Leading Well: God’S Fingerprints Upon Your Life and Ministry

By Paul J. Murphy

This book is for Christian leaders, whether in the ministry or in the marketplace. How do we experience the fingerprints of God upon us and upon the ministry He has given us? Leading Well is arranged by sections the Purpose, Power, Personalities, and Practice of leading well as a Christ-like servant leader. I have written this book to spark renewal in your own life, while equipping you to lead well in ministry. I hope you will experience a caring arm around your shoulder and a firm hand in the middle of your back as we discover what it means for leaders to help Christian ministries meet the challenge of their calling. Our calling is worth it. The world for which Jesus gave His life needs the body of Christ to be who it is, because if it is who it aint, then it aint who it is.

• Language: English
• Publisher: WestBow Press
• Release date: Mar 17, 2017
• ISBN: 9781512773095

Paul J. Murphy

Paul Murphy has 35 years of pastoral experience. He has served two senior pastorates and 15 intentional interim pastorates as a turnaround leader with churches in transition or crisis. Paul founded Progress & Joy to focus on “renewing churches, developing leaders.” Paul devotes part of his time to developing leaders in the two-thirds world, training ministry leaders in Haiti, Uganda, and Ghana. He also serves as a consultant to churches and faith-based non-profit organizations in the areas of leadership development, strategic planning, and change management. Paul and Liz have three adult children, and two delightful grandchildren. Paul can be reached at www.progressandjoy.net.

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Copyright © 2017 Paul J. Murphy.

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Unless otherwise indicated,

Scripture taken from:

THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION,

Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 International Bible Society.

Used by Permission of Zondervan Bible Publishers.

THE MESSAGE: THE BIBLE IN CONTEMPORARY ENGLISH, Copyright © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002.

Used by permission of NavPress Publishing Group.

THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW LIVING TRANSLATION,

Copyright© 1996, 2004, 2007 by Tyndale House Foundation.

Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.

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All rights reserved. Used by permission.

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ISBN: 978-1-5127-7310-1 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-5127-7311-8 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-5127-7309-5 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2017900917

WestBow Press rev. date: 3/17/2017

To Liz, my wife for life, 39 years into the journey together.

Your loving honesty, acceptance, and support have shaped me more than anyone else.

Acknowledgements

This book has been gestating for years out of my own faith life in the Lord and hands-on experience in Christian ministry. In addition to the Lord’s fingerprints in my life, there are many other human fingerprints that have contributed to this book becoming a reality.

Special thanks to John Bloomquist, a faithful friend and brother, who gifted his expertise by devoting scores of hours to detailed editing of the manuscript. A number of friends invested time to read the draft version of this book, offering their compliments and constructive critiques. The end result is better than what I would have produced on my own.

A well-deserved thank you to the board members of Progress & Joy for their commitment, support, and counsel to me. A network of 350 prayer partners faithfully pray for me and the ministry the Lord has given to me, including the writing of this book. Their prayers repeatedly make the difference, and move the Kingdom ahead. Their partnership makes this ministry fruitful – from turning around churches, to the publishing of this book, and the training of leaders in the two-thirds world.

Thank you to the congregations with whom I have worked. Each has added to God’s fingerprints upon my life and ministry.

Thank you to my own family for their encouragement, light-hearted joking, and affirmation of me. Particular thanks to Colleen Murphy for her artistic talents in creating the cover design for this book.

Finally, thank you to the many friends I have been blessed with along the way. Full-time Christian ministry is an unusual vocation, but it also has rare blessings – friends who are brothers and sisters in Christ, spread across the country and the world. As we often say in our own family, "We have the privilege of knowing so many quality people all over the place."

Paul J. Murphy

February 2017

www.progressandjoy.net

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Table of Contents

Preface

PURPOSE

Chapter 1: God’s Unchanging Purpose

God only needs leaders for one unchanging purpose. Without exception, the biblical evidence about leadership unfolds a consistent picture – God only appoints leaders for one, unchanging purpose.

Chapter 2: God’s Unchanging Purpose and You

Your life as a leader is a message and a ministry. The good news gospel of Jesus is life-changing. It will change us, and change how we treat others. How Jesus treats us is to become how we treat people. The Vertical is to become the Horizontal.

Chapter 3: Healthy and Unhealthy Churches

What is a healthy, productive church? What are the marks of an unhealthy church? How do you move a ministry from un-health toward health and productivity?

POWER

Chapter 4: Responsible But Not Powerful

As Christian leaders, you and I are responsible to move people God-ward, but none of us is powerful enough to change anyone else’s life. That realization frees us to be servant leaders.

Chapter 5: How Transformation Happens

Practically, how does our theology become biography? How do we go beyond agreeing with Jesus to seeing transformation in our own lives and in others?

Chapter 6: Ambition and Calling

There is a tension between personal ambition and a calling from God. Personal drive and ambition need to be re-shaped by God. Ego must diminish, and human visions have to be harnessed or removed. Self has to be displaced into serving God’s agenda, not our own.

PERSONALITIES

Chapter 7: Biblical Self-Care

Is self-care biblical? If it is, what is involved in biblical self-care? How is biblical self-care different from setting boundaries?

Chapter 8: Conflict – The Achilles Heel of Ministry

Most strains and ruptures in ministries are not theological or differences over vision. They are relational. Conflict is inevitable and unavoidable. Conflict is a fork-in-the-road. It is a hands-on opportunity for the Lord to bring personal and inter-personal growth if we respond in Christ-pleasing rather than God-grieving ways.

Chapter 9: Building Teams

Healthy leadership teams do not happen easily or by accident. How do you build healthy teams?

PRACTICE

Chapter 10: Boards as Overseers

Biblical leaders are mature people who have been shaped by life experience to firmly trust and follow God, His purpose, and His ways. They become point people who verbalize, mobilize, and organize people-movement God-ward so that people come to know and grow in Christ.

Chapter 11: Plans and Progress

Vision is only good intention until it is turned into action. Practically-gifted task people shine in identifying and carrying out the details of whom, how, and when in order to turn vison into reality.

Chapter 12: Alignment

APPENDICES

Appendix A: Sample Biblical Passages – Purpose of Leadership

Appendix B: Small Group Leader Feedback

Appendix C: Responding to Conflict

Appendix D: Table of Contents of Elder Manual

Appendix E: Church Check-Up Sample

Appendix F: FYI Report Form

Appendix G: Lead Team Worksheet

Appendix H: Aligning Vision with Roles and Structure

PREFACE

"I want to write a book. I was a young pastor in my late 20’s, two years into my first pastorate. Ray, a seasoned friend and mentor, smiled and placed his hand on my shoulder as he said, But you don’t have anything to say yet."

That was 35 years ago. In those 35 years, I have served two permanent pastorates, and am currently serving my 15th intentional interim pastorate with churches in transition or crisis. I have pastored churches of varying sizes, ages, demographics, and denominations. I have had the privilege of coaching Christian leaders, training groups of emerging leaders, and coming alongside indigenous leaders in the two-thirds world.

I love the church of Jesus Christ. More precisely, I love what the church is meant to be as the body of Christ in the world. The late E. V. Hill urged us to "be who you is, ’cause if you is who you ain’t, you ain’t who you is." That challenge – to be who you is – also applies to the church. The church is meant to live out its Jesus DNA. Yet too many churches and Christian ministries are not being who they is biblically.

As Howard Hendricks noted, "I have never met a Christian who sat down and planned to live a mediocre life." Yet many Christ-loving committed leaders are weary and settling for simply doing the job. And dedicated volunteers sacrifice time and money yet wind up frustrated and worn out.

I am convinced that second only to the moving of the Spirit, competent, biblically-grounded leadership is the next most vital factor in healthy fruitful ministry. Leading well does not guarantee results – nothing can – but competent, biblically-grounded leadership markedly increases the odds of healthy, sustained, Christ-honoring ministry.

This book is for Christian leaders, whether in the ministry or in the marketplace.

How do we experience the fingerprints of God upon us and upon the ministry He has given us? Leading Well is arranged by sections – the Purpose, Power, Personalities, and Practice of leading well as a Christ-like servant leader.

I have written this book to spark renewal in your own life, while equipping you to lead well in ministry. I hope you will experience a caring arm around your shoulder and a firm hand in the middle of your back as we discover what it means for leaders to help Christian ministries meet the challenge of their calling. Our calling is worth it. The world for which Jesus gave His life needs the body of Christ to be who it is, because "if it is who it ain’t, then it ain’t who it is."

Paul J. Murphy

Apple Valley, Minnesota

February 2017

www.progressandjoy.net

Additional leadership resources available at www.progressandjoy.net:

• One-to-one leadership coaching

• Servant Leader Boot Camp – group training available in video format

• Church Check-Up – congregational process assessing health and clarifying core direction

PURPOSE

CHAPTER 1

God’s Unchanging Purpose

The church is dying for lack of leadership. George Barna

God only needs leaders for one unchanging purpose. Without exception, the biblical evidence about leadership unfolds a consistent picture – God only appoints leaders for one, unchanging purpose.

I am the son of an Irish-Catholic immigrant. At the age of two years old, my father immigrated with his parents to the United States. I was raised in a moderately religious home. We attended mass regularly. During my teen years, I felt an increasing inner restlessness. I constantly wondered, "How can I get closer to God? If God is real, and I believed that He was, shouldn’t He be more alive, more exciting than this?" God seemed like a long-distance phone call with a bad connection, or a soft drink without the bubbles. Shouldn’t there be bubbles with God? And what was I supposed to do about my own failings and feelings of