Leader’s Maxim

by Jeff Tunnell & President Dwight D. Eisenhower

You cannot teach what you do not know.

You cannot lead where you will not go. —

President Dwight D. Eisenhower

In speaking of the Lead Pastor’s role in Cell ministry I think the President’s quote is an apt summary.  Want to add yours?

1 thought on “Leader’s Maxim

  • I have a question – what is a lead pastor? If you have autonomous cells that have qualified and equipped leaders, who are facilitated and supported by those with equipping gifts, then what do you need a lead pastor for?

    Wouldn’t you really identify this person as a ‘church planter’ who identifies opportunities for new cells, identifies and trains equippers to maintain the health of these cells, casts the vision and moves on?

    When you use the term lead pastor (or Sr Pastor) I still get the paradigm of an organization that extends only to the limits of that person’s abilities (or control) – or extends to the limits of the building, (or campuses as the popular term is now), or geography.

    If we really are intent on reaching the world, we are going to have to let this thing grow exponentially, allowing Christ to be the Head, the Holy Spirit to direct, the cell leaders to lead, and the cell members to minister.

    Is the Christian life really that complex that we need some point person to oversee it unfolding? We are talking about 6 to 8 billion people here – only God Himself can oversee that kind of scale.

    And let’s go back to the Biblical Value System that we maintain is the basis of this ‘new/old’ paradigm. I remember going through Bill Beckham’s Two Winged Church seminars, and I also just read Dr Ralph’s latest book. The Christ is incarnated IN THE BASIC BODY! That means everything else (large group celebration, equipping track, equippers, leaders, planters, buildings, facilities, specialized ministry focus) exists to facilitate, nurture, feed, serve the BASIC BODY.

    From my point of view, “many” are still digging in the same hole – just trying to do ‘church’ better by mandating people into small groups – another activity – still guilting people into attending activities and events that are ‘lead’ by the pastoral staff – instead of completely freeing people to live under the headship of Jesus Christ.

    Until ‘we’ realize that we can’t control people by imposing Old Testament Law (or New Testament Law) on them, nor that the Law in any way will produce righteousness beyond basic conformance to cultural Christian norms for behavior, will we truly enter into our calling to be the body of Christ on the earth.

    Until people realize that they cannot depend on ‘the church’ to change their nature, or to get them through the maze of living in a fallen world, or to find any personal significance in their efforts to serve God, they will never find the true hope, the true love, the true joy, which is Christ alone!
    (I include myself in the group that has not yet completely cast off the old clothes of self-righteousness and put on the new clothes of Christ-righteousness. Self – I rebuke you – physician heal thyself – alas I cannot – Jesus heal me!)

    Here is my suggestion for ‘lead pastors’. You want to transition to a cell church model? Sell the building, close down all the programs, fire all the staff. Then take the 10 people who are left and start a prototype cell. Those 10 people can afford to support you – 10 x 10% – get it? Now you can refocus your attention on walking in the Spirit, equipping believers, reaching the lost. Once you have learned via the school of hard knocks how to truly minister in Christ, (maybe 10 years later) and you get to the point of having 100 people and a large group meeting going once in awhile, then QUIT! Do it all over again. Do it better next time.

    Otherwise, we are just playing a game – shifting the rules to make ourselves look smarter than the rest – selling books and seminars – not truly building the Kingdom of the King – just filling up our empty souls with ‘spiritual activity’ in hopes that no one will notice we are just faking it.

    Paul “Shiff” Shiffer

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