Adult Bible Study 
Sunday, January 23, 2005 
Leaders are responsible for developing leaders 
Leadership is essential to the success of the work of businesses and the work of 
the church. We have leaders all around us: political leaders, CEOs, military and 
church leaders, parents, coaches, teachers, pastors and many others. Some are 
exemplary; others, not so. 
Recall your experiences as a follower. Name three or four people whom you 
believe exhibited the best kind of leadership toward you and others. What traits 
or characteristics did they have that made them attractive to you? Name three or 
four people who exhibited the worst kind of leadership toward you and others. 
What are these characteristics? Why did they affect you in this way? What are the 
differences between the two types of leaders? 
Definition of Leadership 
John Maxwell (21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership) summarizes the many 
definitions of leadership with this: 
“Leadership is influence; nothing more or nothing less.” 
Leadership is an art that can be learned. It is 90% common to all organizations; 
the remaining 10% pertains to distinctiveness of their particular business or 
organization. 
Examples of leadership from the Scriptures: 
1 Moses receives good advice. Who gave it to him and what did he do? (Ex. 
18:13-23) 
2 Nehemiah has a vision of rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem (Nehemiah 1:1-4, 2:1-5); 
3 Paul is delighted in the growth of young churches (2 Thess. 1:3-4). 
4 The best example of leadership is that of Jesus Himself. Around the world, 
there are two billion people who look to Jesus as their model. What is his direction 
for leadership? See Luke 22:24-26; Matt. 20:24-27. How would you define the 
leadership of Jesus? Jesus’ leadership style is always at the heart of Christian 
leadership in the church. What underpins servant leadership in Jesus or those who 
follow him? (1 Cor. 13) 
Leaders are in the best position to develop leaders. 
A pastor and leaders in the church must be servant leaders. 
Having servant leadership in mind, and using Kouzes and Posner’s (The 
Leadership Challenge) five practices of exemplary leadership listed below, how 
can the pastor and congregation take a leadership role in the essential task of 
recruitment of men for the office of the pastoral ministry as well as other essential 
leadership roles in the congregation? 
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Challenge the process: 1.
Choose the best answer: 
When recruiting for service among God’s people: 
a) leave it up to God, 
b) simply allow teens and/or adults to “catch the call” and follow through on 
their own, 
c) new and creative methods of recruitment may be necessary to be successful 
in recruitment, 
d) a well-thought out vision or plan is necessary to be an effective recruiter, 
e) c and d of the above. 
Discuss the reason you chose your answer. (Jeremiah 29:11) 
Inspire a shared vision: 2.
Pastors and God’s people need to earnestly consider visioning for the recruitment 
of future pastors and leaders. People are energized by an attractive vision to which 
they are prepared to commit themselves. Without a clearly stated and wellcommunicated 
vision, the recruitment of workers in God’s vineyard will falter. 
Within that vision must be a well thought out strategy as to how the recruitment 
will be accomplished. Implementation of the strategy must follow. Reflection on 
the process will reveal how the plan is working. 
a) What do the Scriptures say about visioning? (Proverbs 15:22; 16:3; 29:18; 
Matt. 28:18-20) 
b) What kind of vision or plan does your congregation have for the important 
task of recruiting church workers? Identify your vision. 
3. Encouraging the heart: 
Everyone appreciates recognition and commendation. God’s people play major 
roles in encouraging men and women for ministry (Proverbs 25:11). 
a) What ways should the local church continue to encourage specifically the 
candidate for the ministry when he (and his family) is at university and/or the 
seminary? (Hebrews 11:1-2, 5) 
b) How might we better show our appreciation of those leaders among us in the 
church?
Model the way: 4.
If leadership is influence, then pastors and significant others play major roles in 
influencing worthy candidates for the responsibility of the various offices of 
ministry in the church, including that of pastor. a) Think for a moment where 
your influencing opportunities are. Jot down a list of the times and places where 
you come into contact with other people. Are there unrealized opportunities? 
b) Which may be the best three opportunities to influence others? 
c) How might you model or influence God’s people to consider service among 
God’s people? (Matt. 5:13-16; Titus 2:7-9) 
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Enable others to act: 5.
One of the congregation’s important tasks is to develop future leaders for the 
church. God’s people, including pastors, are models of servant leadership. They 
are also teachers and trainers. Jesus was always about developing leaders. He 
spent three years with his disciples teaching, training and developing their abilities. 
a) What are some of the ways Jesus used to teach and/or train his followers? 
(Matt. 5-7; Mark 6:7; John 3:3-8; John 6:1-11; John 10:1-10; Luke 15) 
Throughout all these intentional activities, one must bind them together with an 
active prayer life. Without prayer, we cannot know God’s call or direction, and 
we are left to our human desires. What does Jesus urge us to do with respect to 
recruitment of church workers? (Matt. 9:37; Luke 10:2; John 14:13-14) 
RSVP'05 is a recruitment initiative of Lutheran Church–Canada 
which asks members of congregations to identify men and women 
whom they believe have the gifts and talents for church work vocations 
and local service. 
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