on the horizon where the ocean met the sky I saw the outline of a ship. As the minutes ticked away it grew larger as it moved slowly towards shore. As it drew closer to shore it quickly became apparent that the ship was in trouble. It was sinking and people were jumping ship and swimming for shore.

It was obvious that I wasn’t going to get  to read my book, so I put it away and began watching as people from the sinking ship began coming ashore. That’s when I saw them. The first person to emerge from the water had a dignified look about him. He wrung water from his drenched clothes, took a deep breath and began walking toward me. “Well, that was interesting,” he said as he came up to me. “At least we were close to shore. The last time that happened to me I floated around for three days before someone finally picked me up,” he said matter-of-factly with a slight hint of a grin on his face. “You wouldn’t happen to know where I could rent another boat, would you. This has put us behind schedule and I really would like to get moving again as quickly as possible,” he said, sounding somewhat irritated at the whole affair.

I was still trying to take it all in when the second person out of the water came up to join us. He was more animated and excited than the first fellow, with a glint of “wildness” in his eyes that made me wonder what was coming next. “Wow!”, he exclaimed as he grabbed the first fellow by the shoulders and spun him around to look him in the eyes. “Wasn’t that amazing! And it happened exactly the way He told me it would - the storm, the shipwreck, you at the helm, us swimming to shore . . . the whole thing! Isn’t God amazing!” he declared. And without giving anyone a chance to respond, he continued on, “And as I was swimming to shore I heard Him say that it’s going to be O.K., and that we are going to find another boat and make it safely to where we’re headed. God is so amazing!”

As all of this was going on a crowd of on-lookers began gathering, some talking to us and others watching the ship slip beneath the waves offshore. That was when the third survivor approached us and greeted the other two. It was obvious by now that they were all friends and traveling together. “Hey, guys,” he said with a hint of mischievousness in his voice. “There’s a crowd starting to gather around here. You never know when we’ll have another chance like this. Maybe I should say something to everyone about how God just spared our lives and how they should trust Him, too!”

The third man had scarcely gotten the words out when a fourth man from the ship joined their company. He had a concerned look on his face as he asked the other three, “Fellas, has anyone done a head count yet? Are we sure everyone made it off the boat O.K.? Maybe we should form a search party and make certain everyone is accounted for. I wouldn’t want to lose anyone just because we weren’t paying attention. Besides, some of them may be injured and need help.”

A fifth and final man now joined his four companions, carrying a bundle under his arm. “Don’t tell me you actually swam to shore carrying those things,” one of the four chided him. “Hey, these are rare, out of print books,” he responded indignantly. “I’ll toss you overboard before I leave these babies behind,” he declared triumphantly, but with a smile. “And before I go anywhere with you four characters again I want to see the operating manual for the new boat. I may even do a safety training class for everyone before we sail. Better safe than sorry.”

As the five traveling companions walked away, talking and teasing each other, I learned a quick lesson: Be careful who you travel with; you may have to swim to shore with them later.

Leaders, Gifts And Mending Nets

And He gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ;  until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fulness of Christ. (Ephesians 4:11-13)

O.K., It’s time to interpret this “leadership parable of the Shipwreck” and to do it in terms of the leadership gifts we discover in the New Testament. The parable is a graphic illustration of this passage from Paul’s letter to the believers in the City of Ephesus. Here Paul lists the five leadership gifts/callings which Jesus gave to His Church following His resurrection and ascension: Apostles, Prophets, Evangelists, Pastors and Teachers. And just as important, Paul tells us the reason and purpose for these five leadership gifts: to equip fellow believers for the work of the ministry.

Now, before we interpret the parable (as my daughter would say, “Wait for it, dad, wait for it”) I want to comment on this word “equip”. The Greek word (katartidzo) has a long history behind it. It’s root meaning is the idea of “restoration”. In Classical Greek it was used to describe restoring the mentally ill to health, and of fishermen mending their nets. Jesus Himself grew up on the shores of the Sea of Galilee, as did several of His disciples. Many times throughout His life He had undoubtedly watched fishermen dry, mend and fold their nets. Two of His disciples, John and James, were in the process of drying and mending their nets when Jesus called them to follow Him (Matthew 4:21-22, Mark 1:19-20).

You can learn a lot about leadership from a net. There is an important spiritual lesson here which Jesus, His disciples and the Apostle Paul understood very well. You cannot fish with broken nets. And that includes fishing for men. The highest and primary calling of a gifted biblical leader is to model, teach and assist others in the art of mending their nets. A gifted leader, manifesting a Jesus-shaped spirituality, is a mender of nets.

So, let’s go back to our parable. Have you figured it out? Understand the parable of the shipwreck.

The first person off the sinking ship was the Apostle. The Apostolic gift tends to be a pioneering, ground-breaking gift. This person is very focused on the health and mission of the Church. Apostolic people don’t  let a little thing like a sinking ship deter them from their goal of taking the Kingdom of God to places where it hasn’t been before. They are people who can “see far” into where God is going, who understand the implications of what they see, and can formulate the strategies necessary to get there. They are disturbers of the status quo who are always pushing the church forward in it’s mission. The Apostolic gift “mends” the church’s nets by keeping it forward-focused and on mission.

The second person off the sinking ship was the Prophet. The Prophetic gift “hears clearly” concerning God’s heart and purposes for His Church. Prophets are the Church’s “eyes and ears” and bring fresh spiritual insights into the purposes of God for His people. For reasons the Scriptures never fully explain, God’s  plan is  for Apostles and Prophets to work closely together in the task of establishing spiritual foundations for the building of the Church,

“So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints, and are of Godʼs household, having been built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus Himself being the corner stone, in whom the whole building, being fitted together is growing into a holy temple in the Lord; in whom you also are being built together into a dwelling of God in the Spirit.” (Ephesians 2:19-22).

Without the focus and strategies of the Apostolic gift, Prophets become “prophetic junkies” addicted to fresh words and visions. Churches left in the hands of the  Prophetic gift become centers of “spiritual adrenaline,” always listening . . . and listening . . . but never moving forward in the mission of the Church. Such groups end up “chasing their prophetic tails” with no plan or strategy to implement what they are hearing.

But without the Prophetic voice, Apostles become builders of “Apostolic empires,” seeking to implement grand strategies with no prophetic clarity  for what God is seeking to accomplish. Together, Prophets hear God’s heart for people and places while Apostles keep the church focused on its greater mission and the  strategies needed for planting house church networks to reach those people and places. Apostles see far and understand implications. Prophets hear clearly and have insight into God’s heart. Apostles are about strategy and architecture. Prophets are about vision and “adrenaline.” The Prophetic gift mends the church’s nets by bringing fresh spiritual insights into the purposes of God for His people.

The third person off the sinking ship was the Evangelist. The Evangelist is the one who “sees opportunity”, specifically the opportunity to bring more sheep into the fold. Evangelists are the gatherers of stray sheep. In the book of Acts Philip of Caesarea was known as “Philip the Evangelist” (Acts 21:8).Their passion is to bring in large numbers of sheep, to see as many people brought into and involved with the church as possible. They are all about encouraging the church to turn outward in its thinking and message.

But evangelists tend to live on adrenaline and activity. A church built on or by an evangelist will be a hub of non-stop activity and programs. It will be very wide, but very shallow, with virtually every message being a salvation message, characterized by little depth or discipleship. The Evangelistic gift mends the Church’s nets by focusing the Church’s attention and message outward towards unbelievers who need to hear about Jesus.

The fourth person off the sinking ship was the Pastor or Shepherd. The English word “pastor” is actually the Greek word poimen or “shepherd.” The Pastoral gift is all about the sheep, and pastors are shepherds  who simply love sheep. Pastors are relational people who want to spend time with the sheep. For them, ministry is all about meeting the needs of the sheep. Pastors are the networkers of the body, the counselors of the wounded and needy, the team and community builders who bring the body together. They live to see the body function together as an extended family. But if a church is left in the hands of the pastoral gift it will become a need driven (as opposed to God-vision driven) counseling and rehab ministry, a spiritual hospital for the wounded that will soon be overwhelmed by endless needs. It will eventually come to resent and oppose the apostolic, prophetic and evangelistic gifts as “disturbers of the status quo” (In the immortal words of Ahab, "Is this you, you troubler of Israel?"). The Pastoral gift mends the church’s nets by caring for the on-going personal needs of the sheep and promoting the healthy body-life of the Church.

The fifth person off the sinking ship was the Teacher. Teachers “dig deep” and have understanding. Teachers have the ability to take complex biblical truth and to simplify it for the Church to understand. Teachers do not lay foundations (the task given to Apostles and Prophets) but they can explain foundations brilliantly! They are the explainers and apologists of the body. While Apostles have strategies for accomplishing God’s purpose and Prophets have insight into God’s purposes, Teachers look for understanding by digging deep into God’s word in order to explain God’s purposes. The role of the teacher is not to “balance” the apostolic or prophetic, but to explain and expound on the biblical basis for what God is doing and saying through the Apostles and Prophets.

If a church is founded upon or built around a gifted Teacher (as many churches today are) people will end up with notebooks full of great notes and insights, but with no practical ability to apply all that they have learned. And because Teachers are not Pastors, the practical needs of the sheep will suffer (Many a teacher has been hired for his teaching ability and fired for his lack of pastoral skills - go figure!). And devoid of any Apostolic or prophetic insights the Church will lack any sense of God’s Kingdom purposes and the strategies needed to accomplish them with no fresh prophetic sense of God’s heart for His people. The Teaching gift mend’s the Church’s nets by taking complex biblical truth and simplifying it for the church to understand.

Some Final Thoughts on Mending Nets

It is important to point out that the gifted 5-fold leaders of the Church are NOT competitors with each other. They are collaborators. There is no “spiritual hierarchy” at work here. Each is a “first among equals”. No one is preeminent, and no one is expendable. And all have been called to be fools and spectacles before both the world and the Church (See 1 Corinthians 4). But the Church needs the ministry of all five gifts working together if the body of Christ is to grow into “a mature man” (Ephesians 4:13). An absence of all five leadership gifts functioning and working together will result in a lack of maturity in the Church.

It is also important to remember that the greatest weakness of any gift always lurks in the shadow of its greatest strength. The amazing apostolic gifting of a Paul which enabled him to endure hardship, stoning, shipwreck and persecution to take the Gospel to the Gentiles, also produced the weakness of a “spiritual myopia”. We see this “spiritual myopia” in Paul’s treatment of John Mark whom Paul “kicked to the curb” at the outset of the second missionary journey because John Mark had abandoned them on the first missionary journey. Paul’s apostolic focus wouldn’t allow him to “see” how John Mark would be an asset on any future journey. It took the pastoral gifting of Barnabas (whom the Church had nick-named “Son of Encouragement”) to take John Mark under his care and to disciple him. John Mark would eventually find his gift and write the Gospel According to Mark. Not bad for a missionary “washout” who was really a 5-Fold teacher-in-the-making. 

Before we end our discussion of house church leadership and mending nets, I wanted to look at three more Scriptures and make some observations.

“Now I exhort you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all agree, and there be no divisions among you, but you be made complete in the same mind and in the same judgment.” (1 Corinthians 1:10)

This passage is about divisions and unity in the Church. That would include your house church. Because there are people in your house church, you will have conflicts, even divisions (As Charlie Brown once observed: “Mankind I love, it’s people I can’t stand”).  Paul’s solution to “divisions” in the church is “to be mended” together (yep, same Greek word here for “mending nets”). Nothing heals divisions and builds unity better than the body and its leaders coming together in the common task of mending one another’s nets. When house churches and their leaders mend nets together as a team the result is unity.

“Brethren, even if a man is caught in any trespass, you who are spiritual, restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness; each one looking to yourself, lest you too be tempted.” (Galatians 6:1)

What stands out to me here is that the emphasis is not upon the trespass, but upon the importance of manifesting a spirit of gentleness (i.e., humility) in the process of restoration (yep, katartidzo). Life is messy (if in doubt, read Chapter 5). Stuff happens. People are going to stumble (literally, “be overtaken before one has the opportunity to flee” - the meaning of the word “caught”). The call of biblical leadership is to manifest a spirit of genuine personal humility (“that could have been me”) as we “restore” that person by helping them to mend the broken nets of their lives. Remember, next time it may be YOUR nets that are broken!

“For what thanks can we render to God for you in return for all the joy with which we rejoice before our God on your account, as we night and day keep praying most earnestly that we may see your face, and may complete what is lacking in your faith?” (1 Thessalonians 3:9-10)

Paul understood that “net mending” is a team activity. He longed to be with the believers in Thessalonica so that he could have a part in making them “complete” (i.e., helping them mend their nets). Paul understood that we all need the ministry of other people with other gifts and callings in our lives to mend our nets and to make up what is lacking in our faith. We will never be “complete” without one another.
 
“Now the God of peace, who brought up from the dead the great Shepherd of the sheep through the blood of the eternal covenant, even Jesus our Lord, equip you in every good thing to do His will, working in us that which is pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be the glory forever and ever. Amen.” (Hebrews 13:20-21)

The author of Hebrews saw that, ultimately, it  is God-in-Christ Who mends our broken nets in order to equip and perfect us. Ultimately, it is God Himself Who mends the broken and torn  nets of our lives, but He usually does it through the gifts and the people He has appointed in the body of Christ.

Shredding, Mending and House Church

Life in this fallen, sin ravaged world shreds the nets of people’s lives. And that includes you, me and the people in our house churches. The good news is that in the Kingdom of God, and that small manifestation of it that meets in your house, God has placed gifted leaders whose calling, purpose and function is to help God’s people mend the broken nets of their lives, and to enable all of us to get back to our original calling: to fish for men. We can’t fish with broken nets.

Reflection Question #1 - What did you learn from our “Leadership Parable” regarding Scriptural leadership gifts that you did not know before?

Reflection Question #2 - Leadership gifts are generally known by how they function. Do you see yourself walking in one of the five leadership gifts, and if so, “how’s it working for you” in the eyes of those around you?