We are Christ’s co-laborers (2 Cor. 6:1). Churches are collaborative communities. Remember Paul’s conversation about how diverse spiritual gifts blend together to empower congregational ministries in First Corinthians 12? Romans 16 emphasizes that same theme — but with names and roles. The church in Rome needed the best every member could contribute to the Body of Christ. So does your church.
Paul’s thank you note
Paul’s letter to the Romans ends with a cheer. Paul, after writing one of the most powerful theological arguments in the New Testament, concludes with a thank you note to the rich mix of leaders — known and unknown men and women, couples and families, slaves and twins, royals and commoners — in the Christian community in Rome.
Bob Dale
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Spotlighted in Romans 16 are more than two dozen named church leaders who established a sturdy faith community in a difficult setting. This roll call of the faithful describes the blend of three anchoring leadership roles that had united to create and sustain the ministry in Rome. Paul’s message is simple: It takes a faithful community to lead a faith community.
A mystical mix
Leader roles in Romans 16 demonstrate a mystical mix of horizons, hearts and hands. Scan this selective overview of a few of the personalities and how they meshed in the church in Rome. Then, think about you and your church. How do imagination, friendliness and sweat come together where you worship? How do you contribute to God’s webs of impact in your church?
Horizon leaders: New Frontiersmen and Frontierswomen
Communities of faith rely on leaders who eye the horizon. Leaders move to the edge of the congregation and scan the horizon for emerging ministry opportunities. God’s kingdom is always unfolding ahead of us. Leaders are challenged to anticipate the future, communicate what’s next and set the forward pace. Horizon leaders help the community identify ministry matches and take risks.
From an array of horizon leaders in Rome, let’s look at some of them.
(1) Andronicus and Junias, husband and wife, were Christian believers before Paul’s conversion, and they were also apostles and fellow prisoners with him (Romans 16:7). Perhaps their faith path went back to Stephen, a direct link to the believers in Jerusalem. If so, Andronicus and Junias had steadfastly provided horizon leadership for the history of the growing Christian movement.
(2) Rufus and his mother (Romans 16:13), co-workers with Paul, were like family to him. Mark 15:21 notes that Simon from Cyrene in North Africa, father of Alexander and Rufus, had come to Jerusalem to celebrate the Passover but was forced to carry Christ’s cross. Did the experience of Jesus’ execution send this Rufus and his mother back home with the fire of faith in their hearts? Were they part of the band from Cyrene who first shared the gospel to the Gentiles (Acts 11:20)?
In any event, Rufus and his mother were in the vanguard of Christianity and horizon leaders in Rome. What if your church has too few horizon leaders? It may turn inward and forfeit its larger impact on the unfolding world. What if your congregation has too many horizon leaders? It may so focus on the future that it misses already open doors.
Heart leaders: Hospitable pioneers
Churches depend on leaders with open hearts and open doors to welcome outsiders and insiders. Some believers, like Barnabas, are gifted hosts, encouragers, and mentors. They welcome people and possibilities. Their friendly smiles and acceptance create comfort levels that draw old-timers, newcomers, and strangers easily into circles of fellowship and growth. Heart leaders provide barrier-free atmospheres of love and wonder.
The church in Rome was blessed with several open-hearted leaders.
(1) Priscilla and Aquila had risked their lives for Paul and had taken him and the church into their hearts and home (Romans 16:3-4). Fellow tentmakers, this pioneering couple had a long history of launching churches. They began in Rome (Acts 18:2), were banished to Corinth where Paul lived with them and ministered in their house church (1 Cor. 16:19), moved to Ephesus where they hosted Apollos (Acts 18:18; 2 Timothy 4:19), and finally returned to Rome. In all of their travels, their hearts and homes were hospitable to faith communities.
(2) Gaius is also described as Paul’s welcoming host (Romans 16:23). The atmospheres of churches are leavened by heart leaders.
What if your congregation has too few heart leaders? It may project a closed, cozy or elite atmosphere that keeps faith’s seekers at a distance. What if your church has too many host leaders? It could lose its distinctiveness so belonging counts for little.
Hands-on leaders: Dependable producers
No community thrives without some whatever-it-takes, behind-the-scenes leaders. They can be counted on to turn on lights, brew coffee, teach classes, make visits, plan menus, enlist workers and sweep out the hall. Although frequently taken for granted, leaders who put their hands to practical tasks create community atmosphere and add sweat equity to the group’s life together.
Rome’s church had its share of dependable, hands-on leaders.
(1) Tryphaena and Tryphosa give us an inside glimpse of practical leaders (Romans 16:12). Probably twins with the diminutive names of “Dainty” and “Delicate,” they are described as working to the point of exhaustion and total weariness. They were little dynamos who gave their church all of their energy.
(2) Tertius volunteers another interesting fact. Behind the scenes, he recorded the Roman letter as Paul paced and dictated it (Rom. 16:22). These snapshots remind us that faith communities do most of their work because of the hands-on sweat of little known leaders.
What if your church has too few hands-on leaders? It will probably struggle to do its practical, everyday ministries. What if your congregation has too many hands-on leaders? It may excel at details and lose the perspective of its bigger calling.
The Roman recipe
What does the unique mix of collaborative leader roles in Romans 16 teach us? In his final appeal to the church at Rome, Paul reminds them to resist folks who deceive the innocent and to commit themselves to purity (Rom. 16:17-20). Since it takes a faithful community to lead a faith community, anything that undercuts community is a sin against God.
What kind of leadership are you providing to your church?
Bob Dale ([email protected]) is a leader coach in Richmond and a retired seminary professor and denominational worker. He also is a trustee of the Religious Herald.