Leadership Blacksmith Shops

“We need to eliminate the accumulation of Believers as our definition of success. A mature leader is not one who is able to charismatically draw the multitudes, then leave them weak and worldly-minded. We must maximize the biblical definition of ‘maturity’ when defining ‘leaders’. This is so we can disciple cultures, which should be our ultimate goal in fulfilling the Great Commission. How many thousands of church leaders are out there, suffering, burn-out, sick and tired, even suffocating in the current structure? We will have ‘leadership blacksmith shops’. We often quote the verse, ‘The weapons of the enemy will not prosper against you,’ but in the verse before it, God says, ‘I’ll forge some weapons.’ We are going to become ekklesia leaders in Kingdom centers who not only forge weapons. We will forge warriors.” (Don Lynch)1

“I’ve created blacksmiths to fan the coals into flames and to produce useful weapons. I’ve also created destroyers to bring destruction. No weapon that has been made to be used against you will succeed.” (Isaiah 54:16-17a; GWT)

Give Him 15 minutes in prayer:

  • Let’s identificationally repent for thinking that the ability to gather together large numbers of Believers equates to leadership success in God’s eyes.
  • If you are a pastor or leader who is struggling with your role or feeling burned out, tell God about it.
  • Decide to go back to the basics of the Word of God in defining “maturity” and  church leadership. Look and look again.
  • If you are a church member who wants certain things from your pastor and/or church experience, tell God about that. Are you willing to be a warrior in God’s army?
  • Call forth the creation of leadership blacksmith shops!

A prayer you can pray:

Father, forgive us humans for deciding what mature Christian leadership looks like. We are meant to be more like an army than a gathering of sheep on a hillside. Congregations filled with Believers left unconfronted and unchallenged to live differently from the world will never expand Your Kingdom or disciple nations. Refresh our leaders. Recommission and refocus them according to Your definition of  a “mature Christian leader”. Take us back to Your Word for our definitions. Forgive the Body for telling the leaders how to act and how to meet our needs. We need to grow up, get trained, and get engaged in Kingdom warfare. Turn our churches into leadership blacksmith shops! In the mighty name of Jesus, amen.

Today’s decree:

We will create Leadership Blacksmith Shops in America!

1 Learn more about Don Lynch here.