Leadership Distinctives

We believe in the autonomy of the local church. We believe each church is to be led by a plurality of godly men who function as pastors (Acts 14:23, 1 Titus 1:5). We believe the role of pastor to be one and the same with the biblical terms overseer, elder, and bishop (see interchanging use of these terms to refer to a single role in Acts 20:28 and 1 Peter 5:1-4). Among the plurality of pastors, there is a recognition of differing giftedness and abilities in leadership that may set some apart from others in function, but not in authority.

We believe in the blessing and protection of accountability for the church and its leadership. We value and seek humility, transparency, and accountability among leaders of all levels in the church body.

We believe that it is the responsibility of the church to raise-up its own leadership from within (2 Timothy 2:2, Acts 13:1-4). We are committed to developing leaders for our own needs as well as for planting new churches and supporting other churches in the Crossway Chapel movement.

We believe each church is to be led by a plurality of godly men who function as pastors (Acts 14:23; Titus 1:5-9). We believe the role of pastor to be one and the same with the biblical terms overseer, elder, and bishop (see interchanging use of these terms to refer to a single role in Acts 20:28, 29 and 1 Peter 5:1-4). Among the plurality of pastors, there is recognition of differing giftedness and abilities in leadership that may set some apart from others in function, but not in authority. This may manifest itself, for example, in a “lead pastor” or some other specifically designated “leader among leaders” role (Acts 1:15; 15:13-22; Galatians 2:9; Ephesians 4:11-13; 1 Thessalonians 5:12-13; 1 Timothy 3; 5:19; Titus 1:5-9; Hebrews 13:17).

Worship fuels our leadership. We desire for our leaders and influencers to be motivated by an “Audience of One.” Do they seek God’s glory alone? Do they reflect John the Baptist’s heart when he said, “He (Jesus) must increase and I must decrease” (John 3:30)? We want to avoid the hazards that come with self-importance and the need for personal recognition. No individual is irreplaceable. The church should not be enamored by the personalities of its leaders, instead we are in awe of the person of Jesus Christ (1 Corinthians 3:1-9; 2 Corinthians 5:15). See also Galatians 1:10, 6:12, Colossians 3:23; Hebrews 1:2; Revelation 5:11-14.

We aim to demonstrate encouragement and love toward one another. We are committed to live out the New Commandment to love one another as we have been loved (John 13:34-35) so that all men will know we are his disciples. The greatest demonstration of true gospel faithfulness and obedience is to love our God with all our hearts, our souls, our minds, and all our strength; and to love our neighbor as ourselves (Matthew 22:37-40; Mark 12:30-31). This love is clearly seen and described by Paul in 1 Corinthians 13:1-7 and it is evident in every true believer’s life (1 John 3:11-18; 4:7-21).

We strive for selflessness. God has given us the life and ministry of Jesus Christ to prove to us that he does not want us to think more highly of ourselves than we ought. He wants us to give preference to one another in honor (Romans 12:3, 10, 16). A couple of catch phrases that have emerged within the Crossway Chapel Network that illustrate this value are, “we are all in process”, and “we have the ability to speak into one another’s lives.” The true essence of humility is not thinking less of yourself, but rather not thinking of yourself at all (Mark 10:41-45; John 3:30; 15:5; 1 Corinthians 3:1-7; 2 Corinthians 5:15; Philippians 2:1-4; 1 Peter 2:21-23; 3:9; 5:1-4).

We are eager for harmony among leaders. Leaders within the Crossway Chapel Network understand and embrace principles of unity. They must honor one another in speech and be quick to forgive (Ephesians 4:29; 1 Timothy 5:19). With the scripture and its gospel message as the foundation, leaders and ministry teams must seek God’s wisdom in a spirit of love and deference when needed (Acts 15, Philippians 2:1-4; Acts 10; 13:1-4, 15; 1 Corinthians 13:4-8a; Ephesians 4:1-3, 29, 32; Romans 12:10).

We develop passionate leaders. Just as Jesus chose and trained leaders to carry on the work of the gospel after his life on earth (Matthew 4:18-22; 5:1-7:29; 10:1-42; 23:1-25:46; Mark 1:16-20; 2:14; 3:13-19; 6:6-13; 13:1-37; Luke 5:1-11; 6:17-49; John 1:35-51; 13:1-17; 14:1-17:26) so we seek to raise up passionate leaders who desire to follow hard after Jesus. Paul chose men to come alongside him (Silas, John Mark, Timothy, Luke, and Titus) and he taught them, trained them, and sent them out to serve and lead churches (1 Timothy 1:18-19; 2 Timothy 1:6-14; 2:1-2).

We seek to honor each other in the use of our spiritual gifts as we serve God, his people, and the lost. Leaders are empowered and released for service with a dependent but “can-do mentality.” We must strive to spur one another on as Crossway Chapel leaders are unleashed for service within their areas of giftedness and passion (1 Corinthians 12:7, 11; Ephesians 4:11-13). There is a never ending commitment to develop more leaders to replace those who depart or are sent out (John 15:5, 16; Acts 8:1-4; 13:1-4; Romans 12:3-8; 2 Corinthians 5:18-20; Ephesians 2:10; 2 Timothy 2:2; 1 Peter 2:9-10).

We lead passionately as shepherds after God’s own heart. We are passionate about living our lives for the mission of God and about training others to that end. We want our leaders to live like they truly believe that God’s heart is for none to perish, but that all would come to repentance (2 Peter 3:9). Jesus, Paul, and the twelve Apostles are our examples. As Crossway leaders, we will dependently seek to more faithfully follow their examples. We long to live out and impart their passion and faithfulness as well as God’s heart to all those under our care. We are committed to this value expecting that it will involve hardship and suffering (2 Timothy 2:10). We are also convinced of the urgency of the mission we are called to serve (Mark 13:32-37; John 4:34-36; 9:4; 17:4). See also Matthew 9:37-10:42; Luke 9:1-6; 10:1-24; John 4:1-42; Acts 2:1-40; 10:23-48; 19:1-7.

We are dedicated to starting new churches. As leaders on Jesus’ mission to make disciples we believe the best way the church fulfills this mission is through intentionally sending teams and starting new churches. Every individual church, and local region of churches, seeks to plant new churches through sending teams of diversely gifted and tested leaders who have a heart to see many come to faith and healthy churches established (Exodus 18:17-27; Joshua 1:1-9; Matthew 4:18-22; 28:18-20; Mark 3:14; Acts 15:36-41; 20:17-24).