Philosophy of Ministry
My personal philosophy of ministry arises out of my experience growing up in a church, planting a new, mission-specific local congregation, teaching ministry students in Bible College and Seminary, and serving on a pastoral leadership team at a multi-ethnic congregation.
Servant Leadership. While this phrase has become a bit of a cliche, I see no other way to interpret the teachings of Jesus on leadership. Leadership is not a matter of greatness or control. Leadership is not a matter of personal aggrandizement, benefit or reward. Spiritual authority is always and only "delegated," i.e., all authority belongs to God and is "loaned" to others to be used for God's purpose and glory. God may give us more authority only for the purpose of using it to serve more people more effectively.
Team Leadership. In the New Testament leadership is never presented as a matter of one person have authority over another. Authority is never hierarchical. Leadership always functioned in the context of a "team" made up of a plurality of individuals with a plurality of gifts. Whether it be "elders" or "pastors," spiritual authority resides in the team and not just in one individual.
Pastoral Equipping. The work of gifted leaders is "to equip the saints to do the work of the ministry." Pastoral leaders are not professional ministers or public "stars" but are rather given by Christ to the church to equip, restore, and empower God's people to fulfill their divine destiny.
Generative Leadership. There comes a time in the life of every leader when the primary focus of his/her leadership is empowering the next generation to take responsibility and provide wise and effective leadership in the community. This is the time to begin passing the baton and to leaving a legacy. It is vitally important to recognize that becoming a spiritual "parent" and a "pastor of pastors" must occupy the last decades of any leader's life and ministry. That is the season of life I find myself currently in.
For that reason, my "life verse" is this: "And the things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable people who will also be qualified to teach others" (2 Timothy 2:2).
While completing the Doctor of Ministry in Leadership and Spiritual Formation program at George Fox Evangelical Seminary (Portland, Oregon) I wrote some definitive papers on my philosophy of ministry that may be helpful, including:
- "Servant Leadership As Modeled By Jesus" DMN521 Servant_Asplund.pdf
- "Models of Church Governance and Ministry" DMN521 Models_Asplund.pdf
- "Facilitating the Present Leadership of Christ in the Church" AsplundDMin521Synthesis.pdf