My first exposure to a Christian community was a gathering led by one person. He was the pastor, whose sole role was to preach on Sundays. He rarely attended training workshops. Nor was he involved in further studies. There was also no commitment from him to raise up elders or engage in evangelism. That church fits something Timothy Whitmer labels “bishop-ism.” You can see forms of this across Africa, where the one-man show is far too often a true description of local churches. Whether this man takes the title of apostle, prophet, or bishop, among others, his authority is absolute.
The one-man show is a weakness that leads to abuse in churches.
In his book, The Shepherd Leader, Whitmer doesn’t merely show why this structure is unbiblical. He goes further, demonstrating how it’s ultimately a weakness that leads to abuse. Further still, this structure also tends to result in the people of God being starved, because one man simply cannot serve the body of Christ in the many ways required.
Even Solomon in his wisdom warned against the one-man show (Ecclesiastes 4:9-12). Contrast with this, there is value in having a shared mission, where a team benefits from its diversity of gifting, talents, strengths, and perspectives. A culture of training elders to be shepherds of God’s people and fishers of men can save us from sliding into a culture where one person runs the show.
Equip Leaders for Evangelism
Correcting the countless mistaken views of the law in his day, Jesus taught that the law is about love (Matthew 22:36-40). First, it aims at loving God; secondly, our neighbours. Any meaningful church leadership therefore must involve loving the people. We will see this in sacrificial service, not merely in thundering sermons (John 10:11). Faithful shepherding entails self-denial and a desire to serve God’s people. This is love. And that love must be extended beyond the church walls. One clear way to do this is evangelism.
In training up elders we must equip them for personal evangelism. There exist great presentation tools for this, such as Two Ways to Live. There are many others. All of them aim to equip leaders in the church to present Christ and the gospel. Importantly, they are easily reproducible, meaning more people can be equipped for this crucial task.
Locate Evangelism Within Relationships
At the heart of our faith is relationship. The triune God—Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit—exists in a glorious, eternal communion. In the beginning, God created people in his image. Therefore we are also relational beings. This is why loving others and loving God are so strongly bound in the Bible (1 John 4:16). It is on the foundation of loving God and his people that evangelism should be premised.
Church leaders shouldn’t throw the gospel at people from afar.
Hence Paul could write that he didn’t only share the gospel but his life with the people he ministered to (1 Thessalonians 2:8). He met people where they were. So our training of elders for modeling evangelism must emphasise relationship building. By sharing their lives with people, elders gain a strategic position to know not only people’s needs but also their worldview, culture, desires, hopes, and what they believe about salvation. Elders should eat with the people; learn their idioms; walk the same streets; and shop at the same vendors. They must learn not only how to celebrate with the people, but grieve with them too. Church leaders shouldn’t throw the gospel at people from afar.
The One-Man Show Doesn’t Model Love
Church leadership should be personal.
When training up elders we must exhort them with the relational nature of the Christian faith. Whether evangelising those outside the church or encouraging those within, church leadership should be more personal than professional. This way we grow a community of shared goals, shared values, and shared lives based on God’s word.
Such a relationally rich witness starts among the leaders; and it’s impossible in the case of the one-man show.
