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Commentary
GEN-X RISING: Proving that leading by example will work Andrew C. Thompson, Oct 28, 2008
Andrew C. Thompson
By Andrew C. Thompson UMR Columnist
When Adam Hamilton speaks, the United Methodist Church listens.
The Rev. Hamilton is the senior pastor of the Church of the Resurrection in Leawood, Kan., which has 7,500 people in weekly worship and increasingly serves as a resource congregation for the entire denomination.
Besides the books and small group studies Mr. Hamilton himself has authored, the Church of the Resurrection hosts numerous conferences throughout the year designed to build pastoral leadership, enliven the faith of laity and renew the mainline church. The church Web site (www.cor.org) contains a veritable smorgasbord of resources for ministry.
Mr. Hamilton is also the closest thing to a genuine celebrity that a Methodist pastor is likely to get, drawing crowds to his speaking events who are all eager to hear the secret of his success.
I heard Mr. Hamilton speak recently at Duke Divinity School’s annual Convocation and Pastor’s School. The conference theme was “For Such a Time as This: Christian Leadership in a Changing World,” and Mr. Hamilton was there to share his thoughts on pastoral leadership in today’s church.
Mr. Hamilton is an impressive guy. Anyone would know that just from hearing the stats about his church or reading about his influence on the UMC in recent years. But to see him in person is like a combination of seeing a preacher, CEO, motivational speaker, and practical theologian all at the same time.
At Duke, he addressed an auditorium full of pastors on subjects as diverse as the current credit crisis, reaching the unchurched, mission work in Africa and strategic goal-setting in ministry.
One point that stuck out was when Mr. Hamilton said pastors can’t expect their people to go where they are not willing to lead. He mentioned that in the context of telling the story of a trip he took to Africa to do mission work with children suffering from HIV/AIDS.
His point: If you want your church members to go out on a limb for Jesus, show them that you are willing to go out on that same limb yourself. It’s not just about informing your congregation of what God is calling them to do; it’s about inspiring them through personal example.
If we want to nurture a desire for mission and service to the poor in our congregations, Mr. Hamilton suggests, we pastors have to share our stories of the work God is doing in the midst of the poor. That involves at least two steps: actually going to be with the poor in ministry, and presenting those experiences through story and sermon to those we serve.
We could say the same thing about other forms of ministry, such as Scriptural study, personal accountability and environmental stewardship. Want mature Christians in your church? Pursue mature discipleship yourself.
For a pastor so famous throughout the church, you might expect that Adam Hamilton would present a message a bit more edgy or innovative. But as he would probably be the first to tell you, there’s nothing really innovative about full commitment to Jesus (except that so few people today are willing to do it).
What must be innovative is how we navigate the challenges of a society that seems to be evolving so rapidly in both technology and basic patterns of living.
The gospel is always compelling, but it must be demonstrated by those who actually live in contemporary culture.
The mission of the Church of the Resurrection is “to lead nonreligious and nominally religious people to become deeply committed Christians.” Mr. Hamilton himself notes that on any given Sunday, there might be 100 unchurched people who visit his church for worship. If those people are to be brought into a relationship with the living God, they need to be able to see a pattern they can follow. And that means they need to see Christians really living out what they are being asked to try themselves.
That’s real leadership. It’s as easy (and as difficult) as following Jesus has always been.
Andrew C. Thompson
