Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
In his first letter to the church at Thessalonica, Paul admonished his readers to “honor those who are your leaders in the Lord’s work.” The reason, he explained, was because “they work hard among you and give you spiritual guidance” (1 Thessalonians 5:12 NLT).
It is an all too human tendency for members of an organization to develop a distorted view of those in charge. They either ridicule and despise them, or they put them on a pedestal. In religious organizations it is more often the latter, and this can develop an unhealthy approach to leadership.
Churches often fall into the trap of regarding their leaders as spiritual giants. Jesus warned against this, cautioning his disciples: “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant” (Matthew 20:25-26).
As many of you will remember, our denomination has not been immune to this. As GCI’s current President/Pastor General, I have intentionally tried to take the focus off me as the “Grand Poobah.” I think that this has been successful, as it seems that just about everyone treats me as a friend instead of some kind of spiritual superhero. I have encouraged all in leadership positions to have this approach. We see ourselves as your friends and fellow servants, called to share together in Jesus’ ministry to the world.
Jesus himself set the precedent for this. At the Last Supper, he told his disciples, “I’m no longer calling you servants because servants don’t understand what their master is thinking and planning. No, I’ve named you friends because I’ve let you in on everything I’ve heard from the Father” (John 15:15 MSG).
God has blessed us with many loving and dedicated men and women in ministry. So that we can know each other better, next week we begin a new regular feature here in GCI Weekly Update. It will introduce one of our pastors or pastoral teams in a short Up Close and Personal article. I have asked Rick Shallenberger to coordinate this feature. He pastors one of our churches in Cincinnati, Ohio, has travelled widely, and is an experienced writer and editor. Rick will be featuring our entire worldwide ministry, so don’t be surprised if you hear from him, whether you are in Arkansas, Aberdeen, Argentina or Angola.
This week, I’d like to get the ball rolling by introducing our Mission Directors (MDs) and their wives. These men, often with the active participation of their wives, fill a vital role for our denomination by working closely with me around the world to oversee our pastoral ministry and otherwise facilitate our mission of living and sharing the gospel. The MDs work in teams, with some also serving as National Ministry Leaders in their home nation/region. I am blessed to have colleagues with such a rich diversity of ministerial experience. Here is a group picture of some of them, with individual pictures below, grouped by team.
• MD team serving Africa: Gary and Wendy Moore, Tim and Marissa Maguire, and Kalengule and Nsama Kaoma (James Henderson, pictured below, is also on this team):
• MD team serving Asia, the Philippines, Australia and Oceania: Rod and Ruth Matthews, Eugene and Lulu Guzon, and John and Heather McLean:
• MD team serving the Caribbean and Latin America: Charles and Carmen Fleming, and Hector and Paolina Barrero:
• MD team serving Europe: James and Shirley Henderson, and Santiago and Elke Lange:
• MD team serving the United States and Mexico: Dan and Barbara Rogers, Lorenzo and Rita Arroyo, and Greg and Susan Williams:
Because the needs of the regions served by these teams vary, the MDs have no “one size fits all” job description. However, all of them form important links that connect our churches to our denomination and to the broader Christian world. Their priorities include supervising pastoral leaders, succession planning, ensuring biblically sound teaching, facilitating the spiritual formation and equipping of pastors, and providing guidance and coordination in evangelism. They organize regional conferences and they respond to requests from churches who ask to join our fellowship. They also make themselves familiar with the resources for education and evangelism provided by other denominations, linking these when appropriate with our own resources.
Although these MDs occupy significant leadership positions, they see themselves as servants. They realize that God has called them to help, encourage, support and facilitate the work of their fellow ministers, so that our denomination can successfully accomplish what God gives us to do.
I am privileged to work alongside these dedicated men and their wives, and to know them as close friends. I also have come to know so many of you as friends as I travel. So it is a joy to introduce friends to friends. I hope you’ll enjoy the new Up Close and Personal feature where we’ll share information about more of our GCI friends and fellows servants around the world.
Yours in Christ’s service,
Joseph Tkach
