What Do Missional Leaders Look Like? #6

March 15, 2007 | Filed Under leadership, missional |

The sixth characteristic in our series on what missional leaders look like from notes of Dr. Dan Morgan, Nehemiah Church Planting Professor at Southwestern seminary is:

They disciple with a view to deployment on mission, not servicing the organization.

Morgan stated that as the institutional church ages an increasing percentage of its workers and leaders are deployed to service existing members and maintain the organization. However, a missional leader is committed to raising up leaders primarily for kingdom involvement, not maintenance. At this point Morgan makes an interesting assessment, he states: “This implies a certain bias towards limiting size to control complexity. A missional leader embraces this as an opportunity to plant other daughter churches by sending out leaders and workers into the harvest fields.” This doesn’t mean that large churches are not, or can not be missional, but it does suggest that size is not a determining factor. If a church with a missional focus grows large numerically, the missional leader will simply strategize as to how to turn more laborers out into the harvest fields.

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3 comments so far
  1. Bill Huffhine March 15, 2007 4:42 pm

    Hey bro!

    Thanks for this list. I’ve created a whole section of my blogroll just for your 7 posts on this topic. Great stuff. My blog is http://awaitingrain.typepad.com.

    Blessings to you!
    bill

  2. Brad Brisco March 15, 2007 5:03 pm

    Bill

    Thanks for the link, like the site and look forward to further discussion.

  3. The Gathering March 15, 2007 9:31 pm

    I’d have to say that working within the confines of a larger church (100 or more) can make it difficult to live life as a person on mission for Christ. There are always lots of good things to keep running (i.e. programs). I guess that’s why we went the route of planting an organic house church and encourage others to do the same. I guess that’s why it’s easier to see others leave to go on to plant new churches - that’s our mission!

    John Hulen