A People Who Have Anointed Leadership Operating In Team
We are moving through a series on our Apostolic Foundations, the building blocks that Catalyst as a family of churches is built on and highly value. This week we are looking at our next foundation: being a people who have anointed leadership operating in team.
If you missed any of the previous posts you can read them here:
Post 1 – The Apostolic & Prophetic Foundation Of The Church
Post 2 – A People Who Follow Jesus as Saviour and Lord
Post 3 – A People Who Are Devoted to God
Post 4 – A People of the Word and Spirit
Post 5 – A People Who Have Genuine Love for One Another
The prophet Jeremiah told us that God’s plan was to give His people a shepherd under whose care they would flourish (Jer 23:4). Jesus clearly identified Himself as the good shepherd who had come to serve and love God’s people by laying down His life sacrificially for them (John 10). In Matthew 20:25-28 Jesus taught His disciples that they were to follow His example if they wanted to lead,
“But Jesus called them to him and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. It shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you must be your slave, even as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
As the early church expanded, they set leaders over the flock of God’s people (Acts 2:42, Acts 6:1-7, Titus 1:5-9). These leaders were intended to take care and responsibility for the people of God in a manner that reflected the sacrificial nature of the good shepherd. We also note that in Romans 16 a great many people were commended for their sacrificial services to the church and the furthering of the gospel. As such we aim to be churches that work in teams that enable the spread of the gospel and ensure the care of the flock.
We desire that our churches are led by teams of anointed leaders. These teams are made up of elders along with other men and women working in joint partnership together, where they feel mutually honoured, accountable and released. Our servant-hearted leadership teams should demonstrate complimentary gifts, a commitment to a shared mission and common values for which they are mutually accountable.
The leaders of our churches will aim to receive and develop relationships with apostolic teams to help them towards unity and maturity. These teams, in relationship with the church and its leaders, help to lay apostolic and prophetic foundations, break new ground, train church and society leaders, serve and care for the church and help to hold the church accountable for the work and culture to which God has called them. We desire that they grow in their connection to an apostolic family of churches giving and receiving resources, accountability, training, support and friendship and partnering in key ventures together. Healthy leadership culture means no church should feel alone on their mission or be left to operate as unaccountable, loan rangers.
Listen to Phil Wilthew speak on servant leadership on our soundcloud.
In our next post we will continue our series and look at how we can be a people who declare and demonstrate the good news of the Kingdom.
If you missed our last posts in the series you can read them below:
Post 1 – The Apostolic & Prophetic Foundation Of The Church
Post 2 – A People Who Follow Jesus as Saviour and Lord
Post 3 – A People Who Are Devoted to God
Post 4 – A People of the Word and Spirit
