11. Longevity
The words were spoken to me when I was fearful, discouraged, tired, and feeling otherwise beaten down. I didn’t want anybody to talk to me. I was a failure, and I was running. I couldn’t imagine a life of pastoral leadership anymore. It had once been a passion, a dream that seemed too good to be true, but the passion had morphed into a burden, one I no longer wanted to bear. I had found a safe landing place and couldn’t wait to put ministry behind and land there. I had made my announcement, and my heart had already closed to the present and opened up to what was ahead. I had had all of the tough conversations I thought I needed to have. I was done and didn’t want to have another awkward, quasi-judgmental encounter.
When he approached me, I hoped it would be a quick, “Hello, we’re praying for you,” but it was more, so much more. He said, “Paul, we know you’re immature, but we haven’t asked you to leave.” Then he said, “Where is the church going to get mature leaders, if immature leaders run? Don’t go.” I was frozen for a moment at the power of his words. They were gospel words, and I knew it. They were packed with years of patient wisdom. I think his words were much wiser than even he knew. Packed in that brief sentence was the truth that the key to ministry-leadership effectiveness is longevity. Gospel seeds need time to mature and grow, and the key to longevity is spiritual maturity, because weeding and watering the garden that is the church is such hard work.
I knew instantly that I couldn’t and wouldn’t run. I un-resigned, if there is such a thing, and stayed for many more years. If you’re close to me, you’ve heard me share this story before, because it was and is so profoundly influential. I was the leader, but I needed to be led. I was the pastor, but I needed to be pastored. I was the primary gospel spokesman, but I needed to have the gospel preached to me. It came powerfully and effectively, a swift wind of the Spirit that I could not push against. It came as the wise words of my Father, which I knew I should not resist. It came as the gentle welcome of my Savior to run to him and not away from him in my angst. But it was little more than one sentence that forever changed the course of my life and ministry. One sentence, courageously and timely spoken, by one man to another one afternoon, but it changed everything.
You see, every leadership community needs to understand that there is no such thing as individual ministry. Every leader’s ministry is a community project. Every leader needs the ministry of other leaders in order to grow to the kind of maturity that will allow him to lead well over the long term and end well. Every leader needs leaders who will stand in his way when he is about to choose the wrong way. Every leader needs other leaders to speak truth to him when he can’t seem to speak those truths to himself. Every leader, in order to lead long and well, needs fellow leaders to help him see sin that he is too blind to see if left alone. Longevity is the fruit of spiritual maturity, and spiritual maturity is the result of longevity, and both are the fruit of gospel community.
I love the longevity word picture in Isaiah 61:1–3:
The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me,
because the Lord has anointed me
to bring good news to the poor;
he has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,
to proclaim liberty to the captives,
and the opening of the prison to those who are bound;
to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor,
and the day of vengeance of our God;
to comfort all who mourn;
to grant to those who mourn in Zion—
to give them a beautiful headdress instead of ashes,
the oil of gladness instead of mourning,
the garment of praise instead of a faint spirit;
that they may be called oaks of righteousness,
the planting of the Lord, that he may be glorified.
What a beautiful and provocative word picture. What is the gospel good news to the poor? That they will be “oaks of righteousness.” Why is an oak tree tall and strong? The answer is longevity. Oak trees are powerful and majestic because they have weathered years and years of withering sun, gusting winds, and bitter cold. Year by year, season by season, they grow in strength. Year by year and season by season they send their roots deeper and deeper into the nutrient soil until they are virtually unmovable. It takes dense wood, hard bark, and deep roots to weather the harsh conditions that an oak tree must weather to be around for generations, but it takes generations for the wood, bark, and roots to grow. If this is a picture of long-term spiritual sturdiness that is God’s plan for all of his children, how much more is it needed for ministry leaders?
At the base and in the moist shadows of an oak tree you’ll often find mushrooms. Their characteristics are the polar opposite of the oak trees they briefly look up to. Mushrooms grow up overnight and are quickly gone. They aren’t strong and have no deep roots. You can reach down and flick one over with your finger. Big, rapid, short-lived growth is not what God is after; that’s why he chose the oak tree and not the mushroom for his word picture. He is after oak trees, long-term spiritual maturity, not just for our eternal good but also for the never-ending display of his glory.
So every ministry leadership community should value and plan for longevity, which means every ministry leadership community must value and plan for spiritual maturity. Every leader needs to continue to mature so he can stand strong in the gusts of wind, driving rain, and cold snows of ministry. No leader should be considered as mature as he or she needs to be. No one. Every leader should long to last and know that spiritual maturity is the key to lasting long. Every leadership community should be clear that giftedness is not the same as spiritual maturity. Biblical literacy is not the same as spiritual maturity. We need to be clear that theological acumen is not the same as spiritual maturity. Ministry success is not the same as spiritual maturity. Popularity is not the same as spiritual maturity. Strategic insight is not the same as spiritual maturity. God is working to produce oaks of righteousness, so every leadership community should be working to produce the same in each of its members.
I had been doing ministry for a long time in a variety of ministry leadership positions, but I felt that it was just about impossible to go on. I felt as if I had been blindsided, caught unaware and unprepared. Life seemed out of control, and the future seemed cloudy at best. I felt afraid, as well as weak and unable, for the first time in a long time. I felt alone, without words to describe to others what I was going through. I no longer jumped out of bed in anticipation; I groaned my way out. I didn’t anticipate the ministry opportunities of the day; I dreaded them, overwhelmed by their size and my weakness. I wanted to turn back the clock to when I felt stronger and more ready. But the clock would never turn back, and I would never know the strength I once had. God had another plan, which I struggled with even more than my physical weakness. It was a physical battle but more importantly also a deeply spiritual battle. In order to continue, I needed more than personal resolve; I needed vibrant, loving, courageous, faithful, biblical community. God blessed me with that community. Fellow leaders met me in my weakness, confronted me in my doubt, and comforted me in my suffering. As much as I struggled, I knew that I was not struggling alone. God makes his invisible presence visible through people who are present when the comfort of his presence is needed. God sends his loving words of warning to a leader through fellow leaders who are willing to confront and protect. God makes his invisible comfort visible through agents of comfort he sends where comfort is needed. Gospel community is intended by God to be incarnational, where we are to one another the look on God’s face, the touch of his hands, his words, and his presence.
Every leader who becomes an oak of righteousness will weather harsh storms of life and ministry. Perhaps it will be a crushing ministry failure, or the heartbreaking rebellion of a child, or a ministry betrayal, or a battle with an area of sin, or a debilitating church controversy, or a physical illness, or financial distress, or the death of a loved one, or a passage of spiritual discouragement, or an attack on his character or qualifications, but every leader will face storms of some kind. Too many leaders are knocked over by the storms of life in this fallen world. Too many leaders leave ministry fallen or broken in some way. Too many leaders have short-term ministries. Too many leaders fail to experience the joyful fruitfulness of ministry longevity. And let me say here that ministry longevity is not just about hanging in there for a long time but about growing in maturity, and because there is growth in maturity, there is an increasing harvest of long-term fruit. It’s more than endurance; it’s endurance that produces lasting gospel fruit.
I’ve already hinted at it but want to clearly address the question here: “Why is leadership longevity so vitally important?” I am deeply persuaded that the church of Jesus Christ has been way too influenced by the short attention span, next best thing, instant gratification, and easily bored culture of the society in which we live and do our work. We are tempted to chase the next big worship phase and pay too much attention to the next hot young leader; we are too influenced by social media flashes, too interested in strategies for quick results and success, and too willing to search for the key to this or that that would launch our ministries into a different stratum. We are tempted to like quick and despise slow. We are tempted to esteem new and disrespect old. We are attracted to new ideas instead of ancient truths. We are tempted to search for new and better ways instead of old tried-and-true ways. We are tempted to focus on the moment instead of on our potential legacy. The culture around us tends to lack patience and an esteem for long-term process, and I’m afraid we’ve begun to lack patience too.
You could argue that there are few more important spiritual qualities for a ministry leader than patience. First, you live in a broken world where everything is made more difficult by its dysfunction. You also minister to and lead people who don’t always follow well, are easily distracted and daily tempted, and often lose their way. Along with these, you and the people you lead are buffeted, sometimes in life-altering ways, with the storms of life. Finally, and this is most important, you are called to be an ambassador of one who is infinitely patient and has decided that lasting change is most often a process and not an event. Justification, which is a radical life-altering event, is also the first stage in a long-term process of personal heart and life transformation.
How could we not be blown away by God’s patience as we matriculate our way through the grand redemptive story? How could we not be amazed by the thousands of years between the fall in Eden and the victory of the empty tomb? How could we not notice God’s willingness to send prophet after prophet after prophet with essentially the same warning and welcome? How could we not take notice of the amazing patience of Jesus with his disciples or with the dysfunctional churches of the Epistles? How could we not be comforted by the fact that in patience God’s judgment still waits while his mercy works? How could we miss the fact that our daily hope is connected to our Savior’s patient grace? Both the meta story in the Bible and our individual stories are portraits of an ever-faithful and patient Redeemer.
There would be no kingdom of God, no church of Jesus Christ, no people of God, and no population in the new heavens and the new earth if it were not for the infinite patience of the Lord. God is patient in love, judgment, sovereignty, wisdom, power, and mercy. He is willing to do the same thing in you and for you again and again until it takes root and flourishes. He is willing to say the same thing to you over and over again until you hear and live it. He greets your weakness with patience and not disgust. He responds to your wanderings with the patience of rescuing grace and not with condemnation. He patiently picks you up when you fall. He patiently dresses your self-inflicted wounds. He patiently stands in your way when you want your own way. He never tires of you. He never turns his back on you and walks away. He patiently gives himself to the work that he has begun in you, and he will patiently continue until his work is done. His work is a process, not an event. Redemption is longevity work. Redemption is legacy work. Redemption takes patience.
So if any leader in any leadership community is going to become spiritually mature so that he can experience the fruitfulness of ministry longevity, he must be blessed by a gospel community of leaders who patiently work for and contribute to his maturity. This community must not panic when his immaturity is exposed, when his spiritual weaknesses are revealed, when he is more defensive than he should be, more self-assured than is appropriate, when he loses his way for a moment, when he wants to run away, or when he fails in some way. Yes, there are moments when a rebellious and recalcitrant leader who will not submit, confess, and repent must be removed from his leadership position, but whenever this happens, it should be at the end of a long process of patient rescuing, confronting, and restoring grace. Strategizing for ministry longevity means responding with patient grace in the face of a leader’s spiritual immaturity, seeking to be part of God’s work of rescue and transformation.
Spiritually Mature Leadership: A Portrait
What does a spiritually mature leadership community look like? Consider the beautiful portrait in 2 Corinthians 4:1–18:
Therefore, having this ministry by the mercy of God, we do not lose heart. But we have renounced disgraceful, underhanded ways. We refuse to practice cunning or to tamper with God’s word, but by the open statement of the truth we would commend ourselves to everyone’s conscience in the sight of God. And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. For what we proclaim is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, with ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake. For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.
But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us. We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our bodies. For we who live are always being given over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh. So death is at work in us, but life in you.
Since we have the same spirit of faith according to what has been written, “I believed, and so I spoke,” we also believe, and so we also speak, knowing that he who raised the Lord Jesus will raise us also with Jesus and bring us with you into his presence. For it is all for your sake, so that as grace extends to more and more people it may increase thanksgiving, to the glory of God.
So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.
I have quoted a rather lengthy passage here because I think Paul’s description of the character of his ministry and his own ministry mentality is so important and beautiful. It is a better portrait of the kind of spiritual maturity in a ministry leader that leads to long-term fruitfulness than I could conjure up. Following are three characteristics of his ministry that define spiritual maturity and drive ministry longevity.
Paul says that there is only one thing that stands as the reason he has this ministry: God’s mercy. He says that he has renounced disgraceful, underhanded, and cunning ways. Those attitudes and actions in ministry leadership are never about the success of the gospel, the salvation and growth of others, or the glory of the Savior. They are about a quest for greater personal power, prestige, position, and control. That means they are the fruit of a proud-hearted leader. Paul likens himself to a jar of clay—even more, a cracked jar of clay—one in which the light of the power of God shows through. This word picture is a rebuke to the macho, martial arts–style, strong, aggressive leadership image that is too present in our leadership circles and dents the reputation of the gospel and harms people. Weakness in a ministry leader is not in the way of a vibrant ministry life but is a vital ingredient of it if that weakness causes him to run to God’s grace for moment-by-moment help and to be open to the ministry of others. Finally, Paul says he is not at the center of his ministry vision but rather the good of others is his motivation and goal. And he says it “for your sake” (2 Cor. 4:15).
Paul is courageous in his ministry of the gospel. It is characterized by an “open statement of the truth” (4:2). There is no fear of man or the circumstances that would cause him to compromise the confrontation, comfort, or call of the gospel in any way. Paul has courage in the face of suffering, not living in fear of being destroyed. It does make me wonder how much of what we do as ministry leaders is driven by fear and not by faith. Finally, you see a beautiful picture of what happens when humility is mixed with courage, when Paul says that “we who live are always being given over to death . . . so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh” (4:11). Note, this is not a complaint about the hardships of ministry. This is a leader who has died to self and all his desires for comfort and affirmation. The glory of self has been replaced by the glory of Christ, so Paul is willing to endure what would drive many of us out of ministry. But there is more.
Maybe hope is the most important characteristic of all because of the ground of Paul’s hope. It’s not in the force of his personality, his ability with words, the sharpness of his mind, his ability to motivate others, the knowledge that he has amassed, or his track record of success. Everything he says about what gives him hope is rooted in the presence, power, promises, and grace of his Redeemer. He has been humbled by the gospel of Jesus Christ, he has courage because of the gospel of Jesus Christ, and he has sturdy hope because of the gospel of Jesus Christ. His hope is rooted in the fact that it is by grace, and grace alone, that he understands the gospel of grace. He says, “God . . . has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ” (4:6). Paul talks of how God turns death into life and how he has been blessed with the amazing resources of God’s all-surpassing power. He rests in the reality that although he is outwardly wasting away, he is blessed with renewing mercies every day. And he rests in the surety of a glorious destiny that will make this present suffering look light and momentary (4:17).
Spiritual maturity in the life and ministry of a ministry leader is about being humbled by the gospel, made courageous by the gospel, and infused with sturdy hope by the gospel. As leaders we are not naturally humble, courageous, or hopeful. We naturally swing from pride to fear and back again. In order to be what we were designed to be and do what we were called to do as leaders, we need grace, which we are called to protect and proclaim to others, ministered to us in a way that progressively transforms our hearts. This means that in order to lead, we need to be rescued daily from ourselves. As leaders we are not as humble or as courageous or as hopeful as we could be by grace. We all need to grow in greater maturity so that we can experience fruitful longevity, and for this we need faithful, loving gospel community.
Strategizing for Ministry Leadership Longevity
So how do you encourage ongoing growth in maturity in the members of your leadership community while also protecting yourself from the temptations of selfism that every ministry leader faces? I want to answer this question by importing a model I’ve used for a long time. I can think of no newer or better tool to hammer into your leadership culture than this one. It is a model of biblical confrontation. Now, don’t be put off by the word confrontation. Biblical confrontation is not about pointed fingers, a red face, a loud voice, and accusatory and condemning words. Rather, it is lovingly helping someone see what he is not seeing so that he can own it and grow. Here’s how gospel growth works: you cannot grieve what you do not see, you cannot confess what you haven’t grieved, and you can’t repent of what you haven’t confessed.
This model of loving, growth-producing confrontation is organized in four parts.
1. Consideration. What do we need to see, and how can we help our fellow leaders to see it? Because of the dynamic of spiritual blindness, we don’t always see ourselves with accuracy, so we all need instruments of seeing to help us. We must not let ourselves think that we’re grace graduates or that no one knows us better than we know ourselves. Because we as leaders have been welcomed by God’s grace, we can be humble and approachable, thereby protected and able to grow.
2. Confession. What thoughts, attitudes, and actions do we need to confess individually and collectively, making humble and honest confession to God and to others when needed? A ministry leadership community that is growing in grace will be a confessing community. There won’t be hidden things in dark closets that we’re afraid or too proud to admit. A grace-filled community does not let sin grow and fester. It does not work around questionable circumstances, patterns, or habits. In a spiritually healthy leadership community, confession isn’t unusual and awkward but a regular part of its culture of grace.
3. Commitment. How is God calling us, individually and as a leadership community, to live out new thoughts, attitudes, words, and actions? Insight is a step toward change, but it’s not change alone. Confession is a further step toward change, but if that confession is not followed by a commitment to a new and more God-honoring way, then it is neither true confession nor change. If confession is the result of eyes that now see and a heart that is grieved, it will be followed by a desire for rescuing and transforming grace. Every leadership community should be constantly pushed forward and matured by fresh commitments to the call of God’s grace.
4. Change. How can we ingrain these new commitments, individually and together, into our routine life and ministry as a leadership community? We must consider where God is calling us to change the way we operate, the attitudes we have toward one another and those we serve, and the way we relate to one another and those we serve. How is God calling us to change the way we think about and do the “business” of ministry? What changes do we need to make, and how will they be made? We must remember that change hasn’t taken place until change has taken place. You don’t follow God by talking about following him but by following him in joyful humility and submission. May God meet us with his grace so that we would be not only willing but joyfully doing.
So I have given you a practical model for strategizing the kind of ministry leadership longevity that is only ever the result of a leadership community continuing to grow in spiritual maturity, individually and collectively. And I am filled with hope for every leadership community around the world, because I really do believe in the awesome power of God’s rescuing, forgiving, and transforming grace, and that we have been given “all things that pertain to life and godliness” (2 Pet. 1:3). Between the “already” of our conversion and our ministry calling and the “not yet” of our home going, God has already given every one of us everything we need to be what we’re supposed to be and to do what we’re supposed to do right here, right now. It is the generosity and surety of this gospel of grace that causes me to write with hope. I hope you have hope, too, in a way that infuses you with humility and courage for the long run.