ASPIRE: Developing and Deploying Leaders in the Church for the Church

Matt Rogers

1 Developed by Matt Rogers

The Church at Cherrydale
2013
Aspire would not have been possible were it not for a group of men at The Church at

Cherrydale who allowed me to experiment with their lives utilizing many of the

principles outlined below. I am grateful for your humble service to Christs church and

excited about how you will be used by God to faithfully the church into the future.

-Matt Rogers,

Pastor, The Church at Cherrydale

2 Developed by Matt Rogers

The Church at Cherrydale
2013
 ASPIRE: Developing and Deploying Leaders in the Church for the Church

There is no greater challenge facing the church in America than the production of quality

leaders. Leaders are essential for the making of disciples, the planting of churches, and

the shepherding of already existing churches. The task of multiplying leaders is a

responsibility of the local church. Unfortunately the church often neglects this task and,

as a result, the church suffers through an ever-growing leadership void. Not only that,

but many would-be leaders flounder through years of ministry frustration due to

inadequate training, assessment, and supervision. The result is wasted potential, poorly

led churches, and thousands of unreached men, women, and children littering our nation.

The vast lostness of our world demands that the church reproduce theologically robust,

missionally active, and Spirit-led leaders for churches throughout our world. This is a

stewardship that we must not neglect.

Thankfully God is active in calling men and women to lead. Paul writes to his

young protg Timothy that he should be on the lookout for men who aspire to the

office of pastor (1 Tim 3:1). Those who do so, according to Paul, desire a noble task.

This is not only true of men who desire to serve as pastors for the church, but it is also

true of men and women desiring a host of other platforms for leadership in the church,

from small groups, to Sunday School classes, to church planting to international missions

and everything in between. God is raising up leaders who aspire to serve.

The question is: Does the church aspire to develop them? The demands of

pastoral ministry and the ever-increasing pressures of leading the church often silence the

clarion call to invest in developing and deploying future leaders. If church leaders are not

3 Developed by Matt Rogers

The Church at Cherrydale
2013
careful they can neglect the most essential discipleship function they have that of

reproducing themselves in the next generation. For this to happen current church

leaders must see the discovery, development, and deployment of future leaders as a

vital part of their own pastoral calling. Likewise, churches must provide a context

whereby aspiring leaders can learn to love, care, and serve Christs bride. This

combination pastoral investment and local church context provides the prime context

for the aspiration of leaders to be fanned into flame. The development and deployment of

future leaders in the church and for the church is vital for the church to thrive in the

coming generation.

4 Developed by Matt Rogers

The Church at Cherrydale
2013
Current Reality

In todays world, leaders find the church. Most often these leaders come to the church

in one of two ways:

1. Bottom-Up: They were passionate followers of Christ during their teenage or

college years and felt a sense of calling to vocational ministry or leadership in

the church. These young, energetic, and idealistic leaders often pursue

grassroots methods of serving in the church and work their way into

leadership positions, often with little to no formal training. The void of

leadership in the church means that such leaders are hired by churches and

entrusted with vital staff ministry roles, such as youth, children or missions.

From there, these leaders branch out to new positions and roles within the

church in which they serve, or take on new responsibilities at other churches,

or determine to start a church of their own. This bottom-up process results in

the church being flooded with leaders whose calling, character, and

competence simply does not match their leadership responsibilities.

2. Top-Down: Seminary and parachurch ministries provide another primary

stream for the production of leaders. Thankfully, in our day, many of our

seminaries are at a point of increasing health and theological integrity. Not

only that but God is using parachurch organizations, particularly among

college students, in promote a missionary fervor among young leaders.

However, college or seminary graduates often struggle with the question

what next? Many have been removed from the local church context for

years while receiving their graduate degree or serving in parachurch ministries

and are now left to their own devises to seek to find a role within a local

5 Developed by Matt Rogers

The Church at Cherrydale
2013
 church. While these leaders may have great ministerial competence, they

often have little to no actual ministry experience and lack the skills necessary

for interpersonal discipleship. Not only that, but without the local church,

these leaders may lack the character that is developed and defined through the

discipleship provided in the local church. They often package a resume and

candidate for church jobs in hopes of finding a perfect fit.

Both the bottom-up and top-down leadership production models have the same result:

aspiring leaders lacking development that the church is meant to provide.

Leadership production, in the Spirit of Western culture, becomes an individualistic

enterprise. Leaders are left to their own devises to self-assess their own calling,

character, and competence in search of a ministry position that best matches their own

self-awareness and churches are left to hope and pray that God will match their

leadership voids with the right leader. To do so, aspiring leaders and existing churches

navigate a maze of relationships with local churches, denominational associations and

state conventions, and even national denominational and parachurch ministries in an

effort to combine leaders with church and church plants in a profitable fashion.

Unfortunately this process often results in a host of negative consequences:

! Aspiring leaders are left to their own wisdom and insight to determine

vital issues such as calling, character, and competence that are meant to be

understood in the context of the local church community.

! Aspiring leaders are often separated from the local church community

during their formative years of learning. Training in ministerial

competence disconnected from the context of the local church neuters its

full value.

6 Developed by Matt Rogers

The Church at Cherrydale
2013
! Aspiring leaders lack the humility forged in the context of ministry

through the local church and thus often pursue the pragmatic benefits of

such partnerships (such as money and blessing) without any genuine

desire for long term partnership.

! Aspiring leaders try out ministry in the context of an actual vocational

job at a church, often leading to a process of trial and error that results in

changing jobs every two to three years until they find a good ministry fit.

This process undermines the fruit of a lifetime of gospel ministry in any

singular local church context.

! Aspiring leaders do great harm to their families in the process, placing

their spouses and children in unhealthy churches where they deal with the

daily shrapnel of being a ministry family in a destructive environment.

! Aspiring leaders descend on churches and cities without effective

strategies for partnering with already existing churches. This parachute

drop model of pastoral leadership and church planting leads to questioned

motives and regretful stereotypes that could have been avoided in the

context of relationships.

! Churches fill leadership voids with men and women who lack the calling,

competence, and character essential for the assigned leadership role. The

result is a painful process of removing leaders who were under-developed

and unprepared.

! Denominational leaders are confronted with the challenge of assessing and

approving leaders for international missions and church planting without

7 Developed by Matt Rogers

The Church at Cherrydale
2013
 the life-on-life context required to rightly discern Gods work in the

leader.

! Denominational and parachurch organizations meet leaders who have

already made up their mind about who they are, what they are doing, and

where they are doing it. Thus, they are often relegated into a coaching and

support role for leaders after much of the essential formation of a leader

has already happened.

! Leaders, churches, denominations, and parachurch entities each have their

own process for leadership development leading to a complex maze of

assessment and training methodologies that lack synergy.

! Leadership placement is often haphazard with a sense of internal calling

(Where is God calling me? What am I gifted to do?) trumping the

external validation that comes through pastoral mentorship (Where is this

leader most gifted? In what context would he/she thrive?)

However, one must be careful. The temptation is to pit leadership formation systems

against one another and argue that one is necessary and the other is irrelevant. The point

is not that bottom-up or top-down systems of leadership production are wrong or that

they fail to produce leaders. They often do. Certainly formation systems need youth

groups, collegiate ministries, parachurch organizations, and seminaries. These provide

vital tools that aid in the formation of leaders. The point is that each of these models is

insufficient in and of itself to produce the types of leaders capable of caring for Gods

church.

Surely there is a better way.

8 Developed by Matt Rogers

The Church at Cherrydale
2013
 Rather than the leader finding the church, what would happen if the church found

the leader?

A Better Model

What would happen if the local church saw itself as the primary location for the training

of future leaders? For this to happen the church must recognize potential leaders and

place them in the local church for an intentional, extended period of development

followed by strategic deployment. The church, and not the leader, then assumes the

following tasks:

1. The creation of a holistic methodology for training leaders

2. The assessment of the leaders character, competence, and calling

3. The selection of strategic locations for these developing leaders to

serve

4. The formation of relationships with existing churches, denominational

groups, schools and seminaries, and parachurch organizations to assist

in leadership deployment

5. The development of teams of leaders, matched according to gifting, to

lead new pastoral teams

6. The ongoing care and coaching of these leaders in their new role.

Aspire is written in an effort to equip the local church with a tool capable of

assisting them in developing and deploying leaders in the church for the church.

9 Developed by Matt Rogers

The Church at Cherrydale
2013
Overview

He is the one we proclaim, admonishing and teaching everyone with all wisdom, so that
we may present everyone fully mature in Christ.
Colossians 1:28

Aspire is written as a two-year leadership development model. Year 1 (Foundations) is

designed to develop any leaders within the local church. It can be used to groom pastors,

church planters, vocational staff, lay leaders, small group leaders, womens ministry

coordinators, and even international missionaries. Year 2 (Pastor) is designed with men in

mind. This year is spent learning the tools necessary to lead Gods church in a pastoral role.

Each year is broken down into three, twelve-week trimesters with an essential area of focus

for each trimester:

Year 1. Trimester 1 GOSPEL Aspiring leaders will build a foundation for gospel clarity

by understanding the redemptive plan of God through the metanarrative of Scripture.

Year 1. Trimester 2 MISSION Aspiring leaders will analyze the implications of Gods

redemptive plan for the mission of Gods people in and through the local church.

Year 1. Trimester 3 MINISTRY Aspiring leaders will apply the gospel mission to the

process of personal transformation and disciple-making.

------

Men desiring to pursue pastoral ministry will then move on to Year 2 (Pastor) where they

will focus on the following:

Year 2. Trimester 1 TEACH - Pastoral leaders will develop a proper hermeneutic for

applying the Scriptures to people through pastoral counseling, preaching and teaching

10 Developed by Matt Rogers

The Church at Cherrydale
2013
Year 2. Trimester 2 BUILD Pastoral leaders will learn how to integrate a gospel mission

into the life of the church through systems that encourage gospel transformation and Biblical

community.

Year 2. Trimester 3 APPLY Pastoral leaders will confront the contextual challenges of

their city and seek to develop a missional posture for the church from which to engage in

strategic mission to those in their immediate context.

Breaks: After each Trimester the Aspire model allows for a break of at least four weeks

(Suggestion: December, April, and August). These breaks are designed to allow for the

following:

1. Rest These breaks allow both the pastors and the aspiring leaders a time for

refreshment and recovery.

2. Assessment Also, the breaks provide a time for the leaders to undergo any

formal assessment tests that might be warranted at their stage of development.

3. Runway Conversation Much like airplanes on a runway, aspiring leaders need

ongoing conversations as they prepare for take-off. Breaks provide a time for

pastoral mentors to intentionally position the developing leader for life after the

Aspire proves is complete.

11 Developed by Matt Rogers

The Church at Cherrydale
2013
Thus a two-year leadership development in the local church would look something like this:

Year 1 - Foundations

Trimester 1 Break Trimester 2 Break Trimester 3 Break

September- December January-March April May July (12 August

November (12 (12 Weeks) weeks)
weeks)

Gospel Runway Mission Runway Ministry Runway

Conversations Conversations Conversations

Year 2

Trimester 1 Break Trimester 2 Break Trimester 3 Break

September- December January-March April May July (12 August

November (12 (12 Weeks) weeks)
weeks)

Teach Runway Build Runway Apply Runway

Conversations Conversations Conversations

12 Developed by Matt Rogers

The Church at Cherrydale
2013
Values

For Aspire to produce fruit in a local church context pastors must strive to create a church

context marked by the following:

I. Gospel Transformation Disciple formation is at the root of leadership development.

Therefore, churches must have an ethos of knowing and loving Jesus in order to

provide a leadership system that will replicate such worship.

II. Disciple Multiplication The Great Commission must mark a church intent on

investing in disciple-multiplication. This passion creates a church where aspiring

leaders are both investing and being invested in as everyone seeks to live a life of

conformity to the image of Jesus.

III. Missionary Living Disciples are made from the harvest. Churches should seek to

create disciples marked by outwardly focused lives that seek to declare and

demonstrate the gospel to their own unique, individual circles of influence.

IV. Church Centrality The church is built by God, sustained by His Word, and is vital

for accomplishing the mission of disciple-multiplication. Developing leaders will

be exposed to the necessity of the local church in Gods mission and will grow in

their love for the Body of Christ. This will result in leaders capable to leading

Biblically faithful and contextually appropriate local churches in our day.

V. Biblical Community Leaders are formed through relationships, both with pastoral

mentors and with their peers. In these environments they can learn, shape, and

refine one another and partner together for future ministry endeavors.

13 Developed by Matt Rogers

The Church at Cherrydale
2013
VI. Ministry Experience Churches that produce leaders allow developing leaders a

place to serve. Leadership development requires a context where leaders can

experiment, make mistakes, learn and grow within the safe context of a local

church. This requires putting leaders in contexts to serve early, rather than

waiting for the leader to be fully formed.

VII. City Collaboration This model works best when church and denominational

leaders in an existing geography work together. No one church will attract, train,

and deploy all leaders in any city. Thus, churches and denominational leaders can

partner together for such things as formal teaching and instruction, team

formation, site selection, and ongoing support with the leaders found at each

church.

VIII. Gift Assessment The church provides a context for the assessment of a

leaders spiritual gifting, life history, and personality profile. Leaders can

then be connected with a ministry context that matches their unique ministry

fingerprint.

IX. Theological Education Leadership demands a robust theological and

philosophical understanding. Thus, leadership development systems

necessitate essential training often relegated to seminaries. Instead of having

to leave a ministry context to attend school, aspiring leaders can be developed

in their local church context and use distance education options provided

through seminaries as a supplement for certain areas of study (Greek, Hebrew,

Church History, etc.)

14 Developed by Matt Rogers

The Church at Cherrydale
2013
X. Intentional Sending A church does not finish its job when an individual finishes

the program. Rather, healthy churches see to it that leaders are placed in a

ministry context in which they can thrive and are supported through ongoing

care and coaching.

15 Developed by Matt Rogers

The Church at Cherrydale
2013
Focus

You then, my son, be strengthened by the grace that is in Christ Jesus, and what you
have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses entrust to faithful men who will be
able to teach others also.
2 Timothy 2:1-2

Churches with such a climate can develop leaders. Aspire provides a map to do so by

focusing on the head, hands, heart, and helpmate of the aspiring leader.

1. Heart

Leadership formation starts and finishes with the formation of a leaders heart since lead-

ership is an inside-out process. Heart formation cannot be overvalued. Our culture is

littered with the shrapnel of ministers who have been disqualified from pastoral ministry due

to sin and rebellion. In contrast to this, the Scriptural qualifications for pastoral leadership

focus on exemplary gospel character rather than ministry skill. Aspire will force a leader to

assess his heart and develop the personal disciplines necessary to sustain and expand the

heart during the marathon of pastoral ministry (Prov 4:23; Prov 27:19; Matt 5:1-48; 6:21,

12:31-34, 15:18, 22:37; Mk 7:21-22; Lk 6:45; Jn 7:38, 15:1-17; Rom 5:5; Gal 5:16-26; Eph

3:16-18; 1 Tim 3:1-7; Titus 1:5-9).

2. Head

The heart and the mind shape the ministry of a leader. As God transforms a persons heart,

their mind is likewise transformed and cultivated as leaders are encouraged to think deeply

on the things of God. These thoughts about God are far from sheer intramural, intellectual

practice, but are the tools that God uses to shape the practice of the leaders of His church.
16 Developed by Matt Rogers
The Church at Cherrydale
2013
The net result is that we would raise up leaders who think Gods thoughts after Him and can

rightly communicate Gods Word and His ways to those that they love and serve (Ps 131:1-3,

139:17; Ecc 5:1-20; Is 26:3; Jer 33:3; Jn 3:1-36; Rom 12:2; 1 Cor 2:11-16; 2 Cor 4:4, 10:3-6;

Eph 4:22-24; Phil 2:5, 4:4-9; Col 3:1-2; 2 Tim 1:6-8, 2:2; Jam 1:8, 3:1; 2 Pet 1:3).6

3. Hands

A sanctified heart and head propel the hands of the leader into sacrificial service to the Body

of Christ. Leaders must be able to know, understand, and apply the gospel of Jesus to the

lives of those to whom they care. Following the pattern set by Jesus, leaders demonstrate

their calling through humble, patient, intentional service to those they love. Servant leaders

care for those far from God by working to establish proximity to non-believers through

genuine acts of mercy. They also care for the wayward and wounded within the church by

bearing their burdens, meeting their needs, and praying for their well-being (Is 42:1-4, 52:13-

53:3; Matt 20:25-28, 28:18-20; Mk 10:42-45; Lk 4:18-21, 9:1-62, 22:26; Jn 1:14, 13:3-17,

34-35; Acts 6:1-15; 20:28-35; Rom 12:1-21; Eph 4:11-12; Phil 1:1, 2:5-11; 1 Tim 3:1-7; 2

Tim 4:5; Heb 13:7; 1 Pet 5:1-14).

4. Helpmate

The one flesh union created by marriage means that in order for a leader to thrive, a

development process must focus on developing the heart, head, and hands of the leaders

current or future spouse as well as working to strengthen the marriage relationship.

17 Developed by Matt Rogers

The Church at Cherrydale
2013
While not every leader will marry, most will, and this oft neglected focus of leadership

development results in malnourished families, shriveling under the weight of leadership

in the church. Spouse of church leaders often struggle with unmet needs and aspirations

while their spouses serve the church. A robust training methodology will teach a leader

to love and serve his spouse, disciple his/her children, and protect ones most vital

relationships. Only in caring for his home is a leader qualified to care for the church

(Mal 2:16; Eph. 5:22-33; Eph 6:1-3; 1 Tim 3:2-5; Tit 1:6; 1 Pet 3:3-6).

Pastoral formation happens at the intersection of the aspiring leaders head, hands,

heart, and helpmate.

Aspire equips the church to address each of these needs. Lets begin with the head of a

leader.

18 Developed by Matt Rogers

The Church at Cherrydale
2013
 HEAD

Scripture Study - Leaders will be immersed in the world of the Scriptures through daily

reading, ongoing study, and diligent application of the Word. Leaders will be taught to

love and treasure the Word as source of personal transformation and ministry application.

Required Reading Leaders will be asked to read a number of key books in each area

of study. These books have been selected for their value to the field and their holistic

nature. Other chapters, articles, and audio sermons and lectures may be supplemented

throughout.

Weekly Workshops Accompanying the required reading, leaders will be given weekly

workshops that allow them to apply their learning to pastoral ministry. These field

guides will serve to aid a leader in processing his learning as well as serve as a

memorable journal of the way the Spirit brought about transformation in the life of the

leader.

Weekly Labs Leaders will unite once a week for two-hours for a time of study and

discussion. This can be all of the leaders from any singular local church or a

collaborative effort by like-minded churches in a city. During this time, skilled pastoral

practioners will guide the aspiring leaders through Scripture, reading, and workshops to

aid their acquisition of the topics at hand.

Seminary Accreditation Aspiring leaders may utilize Aspire to pursue credit towards

seminary degrees. Many schools, such as Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary,

will provide course credit for leaders moving through the Aspire process.

19 Developed by Matt Rogers

The Church at Cherrydale
2013
 HEART

Pastoral Discipleship Leaders should be matched with a pastoral mentor who can meet

with each leader for at least one hour per week to discuss the leaders growth and

development. Since many of the more cognitive components of leadership formation are

happening already, pastoral mentorship provides a means by which pastors can assess the

leaders heart and his/her application of the gospel to life. Throughout the workshops,

Aspire will provide pastoral mentorship with clear, heart-level questions for the pastor to

ask during mentorship.

Personal Accountability Aspiring leaders are prone to unique and pervasive forms of

sin. Thus, pastoral mentorship provides a means by which young leaders can

acknowledge areas of propensity to sin in their lives and can seek to fight sin through

help of mentors and others aspiring leaders.

Spiritual Disciplines Leaders must cultivate an intrinsic, gospel-motivation for pursing

the spiritual disciplines, such as prayer, Bible-reading, fasting, and solitude. Heart

assessment allows for churches to discern the gospel motivation of leaders in pursing the

disciplines.

20 Developed by Matt Rogers

The Church at Cherrydale
2013
 HANDS

Ministry Service Leaders are entrusted with vital tasks within the life of the church

which serve to both hone areas of known strength and develop areas of recognized

weakness. These ministry placements can be in any area of the church (youth, kids,

teaching, technology, etc.) and can serve to meet needs of the church while also serving

to develop the leader. For more on how to determine the placement of a leader consult

the Frequently Asked Questions section of Aspire.

Personal Shepherding All leaders must know how to engage the lost and make

disciples. Thus, leaders are entrusted with at least 1-2 relationships that they are

intentionally shepherding. This could be done with non-believers that the leader is

engaging with the gospel or two young Christians within the church. Simply put if a

leader cannot make a disciple, he is not a leader for Gods church.

Strategic Jobs Leaders should be encouraged to find employment in a strategic job;

such as a local gym or coffee shop, within close proximity to the church community.

This job platform provides for the leader to think like a missionary, build relationships

with those far from God, and find contextually appropriate and relationally sensitive

ways to communicate the gospel with those with whom they work.

Relational Assessment Leaders serving in the aforementioned ways are positioned for

ongoing forms of assessment. This can range from formal assessment tools; such as gift

surveys or personality profiles, to informal tools such as debriefing a leadership

assignment with their pastoral mentor. Relational assessment in the context of local

church ministry is a vast improvement over other business-like approaches. In the context

of leading, trusted pastors can help an aspiring leader validate or alter their own internal

sense of calling and direct them to an appropriate leadership role.

21 Developed by Matt Rogers

The Church at Cherrydale
2013
 HELPMATE

Marital Direction - Leaders rise and fall on the basis of their familys health. Young

leaders need assistance in choosing a spouse that will serve as a faithful and fruitful

partner in gospel ministry. Those already married need to be consistently challenged to

love their families faithfully. The essential tools to aid a leader in these decisions, as well

as the intricacies of protecting and honoring the family while leading in the church, are

woven through the reading, labs, and weekly workshops.

Spouse Discipleship Local church ministry is a daunting challenge for both spouses.

Sadly, much leadership training is focused only on the recognized leader and not the

spouse. Often this leads to restorative coaching practices for marriages in chaos, rather

than preventive tools to aid the couple in fighting for ongoing health. Thus, Aspire

encourages the spouse (or significant other if the individual is dating) to enter into a

discipleship relationship with the spouse of their mentor. In addition, the weekly labs

will provide focused application for ones marriage and family.

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The Church at Cherrydale
2013
FAQs

Why is Aspire so long?

Because it is better to train leaders well than to train them quickly. There is simply no

way to assess, equip, and send a pastor into leadership in a semester. The process outlined

above provides a way for aspiring leaders to kick the tires of local church ministry

without formally assuming the full weight of the mantel of leadership. This takes time, a

host of mistakes, and strategic discernment of the pastors of the local church and the

aspiring leader. For some, leadership may look different than they thought. For others,

formal leadership roles may be further in the future than they desired. For a few, they

will disqualify themselves due to unrepentant sin. For all, they will need time to develop

and deploy in a successful fashion.

Where do you start?

There are two strategic places for local church leaders to start. First, they need to find

leaders. At first this may be one leader. Regardless of the number, every church has

leaders. The best places to look for these leaders is within the ranks of a local churches

student or college ministry or among those already holding some type of leadership

position (for example, all of a churchs current small group leaders). These aspiring

leaders should be invited into the Aspire process. This need not be a formal application

process at the outset. Local church pastors can simply invite an aspiring leader into the

process. Expanding capacity may necessitate that local churches create more formal

pathways for leadership candidates. Aspire encourages churches to create a formal

application process as well as a cost for the program. Increased formality will lead to

increased buy-in from aspiring leaders.

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The Church at Cherrydale
2013
When should we meet?

Weekly workshops happen best at times which do not preclude those with jobs from

being able to participate. Early morning hours (6-8am) provide a suitable time that does

not conflict with most work schedules and which do not encroach on family time in the

evenings. Weekly mentorship can happen at any time. All that is necessary is for the

pastor and the aspiring leader to agree upon a time and location that fits their schedule.

Ideally this time will be consistent each week and the location will allow for genuine and

heartfelt conversation.

Where should leaders serve?

Hands based training is a vital component to the Aspire model. However what is

essential is that the leaders are serving, not that they are serving in the ideal role at the

outset. A bit of trial and error is required. Typically, leaders come predisposed to one of

three gifting: Prophets (those gifted in proclaiming Gods word), Priests (those gifted in

personal care for Gods people), or Kings (those gifted in administrating Gods church).

In most cases the leaders primary gifting is not readily apparent. Local church leaders

must work in tandem with the aspiring leader to aid him in discerning the role in which

he excels, the role which he can develop, and the role that does not fit his gifting. For

this to happen, leaders should be placed in roles each trimester which call out the various

gifting. For one trimester, the leader may spend his time teaching the youth (prophet), for

another he may design a church-wide ministry program (king), and for another he may

assist in pastoral counseling (priest).

How much time will leaders need to allocation to Aspire?

Leaders, both existing pastors and aspiring leaders, will get out of Aspire what they put

into it. For this reason, Aspire will necessitate time from both parties. For pastors, it will

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The Church at Cherrydale
2013
mean time spent leading the weekly workshops (2 hours), time preparing to lead (2

hours) and time mentoring aspiring leaders (1 hour per mentee). Thus, pastors will need

to allocate at least 5 hours per week to this process. Aspiring leaders will clearly need to

spend more time. They will invest time each week in workshops (2 hours), personal

mentorship (1 hour), personal reading and labs (5 hours), and serving in the local church

(10-15 hours). Aspiring leaders will need to allocate 20 hours a week to this process.

For many, such as interns or existing staff members, this will not be 20 additional hours

each week but will utilize many of the hours they are already investing in serving the

church.

Who mentors each leader?

In many ways it does not matter who mentors an aspiring leader but that they are

mentored. Any pastor investing in an aspiring leader is a good thing. However, churches

may see fit to pair developing leaders with existing mentors who match the young leaders

sense of gifting or calling. For example, if a young leader aspires to church planting, it

may be best for him to be mentored by the lead pastor. If another young female aspires

to work with widows and orphans, it may be best to pair her with a female with

experience in this vital ministry role.

How can churches collaborate?

There are multiple avenues for church collaboration through Aspire. The weekly

workshops provide a time where pastors gifted in that particular topic can serve to

facilitate the discussion for the week. A young, newly married pastor may not be the best

person to lead a weekly workshop on marriage. It may be best to ask an elderly pastor

from the city to address that topic. A church planter may be best suited for leading the

discussion on contextual strategy and so on. Also, collaborating around the weekly labs

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The Church at Cherrydale
2013
gives individuals from churches with few young leaders a chance to place those leaders in

a context for relationships with other like-minded, aspiring leaders.

City collaboration also allows for a context for God to form church planting

teams. Perhaps a singular church does not have a fully, formed team (prophet, priest,

king) for planting a church in an urban context, but through partnership these people may

be exposed to one another and their hearts may be knit together.

Multiple churches can also strategically select various church planting contexts

and partner together for the sake of maximum impact. For example, the churches in a

city may choose to funnel their Aspire leaders to a couple of city centers, such as

Washington, DC or Salt Lake City, Utah. Church pastors can also partner together to

provide the vital financial and marital support essential for sending leaders. The

relationships forged during Aspire can provide the fuel for such healthy, supportive

relationships.

Where do college and parachurch ministries fit in?

Aspiring leaders, properly positioned in the local church and under the care or its pastors,

can and should benefit from other ministries for various facets of leadership formation.

Head based formation in the church can be supplemented by specialized training through

Bible colleges and seminaries. Also hand based formation can take places as leaders

serve in collegiate ministries, such as BCM or FCA, in order to make disciples on college

campuses. Far from rendering these ministries obsolete, Aspire actually frees these

ministries to focus on the things they do best rather than having to feel the full weight of

the formation of a leader, which was meant to be the responsibility of the local church.

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2013
What about seminary?

Aspire is not designed to be an alternative pathway from seminary training, but rather a

means by which participants can receive seminary training in the context of the local

church. A unique and exciting dimension of the program is the theological training one

will receive through our partnership with Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary

(SEBTS). Through their Equip network, Southeastern allows Aspire participants to earn

credit hours towards a Master of Arts in Church Planting or a Master of Divinity in

Christian Ministry. Along with this, leaders can supplement there Aspire training with

online, extension, or weeklong extensive courses in order to earn the remaining credit

hours. The degree plans for each of these degrees can be found online at www.sebts.edu

How are leaders funded?

They dont have to be funded. Leadership training does not require funding, only

intentionality. Leaders can pursue Aspire training while holding a full-time vocational

job. For some, it may be wise for them to simply take a part-time vocation job and

allocate additional time to working in the church. This would be particularly true of

leaders aspiring to pastoral ministry during the second year of training. If this is the case,

the leaders could raise a minimal amount of support ($1,000 a month) from their

relational networks. Fund raising training can be provided to Aspire mentors in order to

aid their leaders in securing the necessary funding to pursue such training.

What will it cost the church?

In one sense, developing leaders is free. But, on another and more important level,

developing and deploying leaders comes with a great cost. It will cost time. Existing

pastors must allocate time to implementing the Aspire model and to the necessary

relational discipleship that it requires. It will also cost money. Churches who develop

27 Developed by Matt Rogers

The Church at Cherrydale
2013
leaders will want to find every possible way to finance their developing ministries. Thus,

increasing percentages of a churchs budget will be spent leveraging the calling of

aspiring leaders. Lastly, it will cost love. Pastors who care about multiplying leaders

will find themselves thinking about these leaders and their future churches. They will

both rejoice and weep as they watch these young leaders undergo the travails of ministry.

They will find themselves not only leading the church they pastor, but the churches and

ministries of those they have developed.

28 Developed by Matt Rogers

The Church at Cherrydale
2013
Year 1 Foundations Overview

The chart below outlines the focus of each Trimester and weekly workshop for the first

year of Aspire. The second year, Pastor Track, follows. Finally, this introduction to

Aspire includes a sample workshop taken from the first week of Trimester 1.

Year 1 Trimester 1 Trimester 2 Trimester 3

Gospel Mission Ministry
Week 1 Beginnings Gods Mission: Missio Calling
Dei
Week 2 Rebellion Gods Mission: Character/Heart
Kingdom
Week 3 Covenant Churchs Mission: Worship/Idolatry
Organism
Week 4 People Churchs Mission: Gospel
Family Transformation
Week 5 Law Churchs Mission: Gospel Distortions
Disciples
Week 6 Judgment Churchs Mission: Transformed Identity
Context
Week 7 Incarnation My Mission: Disciple- Transformed
making Disciplines
Week 8 Ministry My Mission: Transformed Gifting
Declare
Week 9 Cross My Mission: Transformed
Demonstrate Marriage
Week 10 Resurrection My Mission: Domains, Transformed
Work Parenting
Week 11 Church My Mission: Discipline Transformed Time
Week 12 Consummation My Mission: Transformed Rest
Prayer
The Bible in its entirety Creation Regained by How People Change
Reading: Albert Wolters by Tim Lane and
According to Plan by Paul Tripp
Graeme Goldsworthy A Light to the Nations
by Michael Goheen Dangerous Calling
by Paul Tripp
Prodigal God by Tim
Keller Whats Best Next by
Matthew Perman
The Shaping of Things
to Come by Alan Hirsch

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The Church at Cherrydale
2013
 A leader will A leader will A leader will
Desired have a clear understand understand
Outcomes understanding of Gods mission how the
the metanarrative in the world and gospel
of Scripture the role of the informs his
A leader will be church in that sense of
able to mission calling and
understand how A leader will giftedness
the minor develop a A leader will
stories or missional vision grow in
Scripture fit into for the local applying the
the macro- church gospel to his
story of Gods A leader will daily life
redemptive plan understand the A leader will
A leader will be difference develop the
able to articulate between the tools essential
a holistic gospel mission of the for making
A leader will church disciples
grow in love and institutional and A leader will
appreciation for the church develop daily
the gospel organic disciplines in
A leader will life, marriage
personally live and parenting
on mission and that support
be able to gospel
disciple others transformation
to do the same

30 Developed by Matt Rogers

The Church at Cherrydale
2013
Year 2: Pastor Overview

Year 2 Trimester 1 Trimester 2 Trimester 3

Teach Build Apply

Week 1 Authority of Scripture Motives Culture

Week 2 Sufficiency of Scripture Philosophy of Ministry Church History
Week 3 Scripture and Disciple- Mission and Vision Western Culture
making
Week 4 Biblical Counseling Values Contextualization
Week 5 Preaching Leadership: Elders Specific Context
Hard Demographics
Week 6 Preaching: Models and Leadership: Deacons Specific Context
Methods Soft Demographics
Week 7 Text Corporate Gatherings Apologetics: God
Week 8 Context Biblical Community Apologetics: Truth
Week 9 Central Thread Theological Education Apologetics:
Heaven and Hell
Week 10 Illustration Membership/Discipline Apologetics:
Evil/Suffering
Week 11 Application Ordinances Apologetics:
Science
Week 12 Invitation Worship Apologetics:
Church
Christ Centered Biblical Foundations by Missional Church
Reading Preaching by Bryan John Hammett by Darrell Guder
Chappell
Sojourners and The Reason for God
Reverberation by Strangers by Gregg by Tim Keller
Jonathan Leeman Allison
The Courage to be
Seeing with New Eyes by Trellis and Vine by Tony Protestant by David
David Powlison Payne and Colin Wells
Marshall

We Belong Together by
Bruce Milne

Understand and be Develop a Understand

Desired able to articulate Biblical Western
Outcomes the authority and philosophy of culture
sufficiency of ministry, mission Know their
Scripture and vision own unique
Proclaim the statements, and a cultural
31 Developed by Matt Rogers
The Church at Cherrydale
2013
 Scriptures with strategic plan for context
excellence and the churches they Defend
precision through lead central
preaching Build a robust realities of a
Apply the doctrine of Christian
Scriptures with church polity world view
care through Strategize about in light of
Biblical the role of Western
counseling essential church culture
ministries (small
groups, Sunday
School, etc.)

32 Developed by Matt Rogers

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Sample Workshop

Foundations. Trimester 1. Week 1

Beginnings

Martin Luther The truth of the gospel is the principle article of all Christian doctrinemost necessary

is it that we know this article well, teach it to others, and beat it into their heads continually.

Purpose: To see the gospel as the foundation for Gods purpose and plan in creation.

Required Reading:

1. Bible: Genesis Deuteronomy

2. According to Plan: Part 1 (pages 1-28)

Ministry is impossible without gospel clarity. Sure, you can lead a church, run a staff,

direct a Sunday-morning service, and even deliver a polished sermon each week. You

can do all of this and lack gospel clarity. However, you cannot lead a faithful and fruitful

church to make much of the glory of Christ without a deep and robust understanding and

application of the gospel.

Regrettably, most men and women aspiring to gospel ministry assume they already have

clarity about the gospel. They assume that years of church attendance or schooling

equips them with a gospel foundation substantial enough to sustain the weight of church

leadership. Now they are ready to move on to the meat of pastoral ministry how to lead

a team, raise money, preach a rousing sermon, even launch their next church campus. The

33 Developed by Matt Rogers

The Church at Cherrydale
2013
results of such assumptions are catastrophic as the pastoral culture is littered with the

shrapnel of men who entered pastoral ministry without a clear understanding of the

gospel and its application for their lives and ministries.

As a result the only proper place to start in the training of the next generation of church

leaders is with the gospel. What is it? Why does it matter? And how does it inform

ministry practice?

Think through your definitions of the gospel at different stages of your life. How did you

define the gospel when:

You were five:

You were twelve:

You were a senior in high school:

You graduated college:

34 Developed by Matt Rogers

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2013
The desire of Aspire is to gain a robust gospel foundation from which to do ministry.

This practice is far from a basic Christian exercise. Rather, it is the foundation from

which fruitful ministry is possible. You will return to these truths again and again. You

will grow in your understanding and ability to articulate the gospel throughout your life.

And your breath-taking awe of the gospel will only deepen from here.

Unfortunately many assume that the gospel starts on a cross. While the substitutionary

atonement of Jesus Christ is an essential facet of the gospel, the gospel does not start on a

cross but in a garden. Or more exactly, the gospel begins prior to the garden in the

eternal purpose and plan of God before the creation of the world. Our first glimpses into

this story are found in the opening pages of our Scriptures and they begin to map out

Gods plan for humanity.

Read Genesis 1-2 and Colossians 1:15-20. From these accounts what do you observe

about the following:

God:

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

Mankind:

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

35 Developed by Matt Rogers

The Church at Cherrydale
2013
The World:

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

The Church:

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

Reflecting on the creation of the world in Colossians 1, Paul establishes a number of

essential truths about the gospel in creation that are vital for pastoral ministry.

Creation is BY GOD

Why did God create the world? If God is sovereign and knew that mankind would sin

(which He is and did) why would He create?

The good news begins with a Sovereign, Holy, King of the Universe who creates out of

His own goodwill and love. Creation was not necessary for an all-sufficient God, nor

was it an accident. Instead, God creates out of His own pleasure and for His joy (Isaiah

43:7; Isaiah 48:11; ) First, He makes the world and all that is in it (Acts 17:24). Then His

creative act crescendos with the creation of His image bearers: human beings.

Read Genesis 1:26-28. What makes humanity different from the rest of creation? What

does it mean to be human?

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The Church at Cherrydale
2013
________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

Humans are created as embodied souls, intricately formed by God, and bearing the

unique imprint of the image of God. As such, they are infused with worth and dignity

based solely on their created design. But God does not stop with the creation of isolated

individuals. Instead he meets a need of Adam by forming a help-mate. Thus, humans are

created for community modeling the Trinity.

God finishes his creative work by resting in the joy of His good creation (Gen. 1:31).

This signals that there is an inherent goodness in all that God creates. Creation is

pictured as a pristine tabernacle in which humans can live in intimacy with God and

thrive in the shalom of the world which He has created. God rests from his creation and

basks in the glow of His goodness. This goodness is seen as a state of shalom or a

universal flourishing, wholeness, and delight a rich state of affairs in which natural

needs are satisfied and natural gifts fruitfully employed, all under the arch of Gods

love. (Plantinga, Engaging Gods World, 15). Shalom is the way the world was

intended to function.

Imagine a world of pure shalom. What would such a world look like?

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

37 Developed by Matt Rogers

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2013
Creation is THROUGH GOD

How does He create? He does not construct the world with materials already in

existence, but rather creates ex nihilo out of nothing (Hebrews 11:3). Romans 4:17

refers to God as He who calls into existence the things that do not exist. He

accomplishes this through His Trinitarian being by His spoken word. We see the

Trinitarian participation in creation as the Spirit hovers over the water and the Word of

God (Jesus) brings all things into existence at the bidding of the Father (Genesis 1; John

1:1-4).

God the Creator is also God the Sustainer who continues to execute Lordship over his

good creation through his providential care, upholding it by the very word of His

power (Hebrews 1:3). Similarly, the Colossians passage above notes that in [Christ] all

things hold together. In the words of Albert Wolters, From day to day every detail of

our creaturely existence continues to be constituted by the Let there Bes of the

sovereign will of the Creator (Wolters, Creation Regained, pg. 14).

As the author and perfector of creation, God is the rightful King who exercises dominion

over that which He creates. He graciously blesses his creatures with a host of abundant

provision, declaring himself to be the source of all that is good, pure, and beautiful

(James 1:17). Therefore it is good and right for creation to live under His benevolent

rule. As The Jesus Storybook Bible so eloquently says:

God looked at everything he had made, "Perfect!" he said. And it was. But
all the stars and the mountains and oceans and galaxies and everything
were nothing compared to how much God loved his children. He would
move heaven and earth to be near them. Always. Whatever happened.
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2013
 Whatever it cost him, he would always love them. And so it was that the
wonderful love story began...

Genesis pictures the work of creation as an outworking of the Trinitarian God. What role

does each member of the Godhead play in creation? Where would you defend these

truths in Scripture?

The Father:

The Son:

The Spirit:

Creation is FOR GOD

It is often assumed that the creation of the world was primarily for those who inhabit it.

Yet the Scriptures go out of their way to make the point that the end (teleos) of creation is

not humanity, but God. The Psalmist notes that the earth is the Lords and all that is in

it (Ps. 24:1). In Colossians Paul writes that all that God creates is for God and in

Romans 11:36 he writes that for from him and through him and to him are all things. To

him be glory forever. Amen.

How would you explain the purpose of creation to each of the following people:

39 Developed by Matt Rogers

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2013
 A ten-year old boy:

A 40-year old, externally religious, widow:

A 70-year old saint:

A lost, urban 30-year old hipster:

Humans, too, are created for God who not only has rightful ownership of them, but has

also given humanity a responsibility to display Him to the world. This is an essential

aspect of what it means for humans to be created imago Dei in the image of God. The

title of image bearer provides a much-needed identity but also brings with it certain

responsibilities. As image bearers, humans are given the task of declaring Gods beauty

and worth in a way that is unique among all of creation. No other part of creation is said

to be created in Gods image and likeness.

Humans uniquely image God in three primary ways. First, they do so by living in

community with one another in such a way that the Trinity is displayed. Second, they

image God by living obediently under his reign and rule by living in intimacy with him

and in obedience to his commands. And finally, they image God through meaningful

work of creation, care, and cultivation of the world and its inhabitants. God gives his

image bearers a degree of dominion in the world where they serve as sub-regents of the

King, continuing to develop the world he has created. As Bartholomew and Goheen

write, God has a particular task and invited them [humanity] to participate in it with

40 Developed by Matt Rogers

The Church at Cherrydale
2013
him, filling and ordering the world, which he has given them for their home

(Bartholomew and Goheen, The Drama of Scripture, pg. 35). This occurs primarily

through fruitful multiplication and subduing the world. Mankind must steward the

entrustment from God in a way that honors God and points glory back to him. Jim

Thompson notes that our job description, whether we like it or not, is to reign with God,

like God, and for God over all of creation. (Thompson, A King and A Kingdom, 41.)

This is the Great Commission of Genesis.

Build out a clear purpose statement for humanity from Genesis 1 and 2.

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

The Result: Worship

Since creation is by God, through God, and for God all that exists is Gods, which means

that all of life is meant to reflect the goodness, beauty, and worth of God. His creation is

meant to be a megaphone for his praise. This is what it means to worship. In order to

rightly understand worship, we must rightly understand a word used throughout the

Scriptures to speak of God the word glory.

Define glory:

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

41 Developed by Matt Rogers

The Church at Cherrydale
2013
Using the concordance of your Bible, look up the word glory and write down the

observations you find from the mentions of this word in the Scriptures:

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

Define worship:

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

What is the connection between glory and worship?

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

Paul writes that the goal of creation is that Christ might be preeminent (Colossians 1:18).

That Christ would be elevated, set apart, exalted above all else is the goal of creation and

the purpose of human existence. The Psalmist recounts that the heavens declare the

glory of God (Ps. 19:1-4) and the prophet Isaiah comments, the whole earth is full of

his glory (Is. 6:3). In like fashion, humans are designed to declare the glory of God

(Romans 1:23, 1 Corinthians 10:31). This act of making much of Christ is worship.

So what does this have to do with ministry in a local church? A few observations are

readily apparent:

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All of life is a theater for worship. There is simply no such thing as a secular activity.

Everything that is, every place that is, and every people that exists is created for worship.

Whether you, or the members of your church, serve as pastors, teachers, plumbers, or

artists the task is the same: to worship God. Critical for the work of pastoral ministry is

assisting people in seeing all of life as a means of worshipping God.

How will you build a culture in the church that serves to deconstruct the sacred/secular

divide all too common in our modern world?

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

How will you lead in a manner that encourages people to worship God and does not take

the responsibility for their worship from them?

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

All mankind is created to worship. Therefore, all people, regardless of class, ethnicity,

socio-economic standing, vocation, aptitude or any other criteria are worthy of your

shepherding care and missionary engagement. There is simply no one that you can write

off. As CS Lewis writes in The Weight of Glory, It is a serious thingto remember that

the dullest and most uninteresting person you can talk to may one day be a creature

which, if you saw it now, you would be strongly tempted to worship, or else a horror or a

corruption such as you now meet, if at all, only in a nightmare.There are no ordinary

people. You have never talked to a mere mortal (CS Lewis, Weight of Glory, Pg. 18-

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19). The image bearing nature of all humanity means that all are worthy objects of your

churchs missionary intentionality. And all those whom Christ has kindly entrusted to

your shepherding care as members are equally important and worth your time and

intentionality.

Who are you most tempted to neglect as an image bearer?

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

What tangible ways can you demonstrate the inherent worth of all created beings?

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

What implications should this have for the way you serve the church?

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

You are created to worship. As a leader in the church, the height of your calling is to

know, love, and revel in the glory of God. This is more vital than any skill set,

theological acumen, or leadership gifting that you possess. In fact, in the Pauline list of

elder qualifications there is only one mention of a skill (that of teaching); the rest are the

outworking of the Spirit in the life of a man through godly fruit expressed in admirable

Christian character.

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2013
How will you continually, daily prioritize worship?

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

What obstacles do you foresee to maintaining active intimacy with God as a servant in

the church?

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

The church is created to be a community of worshippers. Our text in Colossians goes on

to state that Christ is the head of the church. Certainly this implies leadership and

authority but it also implies direction. If the object of all of creation is to point to the

glory of God then the goal of the church is to follow this direction.

How will you lead the church to see and embrace their worshipping design?

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

How would you define a disciple of Jesus in the church that you lead based on the

doctrine of creation?

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

45 Developed by Matt Rogers

The Church at Cherrydale
2013
How would you define the mission of the church based on the doctrine of creation?

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

46 Developed by Matt Rogers

The Church at Cherrydale
2013