A Blog by Jason Salamun

Here’s a simplified overview of the biblical model of church leadership as best as I can see it.

Jesus is the Head of the Church. The Senior Pastor so to speak. (Ephesians 5:23)

The scriptures are the ultimate authority because Jesus is the ultimate authority. (2 Timothy 3: 16-17)

His agenda trumps the church’s…always. (Colossians 1:18)

In scripture, the church is not a business or even a non-profit organization.

The church is a family of believers who love God and people. (Acts 2:41-47; 1 Timothy 3:15)

The church is the very embodiment of Christ. (1 Corinthians 6:15)

The entire church are priests. (1 Peter 2:9)

Ministers of the gospel. (Ephesians 4:12)

Storytellers of the gospel. (1 Peter 4:10-11)

With their words and lives. (Matthew 5:16)

From the church body, a team of leaders are called to lead. (1 Thessalonians 5:12)

Key word: called. (Hebrews 13:17)

They are the elders/overseers/leaders of the church. (1 Peter 5:1-2)

They are all equal. (Acts 14:23)

But there is a leader of leaders. (Acts 15:22)

A first among equals.

Often their primary role is teaching and preaching. (1 Timothy 5:17)

Not just anyone can or should be an elder.

There are biblical qualifications. (1 Timothy 3:1-7)

And biblical responsibilities. (Titus 1:9; 1 Peter 5:1-4)

In short, elders lead the church by following Jesus. (1 Peter 5:3-4)

And equip God’s people for works of service. (Ephesians 4:11-13)

Taking on various forms and functions. (Ephesians 4:11)

There are other leaders called deacons. (Philippians 1:1)

Their role is serving by leading ministries. (1 Timothy 3:13)

They have biblical qualifications and responsibilities too. (1 Timothy 3:8-12)

The structure of a biblical church is marked by humility, service, cooperation, accountability, prayer, love, and gospel community. (Romans 8:9-18)

Followers of Jesus are to be in community and have a role in it. (Romans 12:4-8)

We usually call them members, owners, or partners. (Ephesians 2:19)

They aren’t to be spectators.

Here’s the deal:

They don’t just have a part, they are a part. (Ephesians 5:30)

If a healthy church is following Jesus they are joining him in the renewal of all things. (Revelation 21:5)

Together. (Acts 2:42-46)

Momentum grows. (Acts 2:47)

So do the people. (Acts 4:33)

And Jesus is made much of along the way. (John 12:32)

May your church (and mine) be a biblical, healthy, loving church.

Centered on the gospel; expressed in community; on a mission from God. (Matthew 28:18-20)

Guided and empowered by the Holy Spirit. (Acts 1:8)

A shining city on a hill. (Matthew 5:14)

An unstoppable force. (Matthew 16:18)

Remembering Jesus is the hero and under him we are all equal. (Hebrews 12:2; Romans 3:23; James 2:1)

To the glory of God and for the good of our cities. (1 Corinthians 10:31; Jeremiah 29:7)

What do micro-breweries, indie artists, and church plants have in common?

They are the little guys.

For as long as I can remember I’ve always rooted for the little guy.

Rocky and Drago

It began when I read “The Little Engine That Could” in first grade which preached determination and perseverance against all odds. As a child of the 80’s, I was a huge fan of the Rocky movies and recall the profound effect it had on me when the underdog American hero Rocky Balboa defeated the unstoppable, cyborg-Russian Ivan Drago. I remember hearing the PG version of the David and Goliath story in church which further cemented my affinity for the little guy.

It seems it’s the little guy that’s on the verge of what’s next; who’s the catalyst for change; who’s always pushing the envelope and challenging the status quo. They are the outlaws, the mavericks, and renegades.  Ordinary people who aren’t content with ordinary lives. Pioneers driven by dreams and fueled with hope. Their passion is unmatched.

Perhaps it’s good to always be “the little guy” at something. To feel the odds stacked against you; to need help from another; to resist complacency.

Even when the micro-brewer has a large distribution, the indie-artist has a top 20 hit, or the new church grows in influence, it’s wise to continually put ourselves in position to be the little guy. We should always be striving for something that’s too big for us. As C.S. Lewis said, “Aim at heaven and you will get earth thrown in. Aim at earth and you get neither.”

I guess the reason I root for the little guy is because I am the little guy.

May it always be so.

A handful of random thoughts on church planting and leadership.

There’s a healthy way to start and lead a church without losing your soul.

Jesus has left footprints to guide us and our responsibility as leaders is to see them and follow him.

Your calling to lead a church will never, ever, ever trump God’s requirements to lead a church.

Rather than starting a church at the expense of your family, include them.

He has called you not because you’re so great, but because he is.

You must be faithful in a world full of fads.

You must boldly pursue him in a world that doesn’t.

The idea of a super-spiritual lone ranger pastor from whom all things flow is unbiblical and unhealthy.

The church is the body of Christ made up of many parts, not a giant robot with you behind the controls.

Funny how I had more answers 3 years ago than I do today.

Like many would-be church planters, I was a bit arrogant and knew it all.

Then I started a church and soon new questions arose that I didn’t even know existed.

We church planters read and learn from the same circle of people.

We live in an age of cookie-cutter churches and copycat church planters.

We  look like our favorite churches and talk like our favorite leaders.

We’re not original, we’re posers.

We need to get over our man-crushes on celebrity leaders.

It’s pathetic and needs to stop.

Be a man, not a puppy dog.

Babies aren’t born adults and neither are churches.

Seeds don’t turn into trees overnight and neither do churches.

In a culture that values the speed of the microwave it’s hard to appreciate the the slow bake of an oven.

Yet, which method makes a tastier turkey?

Something to think about.

Ultimately, it’s about the gospel.

The gospel always produces community.

The gospel always compels us to mission.

The gospel always leads to Jesus.

Why is it flight attendants stress the importance of putting an oxygen mask on first before assisting other passengers during an emergency situation?

Because you can’t be a hero when you’re dead.

Oxygen gives you the capacity to help others. Without it, you die, as well as the potential lives you could have saved. Putting the mask on is not selfish, it’s wise.

The same principle is true for leaders.

As I work to get back in shape I ‘m seeing how much it impacts my capacity to lead. I have more energy, mental clarity, discipline, and drive.  I just plain feel better.

As a result, I’m more motivated than ever to do what I need to do.

You might be bright.

You might be talented.

You might be passionate.

You might be focused.

You might know it all.

But if you don’t take care of yourself, your capacity will dwindle and you’ll likely leave untapped potential on the table.

The oxygen mask just might be the difference between one life saved or twenty lives saved. It might be the gap between good and great. It might be the key to lead you from where you are to where you want to be.

At Project Church we value authenticity.  We give one another permission to not pretend to be any more or any less than we really are.

As a leader I know that if we’re going to create a community of openness and honesty then it begins with me. Pastors aren’t professional Christians, we’re proof that a perfect God calls and uses imperfect people for his purposes.

I have weaknesses just as much as anyone.  Allow me to share a couple:

Authenticity doesn’t come easy for me
I have a tendency to put on the face that people want to see. I want to give others freedom to be real but don’t often give myself that same freedom.  This is why it’s good that I’m part of a church that keeps it real because they challenge me to do the same.  They help me in my recovery from hypocrisy.

I’m fiercely independent
We live in a culture that values independence but I’m learning that it’s overrated.  Early on in my life I felt that the only person I could depend on is myself.  Getting married really helped me to discover the beauty in harmony as you intertwine your life with another.  Being in a church as shown me how much more effective people are when they latch on to something bigger than themselves.  My community helps me learn to depend on others and see that life’s about more than what I can accomplish alone.

Authentic community helps protect me from my natural inclination to be a lone-ranger Christian.  We’re so much better together than we are apart.  God was on to something when he built the church.  Go figure.  We aren’t meant to do life alone.  We’re meant to journey through life together and help each other live the lives we’re meant to live.

These two values (authenticity and community) aren’t born out of the strenghs of the leader (me). They are rooted in scripture, provide guardrails for our church, and guide me out of my weakness.

Read a fascinating article from Gary Hamel in the Wall Street Journal about a talk he gave at a recent Willow Creek Leadership Summit regarding the Church.

Here are some noteworthy quotes that made me cheer.  Some of which many of us have been saying for quite some time:

My hypothesis: the problem with organized religion isn’t that it’s too religious, but that it’s too organized.

Absolutely agree. What is to be a movement has often been institutionalized. This doesn’t mean there’s no leadership- but it does mean that there’s a danger in stuffing what should be set free in a box.

…church attendance may be lagging, but nine out of ten Americans still claim to have faith in a spiritual being—a number hasn’t changed much over the past two decades.

This is not a new statistic. It’s curious, and sad, that the church is the last place those who are interested in faith would go to discover more about spiritual matters. I am hopeful for the future as many new and renewed churches are seeking to change that story. I’m happy to say that Project Church is one of them.

Over the centuries, religion has become institutionalized, and in the process encrusted with elaborate hierarchies, top-heavy bureaucracies, highly specialized roles and reflexive routines. (Kinda like your company, but only more so). Religion won’t regain its relevance until church leaders chip off these calcified layers, rediscover their sense of mission, and set themselves free to reinvent “church” for a new age.

Don’t miss the key words here: rediscover and reinvent. I’m reminded of the quote by H. Richard Niebuhr, “The great Christian revolutions come not by the discovery of something that was not known before. They happen when somebody takes radically something that was always there.”

I truly believe that the Church isn’t going to thrive because of anything new, hip, or innovative as much as we will by returning to our roots as found in the scriptures as a community on mission driven by the gospel of Jesus.

Read the article in its entirety

Picture a little girl who wanted to fly.

She inflated a big red balloon with helium, shut her eyes, and her imagination told her she was flying.

She loved it.

Her grip on the balloon grew tighter until, POP!, the balloon burst.

The girl opened her eyes and saw her feet on the ground.

She cried because she wasn’t flying any more.

Little did she know, she never was.

The same is true for you and I.

Only the red balloon is our ego.

May we open our eyes before it pops.

I love Conan O’Brien.

I even named my cat after him.

He used to do this skit called, “In the Year 2000.”

Where he’d peer into the future.

Funny stuff.

This is my attempt to look into the not-so-distant future.

At shifts I see looming or arriving in churches.

They are coupled together but they don’t all hold pinky fingers.

I’d be curious to see which shifts you dig and which ones you don’t.

What you see as either/or and what you see as and/both.

Read carefully and leave a reply.

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Churches starting churches.

Churches launching campuses.

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Pastors leading from out front.

Pastor leading from up top.

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The development of leaders.

The replacement of a leader.

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The Bible opened on top of the collected works of Seth Godin, John Piper, and Rob Bell.

The Bible laying beside collected works of Seth Godin, John Piper, and Rob Bell.

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The peer-to-peer networking of the church.

The power-grabbing consolidation of the church.

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Discipleship as a first-step, next-step, grow-as-you-go, journey towards Jesus.

Discipleship as an online program, just-take-this-class, activity about Jesus.

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Iron-sharpening-iron community.

Anonymous-staying-anonymous community.

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Churches sending Christians.

Christians consuming churches.

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Becoming the church Jesus had in mind.

Becoming clones of the church you’re favorite leader had in mind.

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Orthodox in theology, open in methodology.

Open in theology, open in methodology.

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Jesus as the end.

Jesus as the means to an end.

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Shaping culture.

Shaped by culture.

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Preachers and teachers communicating with their family.

Preachers and teachers communicating with hologram technology to an audience.

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Courage in the face of rejection and persecution.

Compromise in the face of rejection and persecution.

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I could list more, but that’s plenty for now.

Let’s talk.

What do you like/dislike?

Do you agree/disagree?

What would you add?

Those crazy dreamers.

Just when things are set to cruise control, those crazy dreamers come along and change the course.

Just when roots are firmly established, those crazy dreamers come along and shake the tree of complacency.

Just when times get to be predictable, those crazy dreamers come along and interrupt the status quo.

Everybody tells you to dream- but not everyone wants (or expects) you to actually follow through with it.  Especially if it rattles their cage.

Dreaming is safe.

Doing is daring.

Ignore the critics and cynics.

But listen to wisdom.

And advance that dream you crazy dreamer.

That’s why you’re here.

Remember that epic scene from the film ‘Braveheart’ when William Wallace (played by Mel Gibson), with his face painted like a college football fan, inspired his men with these words?

“Fight and you may die. Run, and you’ll live…at least a while. And dying in your beds, many years from now, would you be willin’ to trade all the days, from this day to that, for one chance, just one chance, to come back here and tell our enemies that they may take our lives, but they’ll never take…OUR FREEDOM”

Now imagine him riding off to safety while those men went and fought for freedom.

Not the same story is it?

Instead, he led the charge against their adversaries and laid it all out there. Inspiring men with more than his words- but with his own life.

He led from out front- not up top.

This is leading forward and that’s how I want to lead.

How often do we see leaders who can make a good speech (or sermon) and then step back as people enter into the fight of their lives?  Meanwhile the leader returns to the safety of their throne called the office chair or La-Z-Boy.

Top-down leadership is all about “have to’s” and fueled with fear.
“Do this or something bad will happen to you.”

Out-front leadership is all about “get to’s” and ignited with inspiration.
“Do this and something bad may or may not happen, but it will be worth it.”

Big difference, huh?

Which type of leader do you want to follow?

What kind of leader are you?

Or as the great leader, Michael Scott, puts it:

“Did General Patton actually fight in World War II? No, he delegated the fighting to soldiers after telling them what to do…I like to be in the trenches. But I still have to tell other people what to do…’Lead that battalion over there.’ ‘You guys, jump on those grenades and save a village.’ That’s just good management.”