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Develop People’s Potential // Tim Horton (’85, ’86) //www.faithbuilderschurch.netLEADERSHIP Tim Horton (’85, ’86)Pastor Tim Horton(’85, ’86) brings aunique perspective tothe table. Instead ofbuying into the ideaof waiting for the rightpeople to come alongand help, he suggestsdeveloping the peoplewe already have. Tim and his wife, Angela, pioneeredtheir fi rst church in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, in 1999. In2005, they turned that church over to another pastorand started their second church, Faith BuildersFamily Church, in Rogers, Arkansas.As pastors, we need to be interested inseeing people rise to the top,” Tim says.“We must help them develop their potential.In order to be able to delegate ministry work,we must be sure to develop the potential inpeople’s lives.To be able to delegateministry work, you fi rsthave to develop thepotential in people’s lives.“I once heard a story that illustrates this,”Tim adds. “It’s about two young men aroundthe turn of the century. Their father was onhis deathbed, and he kept mumbling, ‘Thestump lot, the stump lot.’ The boys hadalways thought their dad had gold buriedsomewhere, so after he died, they got thepick and shovel and went to the stump lotto hunt for the gold. They dug for days andfinally had the whole stump lot cleared, butthey didn’t find any gold at all.“One of the brothers said, ‘What are wegoing to do now?’ The other answered,‘Well, we already have the ground dug up,and it’s springtime. Why don’t we go aheadand plant some seed out here?’ So theyplanted corn, and in the fall, they discovereda field full of ‘gold’ corn.”Tim relates this story to his own experiencesas a leader: “I had this preconceivedidea as a pastor that God was going to sendme ‘gold’—quality people with everythingalready in place. I figured their marriageswould be wonderful, and their family situationwould be wonderful, and they wouldhave all the qualifications for leadership.“But the Lord ended up giving me a stumplot. The point of the story is: Don’t look6 | f a l l / w i n t e r 2 0 0 7for the people who are already developed.Take who God gives you, and develop theirpotential.”For Tim, this truth is a key to successfulleadership. “You’ll often get people in your T I P S F O R D E V E L O P I N G P E O P L E• Be patient. “Don’t expect people to grow up overnight,” says Tim. “It takes time for peopleto grow out of the babyhood stage of Christianity to the childhood stage and on intomaturity. Realize that the people whom God sends you are the ones that He will usethroughout your ministry. He will use the anointing on your life to develop them, so thatthey can stand in a place where you can delegate to them and they can shoulder theresponsibility. Together, you can do what God has called you to do as a church.”• There are no perfect helpers. “Jesus Himself had trouble with His own staff,” says Tim. “IfHe’d chosen the 12 disciples based on modern methods of leadership selection, most ofthem wouldn’t have made the cut. God chooses people not for who they are, but for whothey can become. You’re in your position because apparently the Lord saw something inyou. Now you have a responsibility to have that same attitude with other people. Believein them, develop the potential in them, and love them.”• Make sure everyone knows how to get involved. “Make it a part of your church familyculture that everyone gets involved in helping,” says Tim. “To do that, you have to makesure that everyone who comes to your church knows the way things flow. For example,they have to know that in order to get involved, they must take a foundational truths classfirst, then move from there to some helps ministry training, and then get plugged in.When that happens, you have been a blessing to them, because they are being profitablewith their life, serving others, and being a blessing in the Kingdom of God.”• Don’t promote people too quickly. “Instead of putting people into positions of authoritytoo fast, get to know them first,” Tim advises. “If you’ll wait until the Spirit of God leads you,you’ll save yourself a lot of problems. Just because people have gifts or natural abilities, itdoesn’t mean that the right heart is there. God doesn’t call the qualified; He qualifies thecalled. Don’t look for a person who necessarily has all the qualifications—God can addthose. Instead, look for people with the right heart to serve. If someone is going to be in aposition to influence others, then they need to have proven themselves.” Andy (’89, ’91) WhiteGetting people to helpis one thing—promotingpeople into leadershippositions is another.Andy White (’89, ’91)has some insight intowhat to look for whenyou’re consideringsome one for leadership.Andy serves as RegionalDirector of the Southwest Region of RMAI, and heand his wife JoAnn (’90, ’91) pastor Faith FamilyChurch in Chandler, Arizona.Andy explains his technique for choosingleaders this way: “When I’m looking toput people into leadership positions withinthe church—whether paid or unpaid—Iuse an acronym, C.A.S.T., to evaluate theirchurch who didn’t fit in anywhere else,” henotes. “And you are going to have to havethe heart and patience to develop thosewhom God has sent to you—your stump lot.So get busy developing those people.” •A Method for Choosing Leaders // Andy White //qualifications: Character, Anointing, Skillset, and Team skills.“First, Character has to be proven, and youcan’t tell right away when you meet someoneif that person has character or not. Getpeople involved in small activities first andwatch to see how they react under pressureor when things don’t go their way. Take yourtime and give them ample opportunity toprove themselves.“Anointing is the ability to connect withGod. Ask yourself: Does this person get lifefrom what they do? When I did children’schurch every Sunday at RHEMA BibleChurch, I got life out of it.“The third quality I’m looking for is Skillset. Does this person have the skills for the(Continued on page 8 )