See the schedule for our fall teaching series / leadership training at the bottom of this post! The sessions will be instructional but are also meant to be open forums for discussion. In most ways, it will be like our spring teaching series, “What Is the Church?” Rather than limiting leadership to “the officers who are in control,” I want us to look at what the Bible truly teaches about different roles and responsibilities within the Church. Consider, for example, the following passage:

There is one body and one Spirit – just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call – one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all. But grace was given to each one of us according to the measure of Christ’s gift… And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes. Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love. ~ Ephesians 4:5-7, 11-16

The Bible places just as much (and probably more) emphasis on how the Body of Christ fits and works together as it does upon “who the leaders are and what they do.” How do we at CPC fit and work together as part of Christ’s body? That is the greater question we will seek to answer in our upcoming series. When considering leadership, at our church or elsewhere, what is your first thought? Is it “What can we do better at our church?” or is it, “What has God told us to do as a church?” This book title helps to explain the difference between the two…

If I might further amend the title, I would add How Jesus Runs the His Church. This is the mindset I want us to share as we consider leadership at CPC.

Lastly, here is the proposed schedule for this fall. I have built some flexibility into it, and we can adjust some dates if needed. The goal is to finish everything a couple weeks before Thanksgiving so we can have officer nominations in late November / early December and officer elections in mid-December / early January. I look forward to seeing you there!

September 10 – What Is Biblical Leadership?

1. Leadership Defined
2. Leadership in the OT
3. Leadership in the NT
4. Leadership in Church History

September 17 – Who Are the Church’s Leaders?

1. Christ’s Authority & Headship
2. Christ’s Appointed Officers
3. The Church’s Ordained Offices
4. The Church’s “Non-Ordained Leaders”

October 1 – What Do the Church’s Leaders Do?

1. The Church’s Activities – Essential vs. Non-Essential
2. The Church’s Structure – Rigid Hierarchy or Organic Union?
3. Ordained Officers – Broad Authority or Specific Responsibilities?
4. Non-Ordained Members – Freed from Responsibilities or Free to Serve?
5. Non-Communing Members – Non-Contributing Participants or Future Leaders?

October 8 – What Do the Church’s Leaders Do? (cont.)

October 15 – How Should the Church Deal with Conflict(s)?

1. The Inevitability of Conflict
2. The Sources of Conflict
3. The Role of Leaders (Both Ordained & Non-Ordained)
4. The Path to Resolution
5. The Hope of Reconciliation & Unity
6. The Reality of “Unfixable” Situations
7. The Assurance of Resolution, Reconciliation, & Unity

October 22 – Leadership at CPC: What Does It Look Like Moving Forward?

November 5 – Leadership at CPC: What Does It Look Like Moving Forward? (cont.)

November 12 (if needed)