WANTED: HYBRID CHURCH LEADERS
by, Dr. Randy Loescher
During a trip to Arizona last summer, my wife and I rented a Toyota Prius. Getting nearly fifty miles per gallon greatly impressed me. The symbiotic, synergistic relationship between the two energy sources fascinated me. Together, the combination of the gasoline engine and electric motor significantly increased our gas mileage. Maybe it's time more of our church leaders became "hybrids" -- Holy X-Men! Perhaps this would improve our potential energy output. What do I mean? Keep reading.
Hybrid leaders, or Holy X-Men, are men and women in the Body of Christ who bring the Word and the Spirit together effectively. They passionately create a synergy between education and anointing. They value rightly dividing God's Word and demonstrating it with powerful signs and wonders. They long for hermeneutical integrity and profound Holy Spirit empowerment.
Too often education kills anointing by over-analyzing spiritual mysteries, and too often anointed ministry discounts good education for fear of quenching the Spirit. Not infrequently, the educated and the anointed have looked towards one another with arrogance and judgment. In reality, the educated would be wise to humble themselves and learn all they can from those flowing in the Spirit's anointing. And the anointed would be wise to receive guidance from the educated on how to rightly divide the Word of truth. Sadly, good theology does not necessarily guarantee anointing, and Spirit-empowered ministry does not necessarily reflect God's endorsement of the anointed minister's teaching. Good theology must move beyond just head knowledge, and Spirit-empowered ministry must remain firmly rooted in God's Word.
Hybrid leaders work hard not to polarize the Word and the Spirit. They recognize and contend that good theology, good hermeneutics and Spirit-empowerd ministry are not mutually exclusive. They endeavor to merge the these into a dynamic, synergetic union.
These X-Men leaders are also visionaries, visionaries who daily live in God's presence yearning to hear His voice and follow His cloud in order to build His kingdom. Too often what began as a God-given vision deteriorates into a humanistic endeavor that relies more heavily on people's dynamic personalities and skills than on the power of God. As a result, in their efforts to fulfill God-given visions, some visionaries give birth to "Ishmaels" instead of "Isaacs."
Many American church leaders over the last three decades have tried to lead more like Bill Gates than Moses. Their vision to build churches exceeds their vision to grow people and make disciples. They exchange a true call to repentance and sold out discipleship for the simpler task of selling salvation and logging decisions. Marketing and merchandizing the gospel like a retail franchise in order to get bodies in seats has replaced a true presentation of the the gospel of the kingdom. Excellence in ministry, well-funded programs and spectacular events are pursued to appeal to an increasingly consumeristic churched and unchurched crowd. Sin and repentance rarely receive more than a token mention.
Subtly, the desire for impact and influence supersedes a genuine hunger for God. The visionaries' longing to build great churches becomes greater than their vision to see God's kingdom built in a community. A spirit of competition motivates more than a spirit of collaboration. In short, many church leaders have pursued the byproducts more than the Manufacturer. Put another way, they have pursued the fruit more than the Gardener and the Vine. God never wanted to watch us do a work for Him. He wants to do His work through us. He is the Vine; we are the branches.
Hybrid leaders embrace God's vision with great excitement, but they do not leave the presence of God until they receive their marching orders. They pray to keep in step with God's timing. They remember that the ultimate commission is to make disciples, not to grow organizations and institutions. These X-Men leaders pursue God and personal transformation more than influence and reputation. They comprehend that they are called to lead people towards God and to be followers of Christ first and foremost. They are called to advance God\'s kingdom, not their own.
Sadly, many God-given visions were pursued with man-made plans. God's blessing was sought after the fact rather than at the outset. By selling the minimum, we have made decisions for Christ rather than disciples for Christ. Some argue that we excel at spiritual mediocrity.
Until transformation takes place in the house of God among individual believers, transformation will not take place in our communities. More to the point, until transformation happens among the leaders, little transformation will happen among the believers. Hybrid leaders understand that they cannot take people in God where they have not gone themselves, so the pursuit of God never becomes subservient to the vision.
How different the pursuit of church growth is in America when compared to the book of Acts. Jesus gave the commission (vision), and then he told the disciples to wait...to wait until the Holy Spirit came upon them. Only then would they become true witnesses. And the "waiting" didn\'t end with Acts 2. They prayed again for God's boldness and the Holy Spirit's anointing in Acts 4, and all heaven broke loose. Luke frequently emphasizes the vital role of the Holy Spirit in early church growth.
How much of what the American church has built over the last three decades would withstand the fire of persecution were it to come to our nation? That's hard to say.
We need the Holy Spirit as well as healthy systems. We need the Word too. We need education AND anointing. We need vision AND divine guidance. We need pastors who are more than sacred CEOs; they are pursuers of God's presence and promoters of His plans rather than their own. We need churches built on more than human creativity and outstanding marketing; we need churches comprised of the commitments of Christ followers who have counted the cost of discipleship.
In short, we need hybrid leaders who will courageously bring together the Word and the Spirit. We need X-men leaders who will be so devoted to the Word of God and prayer that they work with God to fulfill God's plans for the church and their communities. They will be G0d-chasers, following God's vision and employing God's strategies in God's timing.
Will you be a hybrid leader?
Lord, let those of us in church leadership be this kind of leader. And may you receive all the glory for it! Amen!
Suggested Resource: Spiritual Revolution
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Dr. Randy Loescher serves as an adjunct professor at Oral Roberts University and Southwestern Christian University. He also acts as Director for the TEXOMA District of Open Bible Churches. Randy and his wife Kerry live with their five children in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma.
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