Unit 6 of the Porterbrook Learning Module entitled Understanding Leadership defines leaders as servant-leaders, who take the lead among the people of God by providing direction through contextual gospel teaching, modeling & influencing gospel-centered culture-creation, taking the initiative to challenge, refute & confront erroneous teaching & living without succumbing to the idolatrous desires for comfort, acceptance or reputation.
At the time of writing this we have baptized nearly 30 of the 73 people who are on our membership & consistent attendees lists over the last 12 months. The Lord has given us a very poor, rough around the edges & new to the context of church family group of people. That being the context of who we are in terms of people our leaders have courageously raised the banner of the gospel through teaching in various veins.
We lift high the value of expository preaching through books of the Bible and have chosen to teach through Luke’s Gospel over the course of 3 years with occasional breaks for more topically focused series. We also encourage and actively recruit members to continue with further leadership development and discipleship through a Porterbrook learning site.
Our gospel communities are committed to gospel-centered culture creation by utilizing Porterbrook material such as Gospel Change, Gospel Living, Gospel Relationships & Gospel Communities as resources for our teaching teams to be equipped with. We are also very intentional with strategic relationship building in our weekly large gathering and midweek GC’s through the sharing of gospel stories, which are meant to help people highlight God’s provision in the midst of their struggles and triumphs.
One thing that is super encouraging in this season is observing the way that our membership are beginning to take the initiative on providing pastoral care for people in need as well as disciplining one another in the gospel. 7 – 8 months ago there were only 3-4 of us who were leading in these two ways but today there are roughly 40 adult members who are honestly, surprisingly & miraculously engaged in serving the hurting, the poor and the lonely as well as challenging, encouraging and rebuking sinfulness in one another through the gospel. People really are, according to their own stage of growth, actively serving one another with their possessions, time, talents & wealth as well as challenging one another to cling to Christ and never return to their old ways of living. When I hear a young man who has only been clean from the bondage of drug use for 5 months challenge another young woman to literally cling to Christ and never return to that place of slavery for wanting to go back to living with her drug using ex-boyfriend I literally lose it a little emotionally.
As far as concrete steps to grow I think I can only speak of what the Lord has done in me and pray that he does the same in our church family. I struggle with fear of disappointing people, losing the acceptance of others and desiring to prove myself worthy of belonging. The Lord has continued to remind me of my deep need for the gospel and has graciously taught me in very personal ways that I am His son and that nothing can ever separate me from his love which means that I can boldly approach him daily because he is my dad and because of Christ I am part of his family. So concretely… as my identity in Christ continues to be formed in me, though it is complete already I am still being conformed, I am learning not to cower in fear or angrily and impatiently confront. The Spirit reminds me moment by moment that I am accepted. Adopted. I’m not alone. So, resting in this, I can be a servant-leader who leads the people of God.