Ryan Lokkesmoe - Paul and His Team: What the Early Church Can Teach Us About Leadership and Influence

We can learn so much from the lives of the earliest Christ followersa small group of ordinary people who, obedient to Gods leading, propelled the spread of faith that now circles the globe. In Paul and His Team, Ryan Lokkesmoe gives us a fascinating look into the hearts and actions of these pioneering believers, yielding valuable insights into how we, too, can be salt and light in a challenging world.

RICHARD STEARNS
President of World Vision U.S. and author of The Hole in Our Gospel

Build bridges, be voices of reconciliation, seek common ground, stay focused on your mission as Christs ambassadors: Paul and His Team offers practical advice to advance the gospel, rooted in solid biblical teaching for both pastors and lay leaders. Helpful questions at the end of each chapter make this an excellent group study book.

LYNN COHICK
New Testament department chair at Wheaton College

Ryan takes a powerful yet practical look at not just the apostle Paul, but at Pauls team, as it applies to leading in the church. If you are a leader, the people and team you build are critical to moving the mission of the church forward. In Paul and His Team, Ryan pulls out important insight on church leadership and influence.

CAREY NIEUWHOF
Founding Pastor, Connexus Church

In a day when we only think about the super leaders in the big lights, Lokkesmoe insightfully highlights the whole cast of lesser known men and women who supported Pauls apostolic mission. In the process we learn valuable lessons about leadership, conflict resolution, and true kingdom collaboration. This book quietly turns most leadership books on their heads, demonstrating the real work of God through the lives of ordinary, flawed people who offer their disparate gifts to the Master. I heartily recommend it.

TIMOTHY C. TENNENT
President and Professor of World Christianity, Asbury Theological Seminary

Ryan Lokkesmoe explores the real-life implications of how the body of Christ is supposed to work together to fulfill the Great Commission. In a day and age where there is far too much emphasis upon upfront leaders and not enough on the power of a team, Ryan offers a helpful contribution that is both accessible and scholarly. If you are a leader or part of a leadership team, you will find his insights helpful.

LARRY OSBORNE
Pastor and Author, North Coast Church

In Paul and His Team, Ryan Lokkesmoe provides an accessible guide to the leadership example of Paul that will help pastors and lay leaders better steward the responsibility God has given them.

MICHAEL WEAR
Author of Reclaiming Hope: Lessons Learned in the Obama White House About the Future of Faith in America

Looking for a new twist on effective leadership? This may be just what youre looking for! In contrast to the latest and greatest leadership theories, Ryan Lokkesmoe leads us back to the early church for in-depth perspective on the leadership strategy of the apostle Paul. Highly recommended!

JOE STOWELL
President, Cornerstone University, Grand Rapids, MI

I strongly believe that great leadership is a team sport. In Paul and His Team, Ryan masterfully gives us practical leadership applications from his thorough research into the team that supported the apostle Pauls ministry. Every leadership team should study and implement the lessons from this book!

CHRIS SURRATT
Discipleship and Small Group Specialist, LifeWay Christian Resources
Author of Small Groups for the Rest of Us

Paul and His Team is a practical and accessible book that dives into the leadership principles of first-century ministers, then applies them to life and ministry in the twenty-first century. The way it is organized, from building bridges with nonbelievers and walking them through baby steps, all the way to mature Christian faith and training the next generation of leaders, is especially helpful.

KARL VATERS
Pastor, author, and blogger (NewSmallChurch.com)

This outstanding gem of a book is an honest and cutting-edge guide to becoming winsome, gracious, and effective on- and off-stage leaders in our challenging new cultural context. It is a marvelous treasure trove of fresh, biblical, and hard-hitting insights. The apostle Paul urged believers to imitate him and his team, and Ryan Lokkesmoe breaks down for us how to do this in the twenty-first century. I heartily recommend this powerfully relevant book.

COLIN R. NICHOLL
Director, Biblical Research Ministries, Northern Ireland
Author, The Great Christ Comet: Revealing the True Star of Bethlehem

Popular-level leadership manuals abound. Many Christian manuals exist as well, often prooftexting principles initially derived from sources other than the Bible. Ryan Lokkesmoe carefully studies Paul and his coworkers, fully abreast of the highest levels of scholarship, and discovers principles that really are in Scripture! But he wears his learning lightly and writes with the heart of the church planter that he currently is. Easy to read and highly recommended.

CRAIG L. BLOMBERG
Distinguished Professor of New Testament, Denver Seminary

Viewing leadership as Christ-centered influence, Ryan Lokkesmoe insightfully lays out the principles employed by Paul and his ministry cohorts. With solid biblical scholarship and practical application to Christian leadership, Ryan has provided a significant, readable gift to the church. This book is much richer than the trendy how-to leadership books currently on the market. Highly recommended for pastors and lay leaders!

DENNIS P. HOLLINGER
President & Colman M. Mockler Distinguished Professor of Christian Ethics at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary

2017 by
RYAN LOKKESMOE

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form without permission in writing from the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews.

Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture quotations are from the ESV Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version), copyright 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations marked NIV are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version, NIV. Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com. The NIV and New International Version are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Biblica, Inc.

Published in association with Literary Agent Janet Kobobel Grant of Books & Such Literary Management, 5926 Sunhawk Dr., Santa Rosa, CA 95409.

Emphasis in Scripture has been added.

Edited by Matthew Boffey

Author photo: Danielle Chisler / Chisler Photography

Interior design: Erik M. Peterson

Cover design: Faceout Studios

Cover image texture copyright 2017 by Apostrophe / Shutterstock (279241004).

All rights reserved.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Lokkesmoe, Ryan, author.

Title: Paul and his team : what the early church can teach us about leadership and influence / by Ryan Lokkesmoe, PhD.