Steward Leadership - Fruitfulness

    This is Chuck Rapp with Multiply, a podcast to provide a word of encouragement for village church planters and leaders.

We continue our series on steward leadership as we examine some major themes of stewardship. Today I want to share about a prayer I recently heard from a Nigerian pastor.

To review, a steward is defined as “someone who manages resources belonging to another person in order to achieve the owner’s objectives.” In our context, we are managing resources provided by the Lord for our Village Church Planting work.

Here is Pastor Isaac’s prayer from just a few weeks ago. “Above all, we pray that we will be more productive for your Kingdom.” Let me say that again. “Above all, we pray that we will be more productive for your Kingdom.”

As I break down that prayer into its parts, I see three points that he made.

He began with “Above all”. This implies a first priority for our leadership. Exemplary steward leadership places an emphasis upon fruitfulness. I will share further in my next podcast about the importance of accountability. Our “Owner,” God, like the owner in the parable of the talents (you can read this again in Matthew 25:14-30) expects a return corresponding to what He has entrusted to us.

Secondly, in Pastor Isaac’s prayer, he prayed that we might be “More productive.” Fruitfulness is the earnest desire of steward leaders. One of the scriptures that motivates me greatly is Luke 12:48b. “From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked.” “Demanded” in the New International Version is a very strong word. In the New English Version and several others, this is translated as “required.” As I studied this verse, other translations used “expected” or “responsible.” The clear point of this instruction is that the Lord will hold steward leaders accountable to be fruitful with the resources entrusted to us.

Finally, he closed his prayer with the words “For Your Kingdom”. I appreciate this. You see, Christ’s Kingdom is to be the beneficiary of our service. We serve not to build our reputations or to call attention to our personal ministries. Steward leaders serve not to seek positional promotion or advancement. Jesus taught this in His Sermon on the Mount. We are to “seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” (Matthew 6:33) Sometimes acclaim or promotion may follow our service, but these are a byproduct, not the objective, of our steward leadership.

Next time, we will continue our study of steward leadership. This has been a word of encouragement for Village Church Planters and leaders.

Prophetic Gifts for Multiplication

 

Hello everybody, my name is Dean Davis, and this is “Multiply,” the podcast that provides a word of encouragement for Village Church Planters. 

In my last episode, I mentioned that the word “apostle” is often misunderstood because it has so many different meanings for different churches. Even so, we need to be looking for Christ to provide apostles to our churches just as He promised in Ephesians 4. We need people, gifted by God, to be sent out and start new churches where none has existed before. That is the work of an apostle!

Ephesians 4:11,12 tells us “Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up. Wow, the first word on that list, apostle, is often misunderstood, and so is the second one: prophet. Even so, Christ wants to give His churches prophets so that the Body of Christ may be built up. But for the Church, what is a prophet?

A prophet has God-given strengths to encourage the church and to identify situations in the world that grieve the Lord. A prophet proclaims truth from God and calls believers to obedience. Prophets strongly rely on prayer and spiritual gifts to accomplish the ministry. 

But when a prophet fails to walk in the Spirit, negative traits may appear. The prophet who fails to submit to the Spirit may have a condemning attitude or become arrogant because of their spiritual insight. He or she may claim to prophesy without having heard to Lord’s voice or understood His word in the Bible. And he or she may interrupt others to speak an inappropriate word.

Your churches need prophets just as they need apostles, evangelists, pastors, and teachers. Your churches need both encouragement and correction. They need leaders who spend much time in prayer and who are willing to speak messages from God. Prophets energize the evangelistic and church planting ministry of a church by calling church members to action and by providing encouragement to those who do obey.

But are you looking for men and women with prophetic gifts in your midst? Jesus said he would give our churches prophets. If we are to be good stewards, we must look for prophets to emerge, accept and encourage their ministry, correct them when they fail to walk in the Spirit, and give them a place to speak messages from the Lord. As the apostle Paul says in 1 Thessalonians 5:19-22, “Do not quench the Spirit. Do not treat prophecies with contempt but test them all; hold on to what is good, reject every kind of evil.”

My prayer for your churches is that God will provide the gifted men and women of God you need to do his will, to grow and multiply!

This has been Multiply! And I’m Dean Davis asking, “Who will you share this encouraging word with today?

#EncouragementForVillageChurchPlanters #Prophets

Pastoral Gifts for Multiplication

 Hello! This is Multiply, a podcast to encourage church planters, pastors and Christian leaders, and I am your host today, Daneille Snowden.

I will simply be referring to the passage in Ephesians 4:11-15 today, please follow along.

 “And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds[c] and teachers,[d] 12 to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, 13 until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood,[e] to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, 14 so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes. 15 Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ,”

When we train our church planters, and furthermore leaders in our own churches, the gifts the Lord gave to the church are crucial to be part of our training.

In verse 14 of Ephesians 4 it spells out clearly why this is vital. It is so that we, I shall add, so that the church is not easily swayed to false doctrines. It says, “… not tossed…by craftiness in deceitful schemes.” 

As leaders, it is essential that we teach and train ones about the Gifts that are given from God to establish the church. I also heard it said, it is a gift to even pour out His Grace to the church and this world.  Read: v.12 “to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for the building up the body of Christ.” 

One of the gifts is the Gift of a Shepherd. This pastoral gift has the characteristics of being compassionate and caring, all by tending to the flock, which is the people God has called someone to. A pastor teaches, knowing as he does this also gives his church the nourishment needed for themselves and in turn will equip them to do God’s given purpose for their lives. A pastor is quite protective of his church. He is the one who watches out for their safety, especially when it is about spiritual matters. Pastors will simply love their people and want to be with them. He or she loves to engage in the lives of their church and show support through prayer, teaching, and even helping in different ways as needed. A pastor is there when his people are rejoicing and when they are in sorrow.  

I grew up in a pastor’s home, and then my husband and I pastored for over 27 years. I watched my father and mother lovingly care for the people in our church. I felt the warmth of God’s love pouring out of my parents to each and everyone. I learned how beautiful the family of God was through this example. I watched my parents cry with them, encourage them in God’s Word and then pray for them. My husband and I did the same, along with us bringing food and helping around their house, when needed. 

Shepherding is a 24-hour-a-day, 7 days a week commitment to those God has called ones to. It is also being aware of how the enemy is trying to steal one of their flock and in response to jump in to do all they can to stop him. Thank God for the gift of pastors, which comes from the heart of God Himself. May we be patient with ourselves and others if we have this gift, and know it is by His Holy Spirit that we can continue to love and serve the people God has given us.

This has been Multiply, please share this podcast with others. Find us at our website vcpencouragement.org, Facebook and YouTube as well as many podcast channels. 

Thank you and God bless!

Apostolic Gifts for Multiplication

     Hello everybody, my name is Dean Davis and this is “Multiply,” the podcast that provides a word of encouragement for Village Church Planters.

Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ has given grace to his Body, the Church, so that we can all be built up together, live in unity, and walk by faith.  The grace, favor, and power that He gives the church is expressed in many ways. But one of the most interesting and important ways that Christ gives grace to the church is through its people. Even though we are all members of one Body, we each contribute to the strength of that Body in different ways. Ephesians 4:7 says, “But to each one of us grace has been given as Christ apportioned it.”

The Apostle Paul goes on to describe the ways Christ gives grace to the Church by saying in Ephesians 4:11 - 13, “Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.”

This is a remarkable truth that Paul is expressing to the newly planted church in Ephesus. Christ has given five kinds of people to build up the Body of Christ.  He gives these five kinds of people to the Body of Christ so that it might grow and be strong: Apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, and teacher.

So, If Jesus gives these kinds of people to the Body, shouldn’t we be looking for them among the members of our churches?  Shouldn’t we be asking ourselves, “Who among our church members are the apostles that we have been given?”  Who are the prophets? Which ones are the evangelists?  How about the pastors and teachers?  

To answer these questions, we often wait until a church member has emerged and taken a place of significant leadership before we say, “Oh, that one is an evangelist, this one is a prophet, and she is a teacher.”  And many people are very reluctant to suggest that a church member may have apostolic gifts.  The term “apostle” has so many different meanings. Different church traditions reserve the term for different kinds of people. But the word “apostle” in the New Testament means “a person who is sent” or “a messenger.” Apostles go out, commissioned by the Lord and by his church to spread the message of salvation and start new churches.

So, in the context of Ephesians 4, an apostle is a person who has been given grace, favor, wisdom and strength from Jesus Christ that results in the message of Christ spreading and church being planted and multiplied in new locations.

Who are the people in your church who have the drive, initiative, and ability to start and multiply churches in places where they have never existed before? You would be wise to identify them, pray for them, encourage them and coach them for a greater harvest. Who knows? You may do for your people what Barnabas did for the Apostle Paul. He blessed Paul before anyone else recognized his apostolic gifting. By doing so, Barnabas joined with Jesus in strengthening the church in ways we still feel today.

I’m Dean Davis asking, “Who will you share this encouraging word with today?

#EncouragementForVillageChurchPlanters #

Steward Leadership - Character Matters

       This is Chuck Rapp with Multiply, a podcast to provide a word of encouragement for village church planters and leaders.

We continue our series on steward leadership; today and in the next few episodes, I will focus upon some major themes of stewardship. We begin with the thought that Character Matters.

To review, a steward is defined as “someone who manages resources belonging to another person in order to achieve the owner’s objectives.” In our context, we are managing resources provided by the Lord for our Village Church Planting work.

You may recall that character was my theme during 2024 as we examined the leadership traits of Daniel and Nehemiah. In my podcast titled Faithful for a Long Duration, I shared that Daniel served approximately 66 years under three Babylonian kings!  We learn how he was able to do this in chapter 6, verse 4.

“At this, the administrators and the satraps tried to find grounds for charges against Daniel in his conduct of government affairs, but they were unable to do so. They could find no corruption in him, because he was trustworthy and neither corrupt nor negligent. [emphasis added]

What a testimony!  What a legacy! No one, included those who opposed him, could find any corruption in him.  He was trustworthy as a steward under three Babylonian kings, and he was not negligent in his duties. Let us strive, in the power, anointing and equipping of the Holy Spirit, to be like Daniel.

Earlier this year, we began this series with the parable of the talents found in Matthew 25.  The servant who was given five bags “went at once and put his money to work…” (verse 16)  Faithful stewards have a sense of urgency and are diligent to provide a good return to their master. This attitude of diligence and faithfulness to the Master is an example for us to follow.

Also, recall with me the parable of the faithful and wise steward found in Matthew 24. In verses 46 and 47, Jesus teaches, “It will be good for that servant whose master finds him doing so when he returns. Truly I tell you, he will put him in charge of all his possessions.” Jesus teaches – as He did in the parable of the talents – that those who obey God will be rewarded.  Our obedience, which is rooted in our character, is vitally important.

I close with some scriptures and quotes about character.

* Proverbs 10:9, Whoever walks in integrity walks securely, but whoever takes crooked paths will be found out.

* “Integrity means that we are trustworthy and dependable, and our character is above reproach.” Billy Graham.

* Proverbs 11:3, The integrity of the upright guides them, but the unfaithful are destroyed by their duplicity.

Yes, Character Matters!

Next time, we will continue our study of steward leadership. This has been a word of encouragement for Village Church Planters and leaders.

"You Can Do It"

       Hello everybody, my name is Dean Davis and this is “Multiply,” the podcast that

provides a word of encouragement for Village Church Planters.

Some of the most amazing words that Jesus ever spoke were directed to his

disciples in a moment of confusion. After nearly three years of constant on-the-

job training, Jesus’ disciples still didn’t understand who He was. John 14 tells

us about Thomas’ confusion concerning Jesus' destiny. Verse 8 relates Philip’s

confusion about Jesus’ relationship with God the Father.

In that moment of his disciple's confusion, weakness, and vulnerability, toward

the end of their Savior’s earthly life, Jesus said, “Very truly I tell you, whoever

believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even

greater things than these because I am going to the Father. And I will do

whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son.”

Amazing! Jesus said that his confused disciples would do greater works than He

did if they would only believe. We all know the works of Christ: He healed the

sick, raised the dead, freed people oppressed by the devil, confronted self-

righteous religious leaders, and announced the Kingdom of god to thousands all

across Palestine. These are great works. But Jesus said his disciples would do

greater works if they would only believe.

The words of their Leader must have seemed preposterous to the disciples.

They know who they were, confused, fearful followers of a Rabbi whom they

did not fully understand. How could they do greater works than he?

Even so, Jesus encouraged them. Against all odds, Jesus encouraged them. In a

moment when things looked bleak, He believed in them. By faith, Jesus saw

what they could do. Jesus encouraged his disciples: “Very truly I tell you,

whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do

even greater things than these because I am going to the Father.

I’m sure as you my brothers and sisters look at your disciples you see and hear

some of the same indications of confusion and fear that Jesus heard from

Thomas and Philip. Sometimes you may be tempted to ask yourself, “What will

my disciples ever accomplish?” Take care in that moment; don’t give in to

despair. Instead, speak a word of faith and encouragement. Tell your disciples

in their moments of doubt, “You can do it. God is with you. Don’t give up.

Keep trusting Jesus. You are going to accomplish great things.”

I remember when I was about 23 years old. I was a student in a Bible seminary.

I was certainly not the most gifted student and not the most eloquent. I

wondered what my future would hold. But some trusted men in my church told

me that they believed I would do great things. I could hardly believe their

words, but I took heart. As I think back on their words over 50 years later, I

have to say that God has done amazing things in and through my life. This is

not because I’m great. It’s because He is great and He is good. So, encourage

your disciples. Tell them that if they believe, they will do greater works than

they can ever imagine today.

This is Multiply, and I’m Dean Davis asking, “Who will you share this

encouraging word with today?

#EncouragementForVillageChurchPlanters #GreaterWorks #John14

Pray for Those You Empower

    Hello, this is Multiply a podcast to encourage Village Church Planters and leaders. I am Brad Snowden and today I would like to look at one aspect of the life of Jesus. The Lord had a distinct relationship with His disciples. He taught them, encouraged them, and empowered them to use what he had given them to fulfill the plans and purposes of the heavenly father. 

 The very fact of being a follower of Christ is humbling enough but then we hear a His prayer for us in John 17 it is even more humbling. Christ showed us a way that we should walk and his example not only for our own lives but also how we are to treat and respect, brothers, and sisters in Christ.

 In John 17 the very last moments of Christ’s life here on this earth we find his attitude full of prayer full of desire for our heavenly father to instill into us everything that he was. Jesus wanted for his twelve disciples and still wants for us today is to be empowered by His Holy Spirit-to be His witness. We are on this earth to encourage each other and pray for each other. We see over and over in John 17 Jesus praying for his disciples, knowing how they would be used for the kingdom of God after he was gone. He not only prayed for his disciples, but he prayed for those that would be affected by the good news in which they were going to preach and live out before them. Oh, if we could comprehend the power of praying for our disciples and the generations touched by those prayers. I wonder even in my own life, how many times I think of that generational impact. The disciples that the Lord has given me the privilege of helping, encouraging, and walking beside how many they would touch through the power of the Holy Spirit. Wow! When you think about it... generations, the older we get the more generations can be touched or at least that can be our prayer. Jesus prayed for his disciples. 

Oh, what a victory. His prayer was for all of us to be in one mind and one heart with Christ: One with our disciples as we share, encouraging + touching their lives and allowing God to shape them into being disciple-makers themselves and the multiplication goes on and on. It was Christ's heart in John 17 to pray for his disciples; what power comes in prayer, let us not shrink back from the privilege of praying for our disciples. Praying for one another praying that God would simply have his way. Even long after we are with Him and that example can continue to minister the good news of Jesus Christ. Oh, that we could have that heart, that we could be blessed in knowing that the Lord hears our prayers and our disciples are changed by them. What a blessing and what a privilege it is that Christ has given us this example in John 17 for fruitful ministry pouring into our disciples and it starts with prayer. 

This has been a word of encouragement for Village church planters. Lord bless you as you pray! for your disciples. Who will you share this with today?