Biblical Success in a Small-Town Church (Part 4/4): Training

So here we are again, looking at biblical success in a small-town church (this is the fourth installment of a four-part series). What is it? What are measures of success for the church? What does a healthy church look like? I won't pretend to be the first to write on this or have the final answers to these questions, but they are things I've struggled with. I've written on three previous markers of biblical success so far.

You can find them here: evangelism, good works, and discipleship.

Training
You might wonder if/how this is different from discipleship, but I'd like to consider that there are different nuances that are important. We not only need to see to it that we are making disciples, but that we are equipping disciples to disciple others. Confused yet? I'll explain as I go along. There are two aspects of training that I want to cover. The first is a general need to equip disciples. This is very much like - and a part of - discipleship as discussed in my previous post.

The First Aspect
All of Ephesians 4:11-16 is required reading, but let me put up just verses 11-12:

"And [Christ] gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for the building up the body of Christ..."

Our modern day word "pastor" has its lexical roots with the word shepherd in verse 11. In fact, some interpreters believe that Paul is referring to the same kind of person by the term "shepherd" and "teacher". The point I want to make is that the leadership of the local church should be equipping the disciples to do "the work of ministry". In this passage that is why Christ has given them to the church. We as disciples should be aspiring to serve one another - to help each other better reflect Christ in our homes and community. This aspect of being equipped or trained is in part the responsibility of the pastor ("shepherd" and "teacher"). The other part is yours. Are you being equipped? Are you willing and teachable? This training of the saints for service is a mark of success for the local church and/or pastor(s).

The Second Aspect
The second aspect of training I want to mention is the specific training up of local church leaders. Did those disciples that Jesus commissioned stick around forever? No, and neither will we. Pastors need to train other pastors. Look at what Paul said in his letter to Titus:

"This is why I left you in Crete, so that you might put what remained into order, and appoint elders in every town as I directed you-" (Titus 1:5)

Apparently Paul left Titus in Crete so that he would appoint such pastors, or "shepherds". (See 1 Peter 5:1-4).

My point is that churches need shepherds, but people are not born as such - they need to be trained. Look at how Paul encourages his young apprentice, Timothy, in this letter:

"You then, my child, be strengthened by the grace that is in Christ Jesus, and what you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses entrust to faithful men who will be able to teach others also." (2 Timothy 2:1-2)

The existence of such letters of Paul's demonstrate our need to train disciples to lead, to shepherd, and to teach. With each of the measures of success that I have discussed so far, it should be noted what a church would look like if they ignored these aspects (evangelism, good works, discipleship, and training). Training should mark success for the local church and/or pastor. A pastor is not to do solo work; they're to be equipping others to serve in various capacities (Ephesians 4:11-12). What if the body of Christ is not equipped? Will they minister to others if they're not encouraged to? Will they step up to new challenges or self-evaluate their progress as a disciple? What about training pastors? When the long and faithful pastor of a small-town church leaves, who will replace him? Did he invest in others while he was there? Or do we think it's primarily the job of seminaries to equip the future leaders of the church? Don't get me wrong, I went to a Bible college and loved it - but what can the local church be doing to train leaders right where they are? It's a biblical pattern in Scripture to train disciples - it should continue to be a biblical pattern today.

A "Final" Word on Biblical Success in a Small-Town Church
This is the final word of this blog series for me, but one I will continue to wrestle with. Can a church be flopping at worldly standards of success, but be "getting it right" biblically? I'd like to argue that it absolutely can. Okay, a harder question - especially as it pertains to the small-town church: Can a church be shrinking (losing membership), but be thriving in biblical success? I sure hope so. The numbers of people who sit in a church building on Sunday morning do not have the final say of success. That's not a reliable measure. Is the church preaching the Gospel? Do the disciples in the community seek to communicate and convey God's grace in Christ to God's world around them? Do they reflect the Gospel in good works? Are they zealous for good works? Are the people of the church committed to helping one another become more faithful disciples? Do they do their part to bring out a better reflection of Jesus in one another - whether through encouragement, instruction, forgiveness, or correction? Is the church equipping each other for ministry? Are the leaders readying other future leaders and demonstrating how to shepherd God's People? These things are far more important than the typical measures of success.