To practice leadership effectively requires thoughtful imagination and the capacity to see beyond current patterns of behavior. I think that, left unexamined, leadership can quickly devolve into a reactive set of actions prompted by whatever crisis the day brings. So leaders become fixers; we fix the problems so that the trains run on time and all is predictable. May I offer a more proactive frame for leadership?

Following Mark Lau Branson and Juan Martínez, [1] I would propose that there are three broad actions that leaders take. First is the work of interpretive leadership.  Leaders are persons who seek to understand what is going on and why is it happening — in light of the gospel. Leaders shape and define reality by the way they view what is happening in their context, and they do this by consistently asking God-focused questions. What do these happenings mean in light of our call to bear witness to God’s work in the world?

Second, leaders engage in relational leadership. Effective leaders recognize that leadership fosters the liveliness of human dynamics. People need to be cared for, relationships need to be developed, new connections need to be created, and networks need to be established. The essential human dynamic of community life must be proactively shepherded.

Third, leaders practice implemental leadership. They serve the church's mission by framing and reforming structures and systems that allow for ministry and work to flourish. Leaders seek to remove obstacles and create opportunities for ministry, worship, and discipleship. In so doing, God’s transforming work is unleashed.

These three forms of leadership — interpretive, relational and implemental — are like three circles that overlap each other. They are different sorts of actions — interpreting and communicating meaning, developing people and simplifying systems for ministry — yet they are intricately related to each other.

Perhaps a good question to ask today is, how are you practicing each of these three circles of leadership? What ways could you and the other leaders in your church practice these dimensions in ways that serve God’s mission?

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[1] Branson, Mark Lau, and Juan F Martinez. Churches, Cultures & Leadership: A Practical Theology of Congregations and Ethnicities. Downers Grove, Ill.: IVP Academic, 2011.