Focus First on Leadership
Your church’s leadership team is probably either your biggest strength or your most glaring weakness. Most churches rely on a small team of volunteer leaders. These people work alongside paid ministers, sometimes as partners and sometimes as overseers.
Paid ministers often fret about their leadership teams. This isn’t to say that bad leadership teams contain bad people. Those who are willing to serve in roles of church leadership tend to have a genuine desire to make a difference. The vast majority of church leaders love the Lord Jesus and want their churches to do well. Leading a church is a heavy responsibility, and my heart goes out to those who have signed up for or agreed to this task.
Once on the job, however, most church leaders find they are unprepared for their work. Their work involves much more than making budgetary decisions or praying over the sick. Handling complex interpersonal relationships, responding to moral failings, and navigating through adaptive change require more training than what a mature Christian typically receives. Many bad leadership teams, therefore, actually consist of wonderful Christians who simply don’t know how to operate in their roles.
Even healthy leadership groups can all too easily default to outdated modes of leading that are unhelpful or problematic—at best. The muscle memory in most churches is programmed for a day and time that are no longer with us. The elders used to see themselves as the bosses while treating the ministers as employees. In today’s world, however, things function much better when the minister is part of the leadership team so that they all function collaboratively. In times of stress, though, some elders unconsciously revert to the old model and damage the trust with their staff.
A church’s size is irrelevant when it comes to the question of leadership. A 75-member church can be a life-giving community if the leadership team is capable and healthy. By contrast, a 500-member church with a poor leadership team is almost certain to be headed in the wrong direction, and church members feel this. The lack of cohesion and shared vision are easily sensed by the church, and ministers are often frustrated by their inability to steer the ship.
What’s my advice to young ministers who worry about their leadership groups or who wish for a healthier church? Invest in your future leaders. Spend time with the men and women who will be the leaders in 5, 10, or 20 years. Share resources and thoughts about how healthy churches function. Dream together about the kind of collaboration that can lead to good places.
In doing this, I’m not suggesting you disparage or give up on your current leaders. But the investment of time in your future leaders will eventually reap major dividends. By focusing on your future leaders, you are doing more for the future of your church than by simply trying to add people to your church. A healthy leadership group creates a culture where people feel safe and supported, and this tends to produce positive results in the church as a whole.
