Change. Every leader wants it. And some are more effective at making it happen. In addition to God's grace, the following process has proven invaluable to me, as I have consciously used it for over a decade. I offer it in hopes of serving those who serve others.

Vision

At this phase, an idea emerges that seems worthwhile but the following questions need to be answered in order to determine its viability. In answering these questions, the input of the staff and deacons, as well as other selected people, will be very helpful to you.

1. What are the measurable outcome goals and do they correlate with the mission objective you are seeking to accomplish?
2. Is this idea best suited for your area of responsibility or should someone else be appointed to lead it since it best fits his or her ministry area?

Plan

At this phase, the idea and its goals are clarified in a detailed written proposal. The proposal could be presented to the staff and elders for approval. Answers to the following questions can provide details for the proposal, specifically details about what implementing the idea would require.

1. What is your biblical/theological justification for this ministry?
2. How long will this take to implement and what is the timeline for the phases necessary to implement it?
3. Who will be responsible for it and how many hours will it require of them to launch and also oversee the ministry?
4. How much will it cost, both to launch and maintain?
5. How many volunteers will be needed and whom do you have in mind?
6. What facilities will it require?
7. What promotions will it require?
8. What type of people are you anticipating will attend and/or participate?
9. How will this require time and energy of the elders and deacons?
10. How might this compete with and/or negatively impact other ministries?
11. How can people pray for this ministry?

Implement

The idea has been justified, planned, and approved; it now needs to be launched as a reality. The plan needs to be executed and at this phase, the hard work begins in an effort to build momentum and make the idea a reality.

Manage

At this phase, the idea has become a new reality but shortly thereafter the ministry will likely lose momentum as the work becomes routine, the systems that were planned need to be upgraded for efficiency, and faithful people need to ensure the ministry continues forward and that the devoted people serving do not grow weary or lose heart.

Review

At the six-month and one-year marks of each ministry (as well as other designated times), the leader of that ministry must ensure that accurate and meaningful reviews are conducted to answer the following questions and determine if the ministry should continue, be changed, or cease.

1. Have you met your objectives?
2. Why or why not?
3. Should this ministry continue?
4. How can you improve?
5. What changes must be made?

Resurgence Literature

Re:Lit is a ministry of Resurgence. There you will find a growing line of books to help guide the resurgence of the new reformed. Find out more.

Leadership Is Lonely series: Click | View Series

Leadership is lonely. Anyone who disagrees is likely not a leader.

By definition, a leader is out ahead of his or her team, seeing, experiencing, and learning things before everyone else. On one hand, this causes great excitement and enthusiasm because the opportunity to learn and pioneer is incredibly invigorating. On the other hand, however, the distance between a leader and his or her team is incredibly lonely, even to the point of becoming debilitating.

The more successful a leader becomes, the more extreme the joys and sorrows of leadership become. In extreme cases, the results are akin to being bipolar, with intense mood swings when stress and pressure turn the cracks in our character into fault lines.

For those who are leaders, the question is, what should we do when we find ourselves out ahead of our team? Recently, God has convicted me of sin in my own life and leadership. Specifically, he has graciously revealed to me ways in which I have patterns of sinful response to the feeling of loneliness that accompanies leadership. I am sharing this in hopes of helping other leaders and the people they lead.

For leaders and those who love them and can help them see their own sin, especially their spouse, the following self-assessment statements may prove helpful in diagnosing sinful responses to the loneliness of leadership:

1. I feel that God has abandoned me to an impossible task and have begun to question his goodness.
2. I become annoyed by my team because they do not understand me or the difficulties I face as their leader.
3. I wish someone would just tell me what to do, give me permission to not do so much, and sort out the complexity of my life.
4. I am annoyed by others because I believe they are stupid, lazy, slowing me down, and simply unwilling and/or unable to keep up with me and all the work I have to do.
5. I question if anyone really loves me and secretly think that almost everyone is simply using me.

Does this sound familiar? Many leaders, in an effort to appear more spiritual than they are, think these things in their mind and feel them in their heart even if they don’t say them with their mouth. Is there hope? Yes, and we’ll explore that in the next blog post.

To be continued.

Mars Hill Global

Serving the church and spreading the gospel. Help support this effort by giving to the Global Fund. More info at MarsHillGlobal.com.

Spiritual Gifts Series: Click | View Series

We have different gifts, according to the grace given us. If a man's gift is prophesying, let him use it in proportion to his faith. If it is serving, let him serve; if it is teaching, let him teach; if it is encouraging, let him encourage; if it is contributing to the needs of others, let him give generously; if it is leadership, let him govern diligently... (Romans 12:6-8 NIV)

Spiritual Gift of Leadership Defined

The spiritual gift of leadership is found in people who have a clear, significant vision from God and are able to communicate it publicly or privately in such a way that they influence others to pursue that vision.

People with the Gift of Leadership

These people tend to gravitate toward the "point position" in a ministry. Others tend to have trust and confidence in their abilities. They best serve others by leading them. They tend to operate with a strong sense of destiny.

Leadership in Scripture

Jesus was such a gifted leader that in His day thousands followed Him and today billions follow Him as the greatest leader who has ever lived. Other examples abound, including Abraham, Moses, Joshua, David, Daniel, Josiah, Paul, Peter, and James.

Do You Have This Gift?

• Do others have confidence in your ability to lead?
• Do you enjoy being the "final voice" or the one with the overall responsibility for the direction and success of a group or organization?
• When a difficult situation arises, do others look to you for input and leadership?
• Do you usually take leadership in a group where none exists?
• Do you find leadership enjoyable rather than frustrating and difficult?
• Do others look to you to make the major decisions for a group or organization?

Recommended Reading on Church Leadership

Total Church:

Tim Chester and Steve Timmis make the case for reinforcing and strengthening churches with particular emphasis on the gospel and community. Find out more.

This week at Mars Hill Church, Mark Driscoll preached on Humble Pastors. In this clip he explains how to find out if you're a humble pastor.

The King and the Maiden

You can watch the full sermon below. If you don't have time to watch the whole thing, be sure to at least watch the first few minutes to see the intro video, "The King and the Maiden." The Mars Hill Preaching & Theology team did an incredible job putting this one together.

Click here to watch the sermon on the Mars Hill Media Site.

Pastor Mark:

Get the latest content from Mark Driscoll, the
preaching pastor at Mars Hill Church. See More.

A Sermon for Christian Ministry Leaders
on the Assigned Text of 2 Timothy 2:14–26

The audio and video from this message is available free at The Gospel Coalition.

This blog post is intended to serve as an outline for my message at the Gospel Coalition. Because of the seriousness of the text that was assigned to me some months ago, I have prepared what is, for me, a very thorough outline. Rarely do I use notes of any length but I felt it would be helpful to post these notes because there are likely too many points (40ish) for attendees to capture. Nonetheless, I want to also stress that the message likely will deviate from the notes at certain points.

Before beginning, I want to give a few thanks. First, I want to thank the Gospel Coalition in general, and Don Carson and Tim Keller in particular, for the grace they have extended to me. Not being part of a denomination has the great benefits of freedom and independence, but also the downside of a lack of extended friendships and people to learn from. Part of this lack has been made up for thanks to the wonderful brothers I enjoy in the Acts 29 Church Planting Network. Still, the relationships I have enjoyed with mainly older pastors in the Gospel Coalition also have been used by God to help me learn and grow.

Second, I want to thank God for the text he had assigned to me in his providence some months ago. It has proven to be a timely section of Scripture for my own sanctification. In his kindness, God allowed this to be one of the easiest messages I have ever prepared for—I literally prayed one night and woke up the next with the sermon in my mind and typed it out in rough form in just over an hour. Third, my message will not be a full exposition of the text, but rather a word from a pastor to ministry leaders in hopes of serving them as they serve God’s people.

Introductory Comments on 1 and 2 Timothy

Paul and Timothy were as close as a father and son (Phil. 2:22; 1 Tim. 1:2; 2 Tim. 1:2). These men are virtually inseparable throughout the New Testament; they work closely together (Acts 18:5; 19:22), co-author books of the Bible (2 Cor. 1:1; Phil. 1:1; Col. 1:1; 1 Thess. 1:1; 2 Thess. 1:1), and serve God side by side (1 Cor. 4:17; 16:10; Rom. 16:21). Occasionally, however, they were separated because Paul would send Timothy on important missions to straighten out problems that arose in various local churches (e.g., 1 Thess. 3:1–6).

One of these occasions included Paul’s sending of Timothy to untangle a host of knots in Ephesus, where heretics and false teachers were devouring the church. During their separation, Paul wrote his friend two very personal letters of instruction and exhortation—1 and 2 Timothy. The two letters are very similar in many respects but do have some important differences.

For example, in both letters Paul is gravely concerned both about the condition of the church and Timothy. In 1 Timothy, however, Paul is primarily concerned with the well-being of the church, and secondarily concerned with the well-being of his friend Timothy. In 2 Timothy, though, the tone and content of the letter reveal that Paul’s concerns have flipped as he became primarily concerned with Timothy’s welfare, and though he is still obviously pained by the troublemakers in the church, they are treated as a secondary matter. Because of this, 2 Timothy is one of the most personal, intimate, reflective, emotional, and pastoral sections of the entire Bible.

Additionally, 2 Timothy is likely the last letter that Paul penned and may have been written only days before he was murdered by beheading at the hands of the megalomaniac, Emperor Nero (4:6–7). Rather than going out with his head down and voice trembling, 2 Timothy is a courageous, triumphant final shout from Paul about his coming entrance into God’s kingdom (4:18), where he would receive his final reward for being a faithful minister of the gospel who did not flinch, even in the face of death (4:7–8).

To help you enter into the passion and beauty of Paul’s final letter, it will be helpful for you to see Paul sitting alone in a dark, dank cell, rubbing the aching joints on his body, scarred by frequent beatings, and not whining about his lot or cursing God for his demise, but rather maintaining his steely-eyed gaze, determined to leave this world with his boots on and head high, singing the praises of his Lord Jesus. Indeed, they chopped off his head because it was the only way to silence him.

Before dying, Paul wrote 2 Timothy to express his deep affection for his faithful friend and co-laborer of fifteen years and to ensure that his ministry would continue after his death by younger Christians, who would take the baton from his hand and run their lives for Christ, pulling people in their wake as Paul had.

3 Kinds of People

1. Positives do gospel things in gospel ways for gospel reasons, bringing health, working for good, and being a blessing because they want the gospel to win. Few people are positives, and remaining one is difficult because it requires dealing with even negative people and negative situations in positive ways.
2. Negatives do ungospel things in ungospel ways for ungospel reasons, bringing sickness, division, and trouble because they want to win. Sadly, although negatives are not usually the majority, they are often vocal, determined, and well-networked, and therefore, as Charles Spurgeon said, much like bees who swarm into a painful threat.
3. Neutrals are unsure, confused, fearful, and caught in the middle. They need to be cared for by a positive shepherd or they will turn into negatives. Most people are neutrals and are swayed by the friends they keep, leaders they follow, and information they believe, and they need to grow in discernment and pursue wise friends.

20 Kinds of Negatives

1. Success Jealousy Negatives
2. False Witness Negatives
3. Misinformed Negatives
4. Personal Dislike Negatives
5. Take-Up-Offense-for-Another-Person Negatives
6. Missiological Negatives
7. Single-Issue Voter Negatives
8. Little World Negatives
9. Chain of Command Negatives
10. Tradition Negatives
11. Unforgiving Negatives
12. Plank-Speck Negatives
13. Diotrephes Negatives (3 John 9)
14. Distrust Negatives
15. Control Negatives
16. Critic Negatives
17. Warrior Negatives
18. One-Handed Negatives
19. Gossip Negatives
20. Theological Negatives

Responding NOT Reacting

Because God is both sovereign and good, he can and does use even the negatives for positive purposes. Perhaps the most classic example of this is Joseph’s positive declaration to his negative brothers in Genesis 50:20, saying, “As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today.”

In 2 Timothy 2:14–26, Timothy is dealing with the following:

Negatives

• Hymenaus and Alexander were the chief negatives.
• Other varying kinds and degrees of unnamed negatives are also involved.

Neutrals

• Many people were neutrals, as the negatives were “upsetting the faith of some” (2 Tim. 2:18).

Positives

• Paul is the positive speaking into Timothy’s life and ministry, seeking to help him stay positive and not go negative, lest the neutrals only have negatives to influence them and the entire ministry becomes negative and toxic.

20 Ways to Be a Positive from 2 Timothy 2:14–26

1. Positively emphasize what you are for instead of against.
   Remind them of these things (v. 14)
2. Positively use your God-given authority.
   charge them before God (v. 14)
3. Positively invest your words.
   not to quarrel about words, which does no good, but only ruins the hearers. (v. 14)
4. Positively do your best.
   Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved (v. 15)
5. Positively work hard.
   a worker who has no need to be ashamed (v. 15)
6. Positively study harder.
   rightly handling the word of truth. (v. 15)
7. Positively avoid getting drawn into endless arguments.
   But avoid irreverent babble, for it will lead people into more and more ungodliness, and their talk will spread like gangrene. (v. 16-17)
8. Positively warn the sheep about the wolves.
   Among them are Hymenaeus and Philetus, who have swerved from the truth, saying that the resurrection has already happened. They are upsetting the faith of some. (v. 17-18)
9. Positively rejoice that God rules the church.
   But God’s firm foundation stands, bearing this seal: “The Lord knows those who are his,” (v. 19)
10. Positively practice repentance before preaching it.
    “Let everyone who names the name of the Lord depart from iniquity.” (v. 19)
11. Positively use your passion to be a better servant.
    Now in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and silver but also of wood and clay, some for honorable use, some for dishonorable. Therefore, if anyone cleanses himself from what is dishonorable, he will be a vessel for honorable use, set apart as holy, useful to the master of the house, ready for every good work. (v. 20-21)
12. Positively grow up quickly.
    So flee youthful passions (v. 22)
13. Positively seek righteousness, faith, love, and peace with urgency.
    pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace, along with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart. (v. 22)
14. Positively grow in discernment.
    Have nothing to do with foolish, ignorant controversies; you know that they breed quarrels. (v. 23)
15. Positively be kind like Jesus.
    And the Lord’s servant must not be quarrelsome but kind to everyone (v. 24)
16. Positively harness the opportunity to teach your people.
    able to teach (v. 24)
17. Positively suffer patiently like Jesus.
    patiently enduring evil (v. 24)
18. Positively correct gently.
    correcting his opponents with gentleness. (v. 25)
19. Positively desire good for your enemies.
    God may perhaps grant them repentance leading to a knowledge of the truth, and they may come to their senses and escape from the snare of the devil, after being captured by him to do his will. (v. 25-26)
20. Positively use your energy to win converts, not arguments.
    “As for you, always be sober-minded, endure suffering, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry. For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure has come. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.” (2 Tim. 4:5–7)

Conclusion

1. Who is your Timothy?
2. Who are your Pauls?
3. Who are your Hymenaeus and Alexanders?
4. Who are you Hymenaeus and Alexander to?
5. Are you positive, negative, or neutral?
6. What will your legacy be?

Great Books: Click | View Series

Grace and I have personally benefitted from the following books; they are easy to read and are among the best in their areas of instruction. We have recommended these books many times over the years and have purchased many copies for our friends.

Biblical Counseling

• Seeing With New Eyes: Counseling and the Human Condition Through the Lens of Scripture (P& R, 2003) by David Powlison
• Speaking Truth in Love: Counsel in Community (New Growth Press, 2005) by David Powlison
• Addictions: A Banquet in the Grave (P & R, 2001) by Edward T. Welch
• When People Are Big and God Is Small: Overcoming Peer Pressure, Codependency, and the Fear of Man (P & R, 1997) by Edward T. Welch
• Blame It on the Brain? Distinguishing Chemical Imbalances, Brain Disorders, and Disobedience (P & R, 1998) by Edward T. Welch
• Step by Step: Divine Guidance for Ordinary Christians (P & R, 1999) by James C. Petty

For those of you wanting to dig deeper and find books in particular areas of study, especially biblical study, you would benefit from bookmarking http://www.bestcommentaries.com/. For those looking to purchase a Bible, the ESV Study Bible is the new standard for study Bibles. Also great for personal reading and note-taking is the ESV Journaling Bible, patterned after the Moleskine.

Pastor Mark:

Get the latest content from Mark Driscoll, the
preaching pastor at Mars Hill Church. See More.

Vintage Church Series: Click | View Series

In chapter seven of Vintage Church we answer the question, "What Is Church Discipline?" This doctrine is widely ignored, often misunderstood, and incredibly important. In preparing to write Vintage Church I did not find one book on the subject that I felt covered the breadth of biblical teaching on the matter. So, this chapter is packed with a vast overview of what the Scriptures say regarding various forms of church discipline. Our excerpt from Vintage Church pages 172-173 says:

Church discipline is one of the most misunderstood and yet most desperately needed ministries within the church. We do not believe that it is an optional ministry of the church but one required of us in Scripture.

There are multiple mandates for church discipline to church leaders and churches throughout the New Testament from both Jesus and Paul (Matt. 18:15-17; Gal. 6:1; 1 Cor. 5:1-13; Titus 3:10-11; 2 Thess. 3:14-16). Subsequently, it is imperative that unrepentant sin and false teaching by professing Christians be disciplined by the church through its leaders.

Discipline is the responsibility of the church body, which includes Jesus Christ and the elders, deacons, and members of the church. Discipline is intended to bring believers in line with God's standard for his glory, the progress of his kingdom, and the blessedness of the individual as well.

Sadly, what most people think of when they hear "church discipline" is excommunication, the final stage of the biblical process. Excommunication is what happens when discipline fails to result in repentance and reconciliation. This misunderstanding plagues most discussions and most practices, sabotaging the grace of God that can come through church discipline.

Vintage Church:

In this book, Mark Driscoll and Gerry Breshears discuss the essentials of what it means to be a biblical church. Find out more.

Part of the Pitfalls in Church Planting series.
Continued from Pitfalls in Church Planting: Focus.

Planting a church is very dangerous for you and your family spiritually and morally. The time and pressure takes a toll on church planters, so good, safe, and humble accountability is essential to walking with integrity and honoring God. Moving to the top of an organizational chart should be done with strong accountability in place, or the devil will eat you alive.

Entitlement

One of the biggest issues you should watch for is a feeling of entitlement. It’s the feeling that you do so much and work so hard that you deserve a little something extra. Or maybe you deserve a certain respite from the moral standards you would place on others. Lots of church planters end up drinking too much or dealing with pornography because they are at the top of the leadership paradigm with no one to hold them accountable. Find elders from a sending church or other church planters to help you out in this way.

Protection for Your Soul

More important than delivering a great sermon to your people is becoming a great man for your people. Bishop Quayle says, “Preaching is not the art of making a sermon and delivering it. Preaching is the art of making a preacher and delivering him.” That doesn’t happen without help. Your church plant will be an agent of sanctification. The Lord will use it to refine you, break you, and put you back together. Accountability protects you from being disqualified in the process. Having a safe place to be held accountable is protection for your soul. It’s like holding a shield out in front of your character.

For our staff we use accountability forms that are filled out weekly (most weeks). Our staff knows that they will not be fired for anything they write down on that form. If you confess struggles and sin, then you will be protected and restored. If you get busted, then you will be removed and restored. Build a culture of confession and restoration for you and your team.

To be continued.

Vintage Church:

In this book, Mark Driscoll and Gerry Breshears discuss the essentials of what it means to be a biblical church. Find out more.

"Primary: earliest, original, of the first rank, of first importance, chief." So reads the entry in the Concise Oxford Dictionary (1976).

What, I ask you, is the church's primary task? Not what are the many good things the church should be doing, since there are a number of good answers to this question. But rather, what is really of first importance in the life of the church? How should leaders in your church think about doing the primary thing, that which is truly of first importance?

Spiritual Amnesia
It seems to me history reveals that the church of Jesus Christ is always in danger of spiritual amnesia. This danger seems even more evident to me now than it has been in many, many years. Today we argue about all kinds of church-related issues and needs. We even occasionally speak about revival and renewal. And we promote numerous causes-social, spiritual and political-but rarely do we address the need to restore the primary thing-the proclamation and place of Jesus Christ as Lord.

"He said I am sorry but this is at least the tenth time! I don't know what to do. I am told that it's my Christian duty to forgive so I try to do it. But each time I forgive him, he changes for a little while and then returns to the same behavior. I have a gut feeling that I am handling things the wrong way. He never really changes and I just get angry. What should I do?"

Sound familiar? People facing circumstances like this must learn to distinguish forgiveness from reconciliation. Forgiveness is always required by God. Jesus clearly warned that God will not forgive our sins if we do not forgive those who sin against us (see: Matthew 6:14-15; Mark 11:25).