Leadership: A Teaching/Discussion Resource

March 9, 2009

Leadership Series
Cordova Community Church, Cordova, TN (1998)

This material was presented in the form of 30 minutes of teaching followed by 30 minutes of discussion within small groups.

The new church plant was moving toward appointing their first shepherds. We probably moved too quickly as I think about it now, but this is the material we studied together. As with anything over ten years old, I would probably phrase things differently, emphasize different things, import some ideas that have become more significant to me (e.g., missional, eschatology, etc.), and rethink the way I handled gender in this series (e.g., I would definitely add Romans 16 into this discussion mix [some of that material is available in the series Women Serving God]and offer more alternatives for understanding 1 Timothy 2 [also available in that series). Nevertheless, it was a healthy study at the time and, for the most part, still is. Anyone who makes use of this, of course, will have to make their own judgments about what is helpful now and what is not…as even I would today.  :-)  

I have uploaded the nearly fifty pages of notes and discussion questions onto my Classes page for those who are interested.

The series had a theological and christocentric starting point.  Shepherds should shepherd as God shepherds; they should imitate the Good Shepherd in his humility, service and loving care. It moved through some of the classic texts on elders and ultimately ended discussing the relationship of evangelists (“located preachers”) and elders. 

Below is a list of the lessons:

  1. Our Model: The Humiliation of God (Philippians 2:1-11).
  2. The Divine Shepherd (Psalm 23)
  3. God and His Shepherds (Ezekiel 34:1-22)
  4. Jesus as the Good Shepherd (John 10:1-18)
  5. Servant Leadership (Mark 10:32-45)
  6. Jesus and His Shepherds (1 Peter 5:1-4)
  7. Priorities in Leadership (Acts 6:1-7)
  8. Giving Elders Perspective (Acts 20:25-35)
  9. Gender and Leadership (1 Timothy 2:1-2, 8-15)
  10. Respecting Leaders (1 Thessalonians 5:12-15)
  11. Qualities of Leadership I (1 Timothy 3:1-7)
  12. Following Leaders (Hebrews 13:7-8, 17, 24)
  13. Qualities of Leadership II (Titus 1:5-9)
  14. Elders as Caregivers (James 5:13-20)
  15. Leaders as Equippers (Ephesians 4:7-16)
  16. Evangelists (1 Timothy 4:6-16)
  17. Elders and Evangelists (1 Timothy 5:17-22)

1 Comment | Pastoral Care, Theology | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Permalink
Posted by John Mark Hicks

New Items Posted, Again

March 2, 2009

A.  I have conducted several seminars on 1 Corinthians, especially for newer church plants (e.g., Kiev).  I have uploaded the lecture outlines and small group question materials for a series on 1 Corinthians that I put together for the Cordova Community Church in the late 1990s.  This was the congregation that Gary Ealy and I, along with others, helped plant.  Our method was to present some teaching material for 30 minutes and then we would discuss it in small groups for 30 minutes. There are sixteen lessons which I have uploaded on my Classes page in one document:

  1. What Unites Us (1 Corinthians 1).
  2. What Might Divide Us (1 Corinthians 3-4).
  3. Community Standards (1 Corinthians 5).
  4. Community Ethics (1 Corinthians 6).
  5.  Healthy Marriages (1 Corinthians 7).
  6. When Love is More Important Than Knowledge (1 Corinthians 8).
  7. When Others are More Important Than My Rights (1 Corinthians 9).
  8. No Presumption: The Lord’s Supper and Ethics (1 Corinthians 10).
  9. Male and Female in the Worship Assembly (1 Corinthians 11:3-10).
  10. Whose Meal is This? The Lord’s Supper or Ours? (1 Corinthians 17:17-34).
  11. Body Language: Whose Job Is It Anyway? (1 Corinthians 12).
  12. Love Language: Love Heals Disunity (1 Corinthians 13).
  13. Worship: Rational, Emotional or Both? (1 Corinthians 14:1-25).
  14. Order Rather than Chaos in the Worship Assembly (1 Corinthians 14:26-40).
  15.  The Gospel: Our Foundation and Hope (1 Corinthians 15:1-19).
  16. The Collection: Sharing God’s Gifts with Others (1 Corinthians 16:1-4).

B.  The second piece I have uploaded is my thirteen page handout for the Midwest Preacher’s Seminar in Wisconsin on September 22-24, 2000.  The seminar was entitled “Stress These Things: Theological Reflections on Titus.”  I have put it on my General page.  I structured the epistle in this manner:

Introduction (1:1-4)
     Salutation (1:1a, 4a)
     Theological Summary (1:1b-3)
     Greeting (1:4b)
Thematic Concern (1:5)
     Appoint Elders (1:6-16).
          The Character of Elders (1:6-9)
          The Character of False Teachers (1:10-16)
     Teach Sound Doctrine (2:1-3:11)
          First Directive (2:1-15)
               Moral Exhortation (2:1-10)
               Christological Ground (2:11-14)
               Encouragement (2:15)
          Second Directive (3:1-11)
              Moral Exhortation (3:1-2)
              Theological Ground (3:3-8)
              Warning (3:9-11)
Conclusion (3:12-15)
     Ministry Details (3:12-14)
          Ministry Partners (3:12-13)
          Ministry Purpose (3:14)
     Benedictory Greetings (3:15)

C. I have upload a presentation I made to Korean Ministers visiting America in the late 1990s on church polity to my General page. This document also served as a theological backdrop for leadership in the new church plant in Cordova, Tennesseee. It surveys a theology of leadership, the function of evangelists, elders and deacons, as well as the concept of a “leadership team” to serve a church. As evangelists instruct elders with knowledge and elders guide evangelists with wisdom, together they equip the church for ministry.

1 Comment | Biblical Texts, Theology | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Permalink
Posted by John Mark Hicks

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