Biblical coaching of pastoral trainees, done in the way Moses, Jesus and Paul did it, proves to have many advantages. These include the following: 1.    Biblical. Moses & elders, Exodus 18. Jesus & apostles, Mark 6:7-13, 30. Paul, Timothy, Epiphras, Archippus & Nympha, Colossians   1 & 4; 2 Timothy 2:1-2. 2.   Effective. Coached leaders in disciplined training programs consistently prove more competent than do whose only training is   academic, because … [Read more...]

              Any coach can follow these seven guidelines as they start to help fledgling shepherds and church planters launch into their work. 1.     Clarify long-range goals. Ask, “What do you envision will exist 20 years from now, as a result of your ministry?” If one cannot answer succinctly and concretely, or if one merely describes efforts to make along the way, then talk over long-range objectives until they are clear. 2.     Define what workers need to do … [Read more...]

               Who should lead new churches or cell groups? Some denominations make it hard, for someone who has God’s shepherding gift, to begin using it, because men have added unreasonable rules, for commissioning pastors, to the original rules of Christ and His apostles.              Turn over new groups to new shepherds-in-training as soon as possible (Acts 14:23; Tit. 1:5), and employ with them the 2 Timothy 2:2 generational, leadership-training, chain … [Read more...]

  Who should coach new church leaders? Legalistic perfectionist: “Theologians with at least a Master’s degree.”Busy executive: “A wise and willing person to whom I can delegate mentoring.”Control freak: “Only me. Anyone else would get in my way!”Insecure leader: “I doubt my ability to mentor. Maybe we should wait a year.”Imitator of the apostles: “Who is an experienced worker that is available?” In pioneer fields, a good coach may be also be a learner who is only a … [Read more...]

The biblical qualifications required of shepherding elders, enumerated in 1 Timothy 3:1-7, define their character. These qualifications for the naming of overseers are not the same as their duties. The rest of the letter deals with overseers’ responsibilities. Since few leaders have the gifts to carry out all the duties required of them, leaders serve to as models the best they can for their flock and trainees, letting others step into their weak areas. Overseers’ biblical … [Read more...]

Shepherd’s Storybook is a pastoral training course written as a brief novel. It covers:       Network evangelism           Making disciples that love and obey Jesus               Starting non-institutional churches                   Initiating key ministries                       Birthing daughter churches The Storybook’s narrative portrays an uneducated learner, coached by a godly mentor, as the learner gathers a church, … [Read more...]

  To chart the progress of a church or cell, mark ministries being done well by them. Develop ministries in the order that best fits the immediate needs of your people or trainee. SHEPHERDING MINISTRIES___ Watch over the spiritual life of the flock that God has given you to tend ___ Counsel and correct the unruly firmly but without condemning, 1 Cor. 5___ Restore unruly or limping lambs, Titus 3:10-11; Gal. 6:1-2___ Counsel people with personal or family problems, as Paul did, … [Read more...]

  A covenant affirms what your church or cell group is and what it does. Members can write a covenant, agree to it, and even memorize it. Dick Scoggins wrote: When a new group prepares and signs its covenant, a church is born. The covenant - call it what you may - is not a traditional, legal constitution and bylaws. It defines how members live and serve the Lord as a caring body. The emerging group deals with every detail of it. They analyze each point in Scripture and discuss it openly … [Read more...]

Excerpted from an article by Paul L. Hudson, Jr. 2003                 The New Testament uses family metaphors to describe brothers in Christ. God is our Father.  Women are sisters. Churches are family, although sometimes they fail to act like one. What do churches sometimes seem like? Church as a Corporation                 Some churches are big businesses. Pastors, instead of being approachable, fatherly figures you go to for advice, seem more like CEOs of a … [Read more...]