I thought it would be solid theology, the concept of Covenant maybe, of course the power of the Resurrection, the call of the Gospel to lay down our lives, and for sure the Great Commission - the raison d'être for the church.
But when I asked the Malawi Pastors what were their top three needs, the things they really wanted to make sure got covered in the training, this was the response:
1. Church Governance - how do we organize ourselves to get stuff done?
2. Church Conflict - how do we handle disagreements among our leaders and church members?
3. Ministry and Family - how do we balance the never ending demands of ministry and the responsibilities to our families?
I guess the church is the same all over the world. Whether in wealth or poverty, well established or new, leaders and congregations struggle in these areas.
I wonder whether the organizational logistics, the level of conflict, and the life-balance would be an issue if all Christ followers simply placed Him at the center of all decision making; if all Christ followers simply submitted their egos and their desires to the cross; if all Christ followers attentively listened to His Spirit and simply did as the Spirit said...
...easier said than done I suppose.
The needs of the church is universal, however, I would have thought balancing the Christian leaders' family responsibilities and the never ending demands of ministry would be high on the list. Glad to see it among the top three though. This issue affects pastoral leadership and has dire consequences for the local churches. One other area of concern, if I may add is leadership spiritual formation and mentoring. This would enable that the leaders to be accountable and remain grounded in scriptures and prayer.
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