Leaders Develop Other Leaders – Paul

Convicted by the Holy Spirit, I surrendered my life to Christ while helping out in a Sunday School classroom of two-year-olds.

I was recruited into the children’s ministry intern program, where I met my wife and was mentored by the children’s pastor, Wanda Parker.

Wanda moved on after some unfortunate, but not untypical, big church conflicts, and I found myself promoted to a full-time staff position overseeing the elementary children’s ministry. 

I had only been a Christian for a short while and knew I needed to grow in basic discipleship. I met with a pastor I deeply admired who served on the church staff.

He had been a missionary in Asia for over ten years. I explained my predicament and asked him if he would meet with me regularly and help me build a solid discipleship foundation. We agreed on having breakfast together the next week. 

I arrived at the restaurant, got a table, and eagerly waited. He never arrived. I ate by myself and headed to church. He arrived an hour later, and when I asked about our meeting, he was crestfallen as he had forgotten. We rescheduled it for next week.

I arrived, got a table, and once again, he never came. When he arrived at church, I waited for him to recall, but he did not. I decided to pursue another avenue.

As I write this, I am about his age at that time. I am sure that if a young leader asked me to meet with them and help them grow in basic discipleship, I would feel honored, because effective leaders identify and develop other leaders.

Paul’s relationship with Timothy stands as a monument to that truth.

Again, an entire book could be written on Paul and Timothy, but we will look at a few passages that indicate some of the key characteristics of Paul’s role in Timothy’s life as a leader.

Paul Calls and Prepares Timothy

Paul came to Derbe and then to Lystra, where a disciple named Timothy lived, whose mother was Jewish and a believer but whose father was a Greek. The believers at Lystra and Iconium spoke well of him. Paul wanted to take him along on the journey, so he circumcised him because of the Jews who lived in that area, for they all knew that his father was a Greek. As they traveled from town to town, they delivered the decisions reached by the apostles and elders in Jerusalem for the people to obey. So the churches were strengthened in the faith and grew daily in numbers. (Acts 16:1-5)

Arriving in Lystra, Paul meets Timothy. Whether he traveled there specifically for that purpose is unclear.

Timothy evinces the kind of personal godliness we looked at earlier, as evidenced in his standing in the Christian community, both in Lystra and nearby Iconium.

We can identify a few key elements in their early relationship. Paul extends an invitation, a calling, to join his ministry team. Paul invites Timothy to travel with him and participate with him in ministry. He anticipates challenges that will impact Timothy, specifically the fact that his father was a Gentile and his mother Jewish.

As we know from Acts and the body of Pauline writings, one of the most significant issues in the early church was the status of Jewish and Gentile believers.

Paul foresees how that issue could impact Timothy and subsequently circumcises Timothy to avoid any potential conflict. Then Paul includes Timothy in the ministry team, sharing in the apostolic role God had given Paul. Calling, preparation, and co-ministry were the first steps.

During the Polish years of ministry, we hosted a six-week leadership development course every summer. A young leader from California joined us for our inaugural program and participated every summer afterward.

I felt led by God to invite him to travel with me on a ministry trip to Minsk, Belarus. In preparation for the trip, I told him that he would have to cut his shoulder-length hair. Belarussian Christians are very conservative, and long hair would likely be an issue.

With some degree of angst, he cut his beautiful locks. We traveled and served together for several days. The next summer, he led a team to serve at a summer camp in Belarus. Today, John and his wife lead their own fruitful ministry.

Calling, preparation, and co-ministry are key elements in identifying and developing emerging leaders.

Ministry Assignment

But when the Jews in Thessalonica learned that Paul was preaching the word of God at Berea, some of them went there too, agitating the crowds and stirring them up. The believers immediately sent Paul to the coast, but Silas and Timothy stayed at Berea. Those who escorted Paul brought him to Athens and then left with instructions for Silas and Timothy to join him as soon as possible. (Acts 17:13-15)

As Paul moved through Asia Minor preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ, many Jews took offense at his message.

As a result, they stirred up crowds to oppose Paul. Sometimes this led to violence and put Paul in physical danger. In Berea, the Christians decided to take preemptive action and whisked Paul away to safety.

In so doing, Silas and Timothy were charged with continuing the ministry. They had been traveling and ministering with Paul and had heard Paul’s preaching and teaching distinctives.

Although not clear in the text, it is likely that Paul had listened to them teach, making sure that they presented Christianity with accuracy and clarity. The next step after serving together was for Paul to assign them the task of continuing the ministry in his absence.

Here we find another important principle for developing emerging leaders, namely assigning them ministry tasks. There comes a time when a leader stands down and lets an emerging ministry take on ministry responsibilities.

I was called to serve as the children’s ministry leader at Mariners Church in 1986. Kenton Beshore, the lead Pastor, was a gifted preacher and leader.

He had me participate from time to time in the services, reading Scripture, leading prayer, and other small roles. Another Pastor, Kevin Pike, worked with me on a weekly basis to oversee my leadership in the children’s ministry.

After two years, Kenton invited me to preach. He asked to go over my sermon with me and gave me important coaching and insight. Thirty-five years later, I still remember that first message like yesterday. Kenton was an effective leader, assigning me an important ministry task.

Since that time, I have preached in churches all around the world, and thank God for that first opportunity Kenton gave me in 1988.

Paul and Timothy

Paul and Timothy, servants of Christ Jesus, to all God’s holy people in Christ Jesus at Philippi, together with the overseers and deacons: Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. (Philippians 1:1-2)

Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother, to God’s holy people in Colossae, the faithful brothers, and sisters in Christ: Grace and peace to you from God our Father. (Colossians 1:1-2)

What began as an experienced leader developing an emerging leader became a true ministry partnership. Paul brought Timothy along into a role where ministry was shared. We see this most clearly in Paul’s literary ministry. 

We think of Paul’s monumental writings, such as Romans, Galatians, Colossians, Philippians, etc., but in the last two examples, it is Paul and Timothy who are identified as the writers.

Without making too much of something, we note that in both letters, it is Paul and Timothy who are identified as the authors. What had been a mentor relationship matured to the point where Paul wanted Timothy identified as the co-author of important writing.

Effective leaders develop emerging leaders by helping them mature and become a leader in their own right, the leader God would have them to be.

Henrietta Mears served for many years as the Christian Education Director at First Presbyterian Church in Hollywood. She was instrumental in founding Gospel Light Publishing, Forest Home Conference Center, and Gospel Literature International.

However, her impact on emerging leaders was even more amazing. The young leaders who attended her Sunday School class included Bill and Vonette Bright (Campus Crusade for Christ – CRU), Billy Graham, Jim Rayburn (Young Life), Donn Moomaw (Bel Air Presbyterian Church), and Frederick Bruner (Bible Scholar).

These leaders went on to have enormous leadership roles in 20th-century evangelical Christianity. She developed emerging leaders and encouraged each to become the leader God intended, celebrating their Kingdom impact. 

Practical Mentor

When we read Paul’s letters to Timothy, we identify a number of issues that Timothy faced as a leader. We know of them because Paul writes as a mentor offering counsel and guidance to the younger leader.

Here are some samples from I Timothy.

This is certainly not an exhaustive list from I Timothy, but it makes it clear that Paul mentored Timothy by providing counsel and guidance as a mentor.

Effective leaders develop emerging leaders by serving as mentors, providing them with practical guidance and counsel on leadership issues.

Over the years, I have faced numerous challenges, opportunities, and difficulties as a leader. In each case, I had a group of leaders that I would instinctively consult.

Over forty years of ministry, God has brought different leaders into my life to serve as mentors in a manner similar to Paul and Timothy. One leader stands out as a mentor over that entire forty years.

In 1985, I was appointed the Children’s Pastor in one of the fastest-growing churches in the United States. Shortly after taking up that role, one of the children’s ministry interns made me aware of some moral issues associated with the Senior Pastor. The intern’s mother worked as one of his secretaries.

During that time of turmoil, Tom Wilson, the Chairman of the Elder Board, asked to meet with me. He gave me some very direct and difficult counsel, which I realized was from the LORD.

Shortly after that, I left the church staff under duress along with Tom and many of the leadership. Shortly thereafter, Tom was instrumental in my calling to Mariners Church, another growing church. Tom served on the founding Board of Every Generation Ministries.

During my time leading EGM, I faced numerous financial crises, staffing difficulties, relocation to the US, extensive growth, and a host of other leadership challenges and opportunities. In each moment, Tom was the one person I called for advice and counsel.

In my personal life, we adopted a child overseas, struggled with reverse culture shock, wayward children, and various typical marital struggles.

Each time I was on the phone with Tom, sitting over lunch or otherwise gathering counsel and insight. Tom Wilson served as a mentor, providing this emerging leader with valued counsel and insight. 

Leadership development is a crucial issue in children’s ministry, so next week’s blog will summarize the principles we have identified over the last few weeks. 

My blog will be posted the same time every week and I hope you can join us next week. The podcast version is available here!