Press Statements & Articles

Church Leadership in a Changing Mission Context

Church Leadership in a Changing Mission Context

August 26, 2011

 

COMING to terms with what being a "missional church" means requires some shift in thinking. No longer is mission the exclusive activity of sent missionaries to another culture and no longer is it confined to works of evangelism among pre-believers. To be missional means living life like Jesus did and demonstrating Christ to every individual. It means impacting the sphere of influence we are in with good works that bless society.

What does this mean for the church and its leaders, who traditionally encourage entry into full-time ministry or missions as a way of "serving God" while relegating other type of work and services as "secular"?

Churches and leaders explored what this meant through regional seminars conducted by NECF together with Dr Paul and Carol Alexander of Mattersey Hall, a Christian college for ministry in London. Seminars were held from 10 to 12 August in Kuching and Johor Baru.

The missional church, said Paul, was not so much a concept as it is being. Being missional means that we are redeemed by the Lord to be incarnational just as Jesus did and to bring blessing to every person, everywhere. Have our churches viewed Christian mission in this sense? The fact that we have not, Paul said, is due in part to our inherited Christian worldview and tradition of dichotomising reality. Christians tend to separate what should not be separated - the church from public life, ministry from the marketplace.

And so, we must ask ourselves the question: Have our churches been cutting-edge and missional? American pastor Bill Hybels once said, "The hope of the world is the church but the hope of the church is her leadership".

Thus, the seminars also addressed leadership issues and what it means to be missional leaders. For these sessions Carol presented on how culture and the cultural milieu we are in shape and influence our leadership styles and patterns. Carol's analysis of leadership styles revealed that many of older church leaders are from the "builders" generation with a style of leadership that is more "militant" in character. Whereas, the present batch of leaders are mostly from the "boomer" generation and hence their leadership style is characterised more by an "entrepreneurial" spirit with emphasis on "team-work".

While not promoting or speaking against any particular style of leadership, Carol told participants in both seminars that the crux of missional leadership is one that embraces authentic relationship-building, empowers and nurtures people so as to release them into the community to be "movers and shakers" of society.

Paul also encouraged seminar participants and church leaders to get going with conversations and discussion of what it means to be missional in one's own particular context. One cannot be truly missional by attending seminars and conferences. Seminars and conferences are merely the starting point. Being missional demands that we continue with discussing, reflecting and attempting to discern what God is already doing in our midst. Then we ought to participate with the Holy Spirit through good works in bringing about transformation.

It is the hope and desire of NECF to see churches engaging in conversation to discern what God is doing for our beloved nation. This is not just a task for leaders but for every believer to discern and together be part and parcel of God's great purpose here in Malaysia.

 

God bless Malaysia!

Reported by Eugene Yapp, Executive Secretary, Research



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