Paul's Model of Mentorship and Empowerment

Can leadership lessons from an ancient apostle transform the way we guide our congregations today? Explore how the Apostle Paul's mentorship of Timothy and Titus lays down a timeless blueprint for cultivating future leaders in our churches. Join me, Todd Rhoades, as we unpack Paul's method of equipping and empowering the next generation, not just to spread the gospel but to sustain a vibrant network of servant leaders. Discover practical strategies for creating leadership pipelines within your church, and learn how to effectively delegate authority and responsibility to emerging leaders, thereby fostering their growth and confidence.

Throughout the episode, we will delve into the importance of modeling vulnerability and accountability as essential traits of authentic leadership. You'll hear how sharing our struggles and experiences can create a safe space for budding leaders to learn and thrive. By looking at Paul's letters to Timothy, we'll see the value of providing guidance, encouragement, and challenges to help others grow in their faith and leadership abilities. Prepare to be inspired to follow Paul's example and embrace the role of a mentor, dedicated to nurturing the next generation of church leaders who will continue to carry forward the mission with passion and resilience.

Have questions or comments? Send to podcast@chemistrystaffing.com

Be sure to subscribe to The Healthy Church Staff Podcast wherever you regularly listen to podcasts.

- - - - -

Is Your Church Hiring?
If your church is searching for a new staff member, reach out to Todd for a conversation on how he might be able to help.

Are You Looking for a New Ministry Role?
If you are open to a new church role in the next few months, add your free resume and profile at ChemistryStaffing.com.

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:07

Hi there, welcome to the Healthy Church Staff Podcast. My name is Todd Rhodes. I'm one of the co-founders over at chemistrystaffingcom and I'm so glad you joined me today here on the podcast we have been. If you've not been listening, subscribe to the podcast. Go back and listen to this week's podcast in particular. We're right in the middle of a series this week and next week focusing on things that we can learn, lessons that we can learn from the Apostle Paul, and that speaks directly to our leadership and our churches, as church staff members, as volunteers on teams.

Speaker 1: 0:42

Paul wasn't just a church planter and a theologian. He was also a pretty passionate investor in the next generation of leaders, and that's what we want to talk about today. He understood that the future of the church depended on equipping and empowering other people to carry out the work of the gospel. Throughout his ministry, paul intentionally poured out into younger leaders. I mean think Timothy and Titus. He mentored them, he trained them, he entrusted them with significant responsibilities. He modeled servant leadership to them. He provided guidance and encouragement to them. He challenged them to grow in their faith and their leadership abilities. Just think for a moment about Paul's letters to Timothy. They're filled with practical advice, almost fatherly encouragement, and we don't even know that Paul was a father. But he took Timothy under his wing and he had a deep desire to see Timothy thrive in his ministry. So Paul didn't just tell Timothy what to do, he showed him how to lead. He showed him how to shepherd and how to persevere in the face of challenges. And in 2 Timothy 2.2, paul encourages Timothy. And this is what he says. He said, and these things you've heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable people who will also be qualified to teach others. So this verse encapsulates Paul's commitment to leadership development. He understood that the gospel would spread most effectively through a network of equipped and empowered leaders, and he gave much of his life to build into those leaders. So here's my encouragement and advice for you today Paul's model of leadership and empowerment really, hopefully, should offer some valuable lessons to us as church leaders today, and the first is just we've got to create a leadership pipeline.

Speaker 1: 2:33

Don't wait for leaders to magically appear. Sometimes they do, and that's awesome, but don't wait for leaders to just magically appear. Develop a clear pathway for identifying and training and empowering potential leaders in your church, and this could involve internships or leadership development programs or even a simple shadowing program, just mentoring and building into people and working with emerging leaders so that they can learn from more experienced ones. And can I be honest, a side note here for more experienced ones. And can I be honest, a side note here as the co-founder of a church staffing organization, we help churches find staff. If churches and this is not a condemnation of any of the churches we work with by far, but more the Big C Church we don't do a great job at creating leadership pipelines If we did a lot of our. We wouldn't do a great job at creating leadership pipelines If we did a lot of our. We wouldn't do nearly as many outside hires as what we do, because we would build people up, we would mentor people into roles within our church. So it's really important to create a leadership pipeline.

Speaker 1: 3:40

And another way you can do that is just by delegation, but delegating with purpose. Don't just delegate tasks, delegate authority and responsibility, because when you do that, you're going to empower other people emerging leaders to take on their own projects and to make decisions and to lead initiatives, and this will build their confidence and it will prepare them for greater responsibility in the future. And then finally, just model vulnerability and accountability. Paul was open about his struggles and his weaknesses and don't be afraid to share those on your own journey, particularly with those you're mentoring. It includes your failures and your lessons that you've learned. That's incredibly valuable as you mentor people and your lessons that you've learned that's incredibly valuable as you mentor people. It creates a safe place for emerging leaders, for them themselves to be authentic and to learn from your experiences.

Speaker 1: 4:29

I can imagine Paul. He had a pretty strong personality and some pretty passionate convictions, if you've read the New Testament at all. But I can imagine Paul sometimes having to exercise some patience with some of his younger protégés. There might have been some moments where he just wanted to jump in and take over, but deep down, he knew the importance of allowing them to learn and allowing them to grow at their own pace. So here's your bottom line and your call to action for today. Paul's legacy extends far beyond his own ministry. By investing in the next generation of leaders, he really ensured that the gospel would continue to spread long after he was gone. Matter of fact, we're still talking about it today as church leaders. Man, we've got the same opportunity to leave a lasting legacy by mentoring and empowering others.

Speaker 1: 5:21

So this week, take a concrete step. I don't know what your step is, but take a legitimate, concrete step towards developing at least one young leader in your church. Try and formalize that leadership pipeline. Be intentional about it. Delegate a significant project, maybe to somebody who is an emerging leader. Maybe schedule a regular meeting with someone you're mentoring. Building in the next generation. It is just incredibly, vitally important. But it doesn't just happen all the time.

Speaker 1: 5:50

Don't just wait for leaders to appear magically. Sometimes they do, but a lot of times they don't. There are so many people. The harvest is ripe. I'm telling you, most of our church is a people that would love to step up, that would love to be mentored and love to have you teach them and train them to be the next generation of leaders. So we've got a lot of work to do. Let's get to it. I will talk to you again next week. This is Friday. If you're listening on a Friday. I hope you have a great weekend Tomorrow. Hopefully, for most of you, you can take some time off and refresh and relax for your Sunday. But we will be back here on Monday to continue week two of our study of the Apostle Paul and what we can learn from him. I hope you'll join me then. Have a great weekend. We'll be right back.