BIBLICAL MANAGEMENT PRINCIPLES
Chapter 10: TRAINING LEADERS AND FOLLOWERS.
Leaders must have followers and followers must have leaders. The training of leaders and followers should begin in childhood preparing youngsters to take their part in the body of Christ. Training should immediately follow conversion at any age. God gives to some believers special gifts of leadership, others are born with natural abilities to lead. Some people seem to be natural fallowers. Everyone is called to be both a leader and a follower. Whether naturally talented or gifted by God, leaders and followers need training. Each one teach one to reach one is God’s answer to the leadership shortage. Everyone is a follower and should follow Jesus. A good leader is first a good follower. A leader is always responsible to someone else, so he is also a follower. We lead successfully by following successfully. Not everyone is called to a leadership position in the church, but each person leads in some way from time to time. A leader may not have a spiritual gift of leadership but because of needs in the church may find it necessary to fill a leadership role occassionally. Therefore, all believers should be trained in leadership. Training others is an important responsibility because the people you train will be like you. We train leaders and followers to fulfill the commission given by Jesus, for the purpose of going to all nations, teaching the Gospel, baptizing and then guiding converts on to spiritual maturity through further teaching to lead converts on to discipleship. You train believers from converts to followers, to leaders. To select those you will train, you can choose on the basis of education, experience, tests or trials and error. But, the best way to select is to follow principles Jesus used in selecting His disciples:
-Depend on God.
-Make it a matter of prayer.
-Take the initiative.
-Look at potential, not problems.
-Make the costs clear.
-Select those who meet basic requirements.
The principles of training are association, consecration, vision, instruction, demonstration, participation, supervision and delegation.