Discussion Jumpstarter
Study leader reference - not a definitive answer
Question 2
In the opening review, the speaker says Paul’s leadership model is “influence, not control,” connecting with people’s “want to” and holding yourself to a high standard. What would change in the way your church persuades, corrects, and trains people if that were treated as the non-negotiable apostolic pattern?
Another way to ask: If church leadership was always “influence, not control,” how would your church’s way of convincing, correcting, and training people need to change?
Discussion Jumpstarter
Direct Answer
Based on the speaker’s teaching, a church would aim to persuade by example and desirable Christlike character rather than pressure, and it would correct by urging people toward what they already know is good rather than forcing compliance. Training would center on modeling obedience, humility, and unity-building—not leveraging position or gifting to make people do things.
- He defines apostolic leadership as “influence, not control,” meaning real change happens without “somehow making them do things.”
- Influence works by “connecting with their want to,” offering something “enviable” that gives people “something to strive for.”
- Leaders “hold yourself to a high standard and urg[e] others to follow,” implying correction comes from moral credibility.
- The larger Ephesians 4 frame is “lowliness and meekness… long suffering… forbearing… endeavoring to keep the unity… in the bond of peace.”
- He warns that control patterns show up when someone claims special revelation or interpretation and then pressures others: “You got to listen to me… period.”