In The Eye of the Storm
Intro 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
Part II
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The
Second
Phase of the Church
Corporate
Relationship Concept
Chapter 7B
God Gives Leadership Gifts
to Equip the Saints
Bishop/Overseer
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Bishop/Overseer's Ministry |
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As "captain of the ship," the bishop or overseer (the two terms may be used interchangeably, but for the sake of continuity, we will use "overseer") coordinates, is the general manager of, and has authority for the ship's operation. Before the ship leaves the harbor, a captain checks thoroughly to see that the ship is in proper shape, the passengers are on board, and the crew is ready.
He reviews what the engineers (apostles) have told him about the design of the ship and feels confident the ship will be able to accomplish its mission. The navigator is also contacted and is "at the ready" to give advice during each leg of the journey. The overseer will take their advice into consideration because he wants to fully utilize all the designs the ship has and take the most direct route (avoiding storms) so that the passengers can be made comfortable, safe and secure.
He knows that competent seamanship includes knowing how to handle the ship in adverse conditions as well as calm waters. Accurate weather reports (from the prophet) will allow the captain to avoid unnecessary hardship. He will know when to remain docked at port instead of going out when a storm is predicted and getting pounded at sea!
An Overseer and His Job
This is how Scripture describes an overseer,
"For a bishop must be blameless, as a steward of God, not self-willed, not quick-tempered, not given to wine, not violent, not greedy for money, but hospitable, a lover of what is good, sober-minded, just, holy, self-controlled, holding fast the faithful word as he has been taught, that he may be able, by sound doctrine, both to exhort and convict those who contradict" (Titus 1:7-9).
"Shepherd the flock of God which is among you, serving as overseers, not by compulsion but willingly, not for dishonest gain but eagerly; nor as being lords over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock" (I Peter 5:2-3).
As we see from these scriptures, an overseer must be a stable, spiritually mature person of integrity who is not afraid to "convict those who contradict," but on the other hand does not lord it over those entrusted to him.
His job is a key one. He has the awesome task of being the general coordinator of a corporate church in a local area, including all of the house churches. In addition to the corporate duties of the ship—overseeing special ministries, celebrations, missions, etc., his primary responsibility is to oversee all the house churches, both on the ship and sailing alongside the ship.
He not only gives leadership, but also delegates leadership to the pastors, teachers, evangelists, deacons, administrators and helps within all those groups. He keeps them flowing together while he continues to appoint and send out leaders to surrounding local areas so they can be responsible for managing the job in their region.
It is important for overseers to relate closely to the apostle and prophets so that they can remain on a spiritual level, rather than following their own desires or ideas. Because the overseer is accountable to the apostle, he will listen closely to his advice about the general management of the church. The overseer will then make the final decisions, based on the advice of the apostle.
An overseer needs to coach those who are responsible to him in order to teach them how to become better teachers, pastors, deacons, etc. He needs to recognize if those on his staff are getting burned out, carrying too heavy a load, or not doing their job. He brings everything into the focus of God's plan so that people flow together in unity.
When all of cells in a given area come together for a central celebration, the overseer's job is to coordinate these celebration meetings. He needs to bring the most anointed people together (teachers, worship leaders) to conduct the meetings because these times of corporate praise are important times of encouragement for God's people.
Strengths and Weaknesses
An overseer needs to be cautioned against becoming too authoritarian. Although he makes the final decisions in the life of the local church, he must do so in love as he takes into consideration everyone's needs. He must make sure the pastors, deacons and all the others in leadership feel needed, are flowing together in unity and getting things accomplished.
Under the anointing of the Holy Spirit, an overseer can and should be able to hear God's voice clearly and sense the needs of the people. He will be able to put the two together and become an overseer of a spiritually powerful people-oriented group who are working together to accomplish God's plan.
Nehemiah, in the Old Testament, was a classic example of this when he got the people to work together to build the wall. He heard from God and then caused everyone to feel wanted and needed as they worked together.
An overseer heads in the wrong direction when he no longer delegates others to help him in his task. Sometimes, overtaken by a false sense of authority, an overseer may get the idea that he "owns" the group he is leading. A feeling of ownership is a way Satan can get his foot in the door, leaving the overseer vulnerable to Satan's attacks. (See page 105 for more on ownership).
An overseer lacking accountability may begin to use his spiritual authority to command and give orders to people, becoming a virtual dictator. Others in leadership will feel like mechanical robots, a means to an end, and will begin to feel dislocated from the body. They may continue their job disheartened, or they may bail out completely before they are told to "shape up or ship out."
On the other hand, an overseer, because he wants to please everyone, cannot sit back and refuse to lead or give counsel or advice. This lack of leadership will cause people to become frustrated, because they don't know what to do, in what direction to go, or where they are headed.
Overseers Are Accountable to Apostles …
In early church history, as we learned before, the bishops took over the authority of the apostles and instead elected a central bishop who headed church operations. This led to lopsided church government.
In other words, after the apostles designed the church for their locality, the bishops (as captains of the ships) in essence said about the apostles, "We have our ship now, we don't need you." But this idea is faulty. A ship must be updated and refurbished—the church must be updated and refashioned to fit the needs of the people it is ministering to as it marches on through history. Apostles need to be the ones to do the refurbishing.
... But Overseers Make Final Decisions
Overseers should ask their leadership team for advice for church decisions, but the final decisions are left ultimately in their hands. Apostles need to be in place as a group of counselors and advisors to the overseers. The apostles represent God to the overseers because they are the designers and organizers of the church.
The need for apostles to design and overseers to captain the ship is paramount in the church today. Leadership must clearly be understood between the two so that God can flow through the power of the Spirit and build His church in the method He has ordained.
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