New Generation
The thought of leadership training is often on my mind lately. Some recent training / speaking engagements keep me thinking about how to train the next generation of leaders. First, a church asked me to conduct the Billy Graham's "Christian Life & Witness Class" every Saturday in October, then I was asked by a student Fellowship at U of T to train a group of potential leaders every Thursday evening. Also, I am to give a message on "Making leaders in a new generation of youth" in the AFC Counsellors Club 100 meeting on Oct. 25. In November, I will go on a short-term mission trip to Costa Rica, Panama and Venezuela to train church leaders there. Furthermore, I've the privilege to supervise three seminary students in their field education at AFC. I hope to contribute to their training to be Christian leaders in the future.
How do we train a new generation of leaders? What are our goals in forming leaders? What strategies and priorities can we learn from Jesus and His Apostles?
Jesus the Master Trainer
A book that helps me immersely on this subject is "The Master Plan of Evangelism" by Dr. Robert Coleman. Ironically, the book is more about leadership training than about personal evangelism. Here we have a careful examination of how Jesus trained the Twelve. During His three short years of ministry, Jesus concentrated his time and energy on training the Twelve for world conquest. His strategies are classified under the following chapter headings:
- Selection -- the Lord hand-picked his disciples, he did not select them at random, nor did he
select them because they were brilliant, powerful or wealthy, but because of their capacity to learn. What
kind of potential leaders are we looking for? How about FAT people -- Faithful,
Available and Teachable!
- Association -- Jesus spent time with the disciples, that seems to be His first objective in
choosing them (Mark 3:14). We can't produce instant leaders like making instant coffee! We must be prepared
to invest time and resources in the people whom we seek to train.
- Consecretion -- Jesus expected the men He was with to obey Him. Leaders are those are willing to
pay the price of obedience, which was demonstrated by Jesus Himself.
- Impartation -- Jesus taught His disciples. The classroom was the world around them and the teacher
was always on the move. Jesus made His disciples think through real life issues and problems. Well-taught
leaders will think biblically and this is a crucial base from which to communicate truth to others.
- Demonstration -- Jesus showed them how to live, especially in crucial areas such as the practice
of prayer, using Scriptures, soul winning, etc. Those of us who are seeking to train men must be prepared
to have them follow us, even as we follow Christ (I Cor 11:11). Modeling is the key to effective leadership
training.
- Delegation -- Jesus assigned His disciples practical tasks. After being with Jesus and watching
him preaching, they were sent out on a mission (Matt 10). Training is one-sided if it only consists of
theory. People learn best through on-the-job-training.
- Supervision-- Jesus evaluated their work. After the Twelve had completed their mission (Mark
6:12-13), they gathered around Jesus and "reported to him all they had done and taught" (v. 30).
Evaluation is a very important elements in training.
- Reproduction -- Jesus expected His disciples to reproduce. "The final test of a leader,"
said Walter Lippman, "is that he leaves behind him in other men the conviction and will to carry on."
Here was the acid test. Would Jesus' disciples carry on His work after he had gone? Suffice to say the
early Church proved that the Master's plan worked!
Shaping Tomorrow's Leaders
Let's take a look at some examples of leadership reproduction in the early Church. I've chosen several figures from the book of Acts to learn some important principles of developing new leaders in a new generation:
- Barnabas -- A Big Heart
At least two prominent figures in the early church were developed by Barnabas (which means Son of Encouragement) -- Paul and Mark. When Paul first became a Christian, he was shunned by the Church in Jerusalem. Only Barnabas had a heart big enough to accept him and introduce him to the Church (Acts 9:26,27) Later on, "the big heart" of Barnabas was again demonstrated in his gladness to see Gentiles coming to the Lord at Antioch (Acts 11:22-24) and his willingness to seek out Paul to help him with teaching ministry in Antioch (Acts 11:25-26). Thus we see how Paul emerged as the most important leaders in the New Testament, thanks to the big-heartness of Barnabas.
A less obvious leader produced by Barnabas was John Mark (the author of the second Gospel). As a young man, Mark accompanied Paul and Barnabas in their first mission trip (Acts 13:5) but left the teams in the middle of the journey (Acts 15:13). Apparently Paul was upset of his untimely departure, so much so he was not willing to take Mark with them again in their second journey, but Barnabas showed his big-heartness again by giving Mark a second chance (Act 15:36-39). And history proved him right -- Mark became a leader in the Church, whom even Paul deeply appreciated later on. (Col 4:10, 2 Tim 4:11)
- Paul -- A transparent Life
Paul was no doubt a great leader, but he was also a trainer of a new generation of leaders -- Timothy, Silas, and Titus, etc. What is most striking about Paul's leadership reproduction is his modeling. His words to Timothy in 2 Tim 3:10-14 tells all. "you, however, know all about my teaching, my way of life, my purpose, faith, patience, love, endurance, persecution, suffering... But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have become convinced of, because you know those from whom you learned it."
- Priscilla and Aquila -- An Open Home
Home is a very productive place in leadership training. Priscilla and Aquila used their home to mold and train leaders. First, they took Paul in to their home at Corinth (Acts 18:1-3); then they took Apollos to their home and equipped him further (Acts 18:24-26). I believer the training of the new generation of Christian leaders should not be confined in the church, but also in the homes, in the campus, etc. A Christian home could be a powerful tool for leadership training!
Today's youths need people with a big heart to help them become tomorrow's leaders. They need acceptance regardless of backgrounds, encouragement despite of failures, and trust even though they are young! They are looking for models to follow, we can best reproduce leaders by live a transparent life before them, and an open home provide a very effective environment for potential leaders to learn and grow.
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