Denver Seminary

Ministry, leadership, chaplaincy, spiritual formation, and marriage and family counseling are parallel. They all care for people but in different and overlapping ways—all of which are needed. People need to be:

• Cared for,
• Equipped,
• United, and
• Organized for a purpose (to join God in his mission)

The need to be organized is often overlooked—and sometimes resisted. Yet the very first leaders chosen by the church in Acts 6 were chosen to organize the care for the Grecian widows (their purpose was to accomplish God’s purpose—James 1:27). The leaders didn’t provide the care for them. They didn’t have the resources to do that.

But the church had the resources. They only needed to be organized in such a way that the resources of the thousands of Christians in Jerusalem could be channeled to the place of need. Those chosen had to be spiritual because good and trusted people are required to develop a good and effective organization. (Evangelism begins the development of good people.) Of course, they had to be more than good people. They had to be good organizers. Even in very small churches we understand that when a family needs to be provided meals for a period of time, someone needs to organize it so it’s not feast or famine for the family.

Because of this very evident need, we teach systems in our Doctor of Ministry program. Caring for people, equipping them, uniting them, and organizing them for a purpose all require systems to accomplish these things. The greater the number of people the more critical good systems—which are flexible but with purpose—are. Each of our areas of study care for people in different ways and different places, and all need systems to be effective.

Does this resonate with your experience? What questions do you have?