Equipping the Ship's Crew

By first serving as a follower, a leader subsequently can best understand his followers. Hegel – Philosophy of Mind (1830)


While teaching in Sweden I learned that the term used in Ephesians 4:11 about the call of leaders to "Equip the saints" is translated in Swedish as the same term for "Outfitting a ship of war". Now we have to admit that Naval Commanders know the importance of proper preparation and planning. This was especially true for Viking commanders.

I wish Christian leaders were as keen at equipping their Christian crew as captains were at equipping their colleagues to sail the high seas. After all, this is the command of the Holy Spirit in scripture. But who is the crew on the "Good Ship Grace"? Who has bee called and appointed as the ones who are supposed to carry out the "works of service" in the church and world?

If we who lead the organizations we call churches and parachurch groups do not know the answer to this question we may have missed the whole point of things. Somehow the message has become distorted over the years and those called to lead or Captain the vessel have started to do all the work of the ministry. In complete disobedience to God's commands the clergy now try to do everything.

Teach
Inspire
Command
Man the guns
Trim the sails
Heal the sick and wounded
Discipline the crew
Navigate
Cook
Clean
Steer
Stand guard 24 x 7

This leaves the crew with little of importance to do. The result is a luxury cruise with most of the able bodied people sitting around sipping cool drinks and a few harried individuals doing all the work. One wag defined football as "50,000 people who desperately need exercise watching 22 men who desperately need rest run up and down a field and beat each other senseless." It also be the definition of most churches.

This makes the job impossible and ridiculous. But worst of all it makes the mission fail. Why would any ship's captain try to do all the work? It would be insane for anyone heading and organization to attempt to do all these things.

Why has the church been impotent in modern times? Its greatest crew assets are sitting and sipping, waiting to be equipped for ministry. They all desperately need to be Mobilized, Trained and Released in to the works of the Lord.

Some leaders actually adopt the crew approach but fail to train the crew. They say things like, "Every person a minister" but have no training school for equipping them in the practical aspects of ministry. That kind of short sightedness will result in many of the crew becoming casualties and a very sloppy ship.

Every person is gifted, talented and sable to minister in ways both large and small. Most of what I learned about Christian leadership came from people like Tom Seith, Frank Baker, Gary Booth, Larry Chrouch, Jim Keister, Maurie Loomans, Ken Shull and other "Lay" people who were engineers, researchers, scientists, businessmen and planners not clergy. But thay had commitment, integrity, structure and patience that apply in every organization.

Natural ability without education has more often raised a man to glory and virtue than education without natural ability. Marcus T. Cicero


If I have seen further…it is by standing upon the shoulders of giants. Isaac Newton