rants of a beggar

I have been praying about moving forward with a Leadership Development process in my church recently.
I’m calling it “Roots” which is a campaign designed on bringing people from the fringe, into the core.

The heart of this campaign is to change the spiritual climate, by developing people that can model spiritual growth and foster that change in others.

In order to impact the “body” as a whole, change must be fostered through a core of people that model it. Change cannot be forced or manufactured by programs or processes.

It must simply take Root in the heart of men and spur on the heart of others…

Below is a visionary template for a leadership developmental process
that will be implemented in the local church.

Vision:

To develop people in our church to become agents of change that impact our surrounding community by boldly and innovatively sharing God’s love.

Mission:

The focus of this ministry is to cultivate the character and leadership abilities of individuals to reflect the heart of Christ.

2 Timothy 2:2 And the things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable men who will also be qualified to teach others.

Through the teaching of God’s word and communion with one another, the relationships forged will cultivate a catalyst for spiritual growth that will spur on the body of believers.

How:

Commitment to meeting regularly (weekly or bi-weekly) will be required and must be a priority for each individual.

Each meeting will be characterized by a time of teaching from God’s word in various formats (such as video, devotional, reading, etc.) along with time for building relationship (through sharing, testimonials, praying, etc.)

Individuals will be expected to engage the body of believers through a form of ministry or outreach (small groups, welcome center, soup kitchen, etc.) empowered by the outpouring of Christ love administered through us.

Mentor relationships must be sought by each individual. Corporate meetings are intended to foster mentorship, not to be the suffice for it.

Personal growth is emphasized through daily reading of the Word, and times of prayer.

Unity is an essential factor to the Kingdom of God. Attendance of 1PRAYER meetings is required in order to be apart of and network with other believers to fulfill God’s complete vision for our local community

God has been burning this vision of Acts 20:28 on my heart..

During my time as an intern on a Church planting team.. I was able to experience shepherding and discipleship in its purest form. It was understood by the church, that these were responsibilities of everyone. Not just a specific leader or elder, rather each member was expected to look out for one another, and speak in love thru fellowship with the body.

It was amazing to say the least.. I fell so deeply in love with the Church, that I vowed then to be one of the “dirty” workers. The servant that has to get his hands dirty and be ready to act when no one else will.. Thats my heart.. I am a servant to the bride, on behalf of the Bridegroom.

So now, I fast forward to my church of 250+ regular attendees. We have a Pastor, but he is not able to care to the flock as one should. Judging simply by numbers it isnt “impossible” but still unlikely that he can do so in an effective manner. Yet the issue is still their..

People come and go, but who are they? Who knows their names? Who is caring for the couple that recently separated? or the navy wife that just sent her husband off over seas?
These are questions that cant be answered due to lack of knowledge…

As I pray about this, my heart begins to ache… Ive been crying out, that God press His heart for His people onto mine. I want to feel the pain he feels, and experience the joy as well..

So with that said, I have set out to find a few good men. I have been praying to God to lead me to people with the heart for people. I want to meet in a small group structure with the purpose and intent to mobilize leaders to help shepherd the flock.

Tonite was our first meeting. I challenged both men that met, that our purpose is to be “sheep dogs”. A sheep dog is obedient to the Shepherd and acts only on His commands. The role of a sheep dog is to help flock and gather the sheep and lead them to follow the Good Shepherd which is Christ.

I am psyched about this.. and eager to see where this takes us.. but one thing is for certain..

A “Sheep Dog” ministry has begun. And as long as we meet I will challenge everyone that attends to get serious about the Church and shepherd the Community God has placed us in.

Let me start by sharing cool stuff God has let me be apart of…

First off, I am a Youth Leader. I have been involved in my local Youth ministry for about 5 years. About as long as I’ve been in Rhode Island. It has been an awesome experience for me. God has given me a deep love for these teens. It blows my mind to see them mature into Men and Women of God… simply amazing.

I have had the honor of working with Ed (@epichette for twitter folks) who was recently put on staff to be our Youth Pastor… I have seen God grow the ministry in so many ways.. its unbelievable. But things in the Youth have not always been easy. Recently we have decided that the youth needed a change in how we were doing things.
We sensed a stirring of unrest, and a spirit of chaos underlying everything we were trying to accomplish during Youth night. We have since met this resistance with force. Making drastic changes to the way things operate. And crying out to God for His spirit to bring reverence and order to our Youth night.. .. and as always.. God is faithful..  the past 2 weeks have been a good turn around for our kids..

My heart for them has been, to identify and disciple key leaders in the group.
God has stirred my heart to raise up leaders. Especially in the youth, so that they may grow in ownership of the Ministry. Their are kids that lead weather they realize it or not.
If those leaders care, the people around them will follow and also care about what is going on. And the same leadership works in reverse when they choose not to care.

My biggest concern is that the problems we are dealing with in our youth, stem from the adults. Our youth can be used as  a spiritual barometer to measure where we as adults are at spiritually.