Rev. Jason Gallion served as the Dean of Students/Campus Pastor from August of 2010 to 2021. In the Fall of 2020, he accepted the role of Executive Vice President under the leadership of Rev. Joshua B. Carson.
Having served in many different leadership capacities for several years in both church and academic settings, can you speak to the relationship between leadership and mentoring in the church today?
When it comes to leadership, I’ve always felt that everyone brings three very unique things to the table. Firstly, as a leader, you bring your education. Second, you bring your personality. And thirdly, you bring your experience. These three elements are in combination together. They are so unique to each individual.
I believe that great leaders are not born; they are grown and developed, particularly by mentorship. Mentorship can sometimes be tricky, because it does not necessarily require one-on-one time.
Before joining the staff at Indiana Bible College, Bro. Mooney was my mentor for years, and yet I had not spoken with him much in person. I watched and listened to Calvary Tabernacle’s services online and attended his sessions at conferences that
I happened to be at. We had interacted abstractly, but it seemed that there was always something bringing us together.
When we were asked to come to Indiana Bible College, a lot of it made sense. I remember a particular staff meeting that took place after we had already been there for a couple of years. Bro. Mooney was speaking. He turned and pointed at me and said, “Bro. Gallion, you and I have never talked about this, but you and I both know why you’re here. The Holy Ghost has brought you here because you see a vision. You have a burden. You
and I are trying to accomplish through these students what God has called us to do.”
What he was saying is that there was a connection in the Spirit that brought us together. We were pouring ourselves into these students, so that they would pour themselvesinto the ministry, and be willing to lay down their lives for what God has called them to do.
It was the first time in my life that I realized, all these years, I somehow got connected to his vision for this. I believe that as a leader, people are connected to your vision, and you may not even realize the “how’s,” “why’s,” and “who’s” until that moment that God’s Spirit speaks to you and gives you that confirmation.
What is the most important aspect of apostolic leadership?
Although we bring uniqueness to the table as individuals, we can never rule out the anointing of the Holy Ghost. To be
a great leader, you have to be anointed. You have to follow the leading of the Holy Ghost.
When we consider leaders who were so pivotal in our movement and organizations, we have to understand that some of them did not have a high school education. But they were writers. They were preachers. And they were profoundly anointed. I hope that our generation grasps that our education does not ever take the place of the anointing.
There are, of course, secular men who have done great things, but what’s done in the church and through the power of the Holy Ghost is so much more eternal. It is more eternal than any genius in any structure or idea that man can formulate and put together.
Can you expound upon that subject and speak to the stability that the anointing provides for the leader?
When we get to a place of leadership where we feel like we are in over our heads, that can often be an extremely beneficial thing. It forces us to come to grips with the reality that there are some things we cannot do in our flesh. When we come to a place where we look at a leadership role and think, “Oh, I don’t think I could do that,” that’s usually the best place to be.
In contrast, when our reaction is, “I’ve been preparing my whole life for this,” or, “Everything I have done is bringing me to this moment,” that is the most dangerous place to be. When we allow pride into our hearts, I believe that God allows us to operate in our humanity.
I believe that is where most problems arise when it comes to leadership – when men and women begin to operate in their flesh, in their own ingenuity, and in their own abilities.
Rather, it is when we start to operate in the idea that “I cannot do this without the help of God,” and, “I cannot walk down this path without Him leading me,” that true success begins. I think that is what true ministry is all about.
What is a consistent principle that you have seen applied in great leadership?
Great leaders, in my mind, have always significantly stood for servanthood. It seems as if they are indebted to the people that are around them, because they’re constantly trying to help, to push, to nurture, and to speak into their lives.
They do not operate in this capacity because they are trying to say that they are wise, but they feel this obligation to help people achieve, grow, and be the best that they can be for Christ.
What are the criterion that you personally look for when prayerfully selecting leaders?
It all comes down to character. There are, of course, natural talents and human aspects that leaders bring to the table. I can take a chance on one’s specific level of talent, but I cannot take a chance on character.
If there is a young person or couple that have great personalities, they dress the right way and say all the right things, but they do not have character – they don’t have a strong work ethic, they’re not spiritual or godly people, and they don’t know what submission to spiritual authority looks like – I cannot take chances on that.
Show me someone that may not necessarily have all of those attributes, but they are spiritually deep and consistent,
their word is their bond, and they submit to spiritual authority, and I can use that person.
We have to be careful to promote a mindset of humility – that we are ultimately here to build the Kingdom of God, and not our own.