The Purpose of Leadership: The Call to Transformational Ministry - Part One

Part One

By Glenn Daman

To understand leadership we need to understand its fundamental purpose. It has been rightly said that if you do not know where you are going, you will probably end up somewhere else. In other words, if we do not have a clear idea of what our goals are, then we will never have a clear idea of what we are to do. This is especially true concerning leadership. How we understand the purpose of leadership will determine how we define the task of leadership and how we go about performing our responsibilities. Our purpose defines our goals, our goals define our priorities and our priorities influence how we define our responsibilities. If our purpose as leaders is organizational, then our goals will be to have an efficient organization. Our priorities, then, will be determined by what contributes to an efficiently run organization. Our responsibilities will ultimately be organizational in nature. However, if, our purpose as leaders is spiritual in nature, then our goals must be spiritually defined.

The spiritual purpose of a leader is to bring people into a personal, vibrant and real relationship with Christ.

Paul describes the purpose of his ministry in Col 1:28-29, “We proclaim him, admonishing and teaching everyone with all wisdom, so that we may present everyone perfect in Christ. To this end I labour, struggling with all his energy, which so perfectly works in me.” For Paul, the purpose governing all his activities and efforts was the spiritual transformation of people. This defines our purpose as well. Since it is our function to bring people to Christ, our goal is to lead in a manner that brings transformation in the lives of people.


People, to enter into a vital relationship with Christ, must be radically changed. First they must be changed redemptively, that is they must be changed from being spiritual dead to spiritually alive. Second, they must be changed sanctificationally. Even though they have a relationship with Christ, there must be the ongoing process by which they begin to manifest and reveal Christ’s character within them. This task, while resting ultimately upon the initiative of the Holy Spirit, involves the work of spiritual leaders. Paul states emphatically that God gave leaders to the church for the purpose of assisting the church in this sanctificational process (Eph 4:11-13).

The goal of leadership is transformational in nature.

A spiritual leader does not lead passively, merely imparting knowledge about God in the hopes that people might respond. Instead, we are to aggressively and actively seek to influence and impact people for the cause of Christ. Too often, in the church, our preaching and ministry has followed how we present theology. The reason theology has lost its power and influence in the church is because it was often presented without a transformational goal. Systematic theology, which is the study of God, too often was given without the call to respond properly to God. It addressed the mind, but never addressed the will. It may have challenged how we think about God, but it neglected to challenge how we live before God. So people regarded (wrongfully and tragically so) theology as dead orthodoxy rather than necessary for vibrant spirituality. We face the same danger in the church regarding leadership. When we start to view leadership merely organizationally (i.e. vision casting, administration, programs, etc.), we lose the very soul of leadership. The task of leadership is not to challenge the mind of people with biblical facts (although this is necessary), nor is it to guide the church organization, it is to seek to challenge people with transformation through the proclamation and application of biblical truth (see Acts 2:40; 26:3,29; 2 Cor. 10:1,2; Gal 4:12). When we lead the church without seeking to transform the church the end result is that we render leadership impotent and stagnate. The effect is that people become cynical and apathetic towards leaders.

The Necessity for a Transformational Ministry

Crucial in our understanding is the realization that all transformation is ultimately the work of the Holy Spirit in the life of the individual and congregation. In the end, we must always recognize that we have done nothing worthy of recognition and merit in changing people. All the credit must and will go to the work of a sovereign and gracious God working in the lives of people. However, equally crucial is the realization that God in his infinite wisdom and grace chooses to use us as leaders in the process for effecting change within the church and within people. We are to lead with a transformational goal simply because God calls us to this ministry, equips us for this ministry, empowers us in this ministry and uses us through this ministry. Being transformational in our task is critical because of the need for change in the lives of people. They do not come into the church spiritual whole. Instead, they enter the doors of our sanctuary spiritually and morally crippled and marred.

We are called to lead people in spiritual transformation.

The world in which we live is in a crisis of confusion concerning the character of God. Like the paganism and polytheism that tainted the Ancient Near Eastern world, so our society is influenced by corrupted views of God. The names have changed, but the false gods they represent have not. Instead of Baal we have New Age philosophy, instead of Re we have Eastern Mysticism with its worship of creation, instead of Asherah we have the worship of the super-models and the sexuality they represent. We have consumerism, materialism, humanism, Yoga, meditation and a host of other philosophies that spew forth the same cesspool of idolatry represented by the gods of the Canaanites. Like the Israelites in the times of the prophets, so our culture has been indoctrinated with the teaching of the modern idols resulting in the incorporation of these even into our own view of spirituality. We live in an age where there is a renewed interest in spirituality. However, this interest has not brought a clarification of biblical truth in the minds of people, but corruption as truth has become relative and God has become limited in his own being (as expressed by Process Theology). The result is a clouded view of God and a confused understanding of the nature and being of God. Like the prophets of Scripture, our task as leaders is to call people from the confusion of polytheism to the clarity of the monotheistic God of Scriptures. Like Elijah on Mount Carmel we are to challenge people to choose between the God of the Bible and the gods of the culture. We are to confront faulty notions of God and rebuild people’s perspective with a right understanding of God. Transformation begins, not with changing people’s perspective of themselves, but with changing people’s perspective of God. Even though we know our people well, even in the small church we should never assume that they have a right understanding of God. Many people who come to church Sunday after Sunday, who have been raised in our congregations, who wouldn’t dream of reading any other Bible but the King James Version, have idolatrous views of God. As Stephen Charnock points out, it is not the absolute denial of God that is at the heart of atheism; it is the denial or doubting of some of the rights of his nature (The Existence and Attributes of God, 1:24). Idolatry is not just the denial of the God of Scripture in favor of another; it also is the misrepresentation of him. If we are not actively seeking to correct people’s view of God, then we deny the exclusiveness of God and the vitality of his nature and we become idolaters ourselves.

We are called to lead people in moral transformation

With the distortion of our view of comes a distortion of our view of morality. It should not surprise us that we see a moral decline in our culture for it is the inevitable result of post-modernity. When truth becomes unknowable, morality becomes indefinable (1 Timothy 1:10-11). Morality and ethics are further undermined when the focus shifts from personal character to personal achievement. As Millard Erickson points out, “The effect of this modernization is to create two separate spheres, the public and the private. The one world is defined by personal relations, and is made up of small, insulated islands of home, family and personal friends. The other is defined by the functions within the capitalistic machine. In this great system of production and distribution, persons are valued not for who they are or what they believe or hold as values, but for what the do” (Milliard Erickson, Postmodernizing the Faith, p. 30). The tragedy is that what is true in our culture is equally true in the church. No longer is a leader evaluated by what the values he or she represents, but by the achievements they accomplish. As long as the pastor is well liked, communicates effectively from the pulpit and “builds” the church, people are willing to overlook significant moral and ethical weaknesses.

Along with this moral decline has come a whole new set of moral questions. Genetic engineering, artificial reproduction technology, doctor assisted suicide, right to die and a host of other medical ethical questions brought about by the advancement of science have raised a whole new set of moral issues. Other issues, while long present within different subcultures are now become prevalent within the mainstream of society. Issues such as gambling (now supported by the state), pornography (both soft and hardcore), civil disobedience, drug abuse (both alcohol and stimulants), divorce and a host of other social issues are no longer outside the church but present within the church. We live in a society where self-centeredness and manipulation are encouraged (for an example see the proliferation of the ‘reality TV’ shows where people are willing to hurt, embarrass and manipulate others for their own gain) and humility and community are abandoned. Just because people come to church does not mean they leave the cultural morality (or immorality) behind to embrace a biblical morality and ethos.

It is in this world that the leader must lead. As we lead we must not lead people to transform their morality by merely confronting cultural vices; we must challenge people to be completely different. As Carl Henry points out, “Christianity is qualitatively different or it has nothing distinctive to offer the world.” He goes on to point out, “We need to do more than to sponsor a Christian subculture. We need a Christian counterculture that sets itself alongside the secular rivals and publishes openly the difference that belief in God and His Christ makes in the arenas of thought and action. We need Christian countermoves that commend a new climate, countermoves that penetrate the public realm” (Carl Henry, “Twilight of a Great Civilization, p. 44). The transformation that we are to call people to is to be complete and entire, affect the very core and essence of the personhood. Concerning the transformation that is to take place, Paul writes that we are to be a new creation (2 Corinthians 5:17). This is not merely a restoration of the person by the Holy Spirit to a pre-fall condition, but a complete transformation penetrating the very nature of the individual. The result is that we are to thinking differently and have a completely different mindset (Romans 8:5-7).

Becoming a Transformational Leader.

Inherent within our call as small church leaders is our calling to transform people. While it is ultimately the work of the Holy Spirit in accomplishing this transformation we need to recognize that we have the distinct privilege of being used by the Holy Spirit in challenging peoples lives. To be one who is used by the Holy Spirit it is important that we be available for him to use. This availability is not only in our inward willingness to serve, but how we develop as leaders.

1. To be a transformational leader we need to be cultural students

To effectively speak to the issues of people and the misconceptions they have, we need to understand the culture in which we live. We are the product of our culture. It influences and governs our thinking far more than we realize. A person who was raised in an American culture thinks and reacts radically different than a person raised in an Islamic culture. Even within a specific culture, there are a divergent number of subcultures that affect the way people live and the moral values they embrace. An individual living in an inner-city subculture will view life differently from a person raised in a rural setting. A person from the south has different values than a person in the northwest. Where our culture embraces and supports biblical values we can embrace and encourage them as leaders. Where our culture remains neutral, we can and should remain neutral (for example in issues of dress and styles). However where our culture violates biblical values and teachings we must confront and challenge them from a biblical perspective. To distinguish between these different levels of cultural involvement, we need to have a thorough and Spirit guided knowledge of our culture. We need to strive to step outside our culture and honestly assess our culture from a biblical perspective. While it is ultimately impossible to be culturally neutral (we are always influenced by our culture), we must strive to be culturally critical, ever re-examining our cultural expectations and values by the standards of Scripture.


2. We must have a clear perspective of God’s design for individuals, the church, and the community

To lead effectively we need to understand what God desires to transform people and the church into. This perspective is determined from Scripture as we seek to understand what God desires to accomplish within the lives of people. As the leaders, we are to be continually searching and examining the Scriptures to determine what God wants to church to be and how the church is to be involved within the community.

3. We must be transformed

We cannot lead where we have not gone, we cannot transform others if we ourselves are not at the same time being changed. The greatest challenge we face in ministry, and the most important ingredient to effective leadership is not what we do in relationship to the church, but what we are allowing the Holy Spirit to do in relationship to our own life. The disciplines of study, prayer, self-examination and personal discipleship are central to the pastoral responsibility. We may be able to run an organization without prayer and an intimate relationship with God, but we cannot transform others. If we are not being transformed we will inevitably fall prey to the same snare that captured the leaders of Israel, who became more concerned about their own well being than they did about spiritually nurturing the people (Jeremiah 23:1-2, 16-18).