Bobby Clinton is a professor of leadership at Fuller Seminary. I met him for breakfast in Pasadena when Jenny and I were transitioning (read I got fired – long story there) out of the Navigators. He has several good books, one of which is Having a Ministry that Lasts: By Becoming a Bible Centered Leader. In that work Professor Clinton says that while you cannot master the Bible, you need to be familiar with all the books, and you need to focus, master, the books and passages that are central to your ministry. I have found that advice rock solid.
One of the passages that draws me in time and time again is Ephesians 4:11 – 16 (here at Bible Gateway). I have studied the passage multiple times and have used it in working with pastors and individuals in ministry, most recently as I served as interim pastor in our church with some of the staff.
This passage has informed much of what I do to equip fathers to lead their families and the pastors I have had the opportunity to serve overseas to lead their churches.
I was preparing to work with an individual in India this morning and was looking for one of the illustrations that I have developed in part through interacting with this passage. I leafed through my last 4 journals and did not find it and then remembered that I had expanded the illustration during my last study in Ephesians.
As I reviewed this, I felt the need to share that here. It will take at least five posts and possibly more to share what I want to share on this. The diagram above is the starting point. I will explain and expand it in the next several posts.
Spend some time thinking through that diagram and working through Ephesians 4:11 – 16 (here at Bible Gateway), and share with me what you think and see. I would very much like this to be a dialog.
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