Jesus Have It All:
God’s Heart for His Church + Leadership
Week 7 – Understanding Our Lenses, Uniting Our Hearts
OT Reading // Micah 6 : 6–8
“With what shall I come before the Lord,
and bow myself before the High God?
Shall I come before Him with burnt offerings,
with calves a year old?
Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams,
or ten thousand rivers of oil?
Shall I give my firstborn for my transgression,
the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?”
He has shown you, O man, what is good;
and what does the Lord require of you
but to do justly, to love mercy,
and to walk humbly with your God?
NT Reading // Philippians 2 : 5–11
Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus,
who, being in the form of God,
did not consider it robbery to be equal with God,
but made Himself of no reputation,
taking the form of a bondservant,
and coming in the likeness of men.
And being found in appearance as a man,
He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death,
even the death of the cross.
Therefore God also has highly exalted Him
and given Him the name which is above every name,
that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth,
and that every tongue should confess
that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
Review – New Testament Leadership Roles
Elder / Overseer / Deacon / Apostle / Prophet / Evangelist / Shepherd / Teacher
Each role reveals part of Christ’s ministry; none replace His Headship.
Our Lenses – How Experience Shapes Our View
Lens | What We’re Often Hoping For | When It Gets Distorted |
Protective Lens | We’ve seen leadership misused and long for safety and accountability. | Can lead to mistrust or resistance toward authority. |
Stability Lens | We’ve known good structure and value clarity and security. | Can slide into fear of change or dependence on human covering. |
Freedom Lens | We’ve experienced control and crave openness and shared voice. | Can drift into leaderlessness or avoidance of responsibility. |
Idealized Lens | We’ve known or imagined great leaders and long to reproduce what we’ve seen. | Can create comparison, disappointment, or nostalgia when others lead differently. |
Each lens begins with a good desire — safety, stability, freedom, inspiration — yet all are partial.
Jesus invites us to see leadership through His eyes: relational, humble, and centered in love.
When Systems Replace the Stone // Isaiah 28 : 9–10, 16, 20
“Precept upon precept, line upon line… Behold, I lay in Zion a tested Stone… The bed is too short to stretch out on, and the blanket too narrow to wrap yourself in.”
Line upon line is system; Cornerstone is relationship.
Our lenses and models are too small to rest in — only Christ can bear the full weight of His church.
Dualism, Dichotomy, and God’s Design
We often live inside two competing ways of seeing.
Dualism turns tension into battle — authority versus freedom, leader versus follower, truth versus love — dividing what God designed to work together.
Dichotomy can be helpful; it names differences and gives definition. But when distinction hardens into separation, clarity becomes oversimplification.
When dualism and dichotomy overlap, we end up fighting over categories instead of learning from relationship — protecting one side or rejecting the other.
God’s design meets the gap. In Christ, authority and submission, strength and tenderness, order and freedom are reconciled — not blended or blurred but joined in love under one Head. The cross itself is where heaven and earth, justice and mercy, meet and hold together.
No King / Wrong King / One King
Posture | Root Desire | Biblical Picture | Result |
No King | Freedom without submission | Judges 21 : 25 | Confusion & self-rule |
Wrong King | Security without trust | 1 Samuel 8 : 5-7 | Control & disappointment |
One King (Jesus) | Trust through surrender | Philippians 2 : 5-11 | Unity & maturity through servanthood |
Caution: When we give to people the allegiance that belongs to Jesus, we endanger both them and ourselves.
Truth in Tension: Honor leadership; worship Jesus alone.
Undershepherds, Not Underkings
Calling | Posture | Expression | Result |
Under-king (false model) | Authority as status | Rule & demand | Rivalry & pride |
Under-shepherd (Jesus’ model) | Authority as stewardship | Serve & lay down life | Unity & maturity |
Truth in Tension
- You cannot lead well if you will leave easily.
- Sensitivity to the Spirit must not excuse passivity.
- Christ-like authority requires commitment and care.
Take-Home Scriptures (by Category)
Category | Passages | Focus |
Elders / Overseers / Shepherds | Acts 20 : 17-28 · 1 Tim 3 : 1-7 · 1 Tim 5 : 17-19 · Titus 1 : 5-9 · 1 Pet 5 : 1-5 · James 5 : 14 | Shared responsibility and humble care |
Deacons / Servants / Stewards | Acts 6 : 1-7 · 1 Tim 3 : 8-13 · Rom 16 : 1-2 · 1 Pet 4 : 10 · Col 1 : 25 | Faithful service and grace stewardship |
Fivefold / Equipping Gifts | Eph 4 : 11-16 · Rom 12 : 3-8 · 1 Cor 12 : 27-31 | Building the Body toward maturity |
Family / Relational Oversight | 1 Thess 2 : 7-12 · 1 Tim 5 : 1-8 · Eph 5 : 21 · Col 3 : 12-17 | Fathering, mutual submission, generational faith |
Purpose & Posture Bridge | Col 1 : 24-29 · Phil 2 : 5-11 | Presenting every believer mature in Christ |
Looking Ahead
Next Week → Structures That Serve Relationship
Elder / Deacon Mindset · Fivefold Mindset · Family Mindset
Purpose: “To present every believer mature in Christ.” (Col 1 : 28-29)
Posture: Humility · Servanthood · Dedication
Supplemental Study – NT Leadership Word Counts + Analysis
Greek Term | English Meaning | NT Occurrences | Note |
Apostolos | Apostle / Sent One | 79 | Sent representatives of Christ |
Prophetes | Prophet | 28 | Truth-speakers and encouragers |
Evangelistes | Evangelist | 3 | Bearer of good news |
Poimēn | Shepherd / Pastor | 1 (human) | Jesus’ model for care |
Didaskalos | Teacher | 59 | Grounded in formation |
Presbyteros | Elder | 66 | Plural, maturity-based leadership |
Episkopos | Overseer / Bishop | 5 | Watchful stewardship |
Diakonos | Deacon / Servant | 29 | Practical service |
Oikonomos | Steward / Manager | 10 | Accountable care |
Conceptual / Functional Roles
House Church Leaders · Women Co-laborers · Intercessors · Financial Stewards · Helps / Administration · Shepherding Couples · Mission Teams
Presbyteros Breakdown
Context | Count | Description |
Jewish Elders | ≈ 27 | Sanhedrin / Synagogue leaders |
Christian Elders | ≈ 19 | Local church leadership |
Older Men / Women | ≈ 20 | Age / wisdom references |
Christian Elder Tone Analysis
Tone | Approx. Count | % | Insight |
Relational / Shepherding | 8 | 42% | Care, example, prayer |
Balanced (Function + Relation) | 6 | 32% | Structure serving relationship |
Positional / Order-Setting | 5 | 26% | Appointed for stability |
Interpretation: Eldership is responsibility within relationship; authority flows from maturity, not hierarchy.
Across the NT, leadership is plural, relational, and rooted in shared responsibility under Christ’s Headship.
Reflection Questions from this Week
- How does measuring our lives by Jesus’ life change the way we lead and love others?
- What does it look like to be compassionate without compromise?
- Which image—Body, Temple, or Family—helps you most understand maturity in Christ right now?
- How can we personally and corporately “walk worthy” of our calling?
- In what ways might God be preparing to send us into new places or assignments?
Next week we will plan to begin with a deeper debrief of the four images and a time to pray and repentance prayers. Please seek the Lord this week and ask Him what ways He wants to renew our minds, clarify our vision and unify our hearts.
Leadership & Service Roles to Research:
- Apostle / Sent Ones
- Prophets
- Evangelists
- Pastors / Shepherds
- Teachers
- Elders / Presbyters
- Deacons / Servants
- Overseers / Bishops
- Missionaries
- Shepherding Couples / House Church Hosts
- Women Leaders in the Early Church
- Intercessors / Prophetic Servants
- Financial Stewards / Patrons
- Helps & Administration Gifts
Research Questions for Next Week:
- Where do we see this role described or modeled in Scripture?
- What character traits or functions define this role?
- How does this role reflect the fullness of Christ in His Body today?
- How many times does this word or title appear in Scripture?