On: Church Leadership
Today I want to take a look at church leadership. This is a topic that sits close to my heart as I have spent the last decade or so in church leadership in some form or capacity both officially and unofficially. It is important to note, however, that I have never been a pastor. It’s important to mention this because my views are colored by not having held that position, however, I don’t think that precludes me from being able to offer valuable insight on the subject.
Before I start, I feel the need to drop this disclaimer: This is not an attack on any one person or church. I have spent my entire Christian life in and around various churches and simply want to share what I think makes for good leadership. My sincere hope is that this little post can be helpful for present and potential leaders.
Over the last few years there has been an uptick in the number of stories about bad leaders. This is both inside and outside of the church. Everywhere you look it appears that we are faced with people who simply do not lead well. Many of us don’t just read about these stories, we live them. I don’t think this anything new. I think the prevalence of these stories stems from our increasing levels of connectivity. Bad leadership has been around forever but now people have the ability to share their stories.
I have seen pastors use their pulpits to bully their members. Not so subtly calling out members in what can only be considered the pastoral version of a subtweet. I’ve also seen church leaders use gossip to manipulate people. Holding stories of confession told in private and using them to force people to bend to their will. There are a myriad of stories about physically, emotionally, mentally, and sexually abusive church leaders. The saddest story I know of is a guy who would sleep with women in his congregation because it was the only way to get the “sexual demon” out of them.
Bad leadership has left behind a long sordid trail of church hurt that has caused people to not just walk away from the church but Jesus too.
Leading Well
This naturally leads us to the question: what does leading well look like? Again, while I have never been a pastor, merely pastor adjacent as I like to describe myself, I think I can offer some words of wisdom.
First and foremost, good leadership is humble. This has to be the default posture of any person who is in leadership over others. We have this idea that ego is a bad thing, I actually don’t think it is. Ego is simply your sense of self-esteem. Self-esteem is not evil, self-esteem warped by sin and turning into an inflated sense of self-importance is.
I often liken the desire to be a pastor to the desire to become President. It takes a certain kind of person to believe that you are the one to lead this group of people, that God has called YOU to do this job. The humble heart will take that call and know they are simply the undershepherd here to steward the flock God has given them and not THE shepherd because that title belongs to Jesus and Jesus alone.
Understanding this view of your role as a leader opens up an entire world of freedom to you. The pressure to feel and be right all of the time is taken away. From a posture of humility you can admit error and say two of the most healing words in the english language: I’m sorry. I have seen far too many leaders stubbornly refuse to admit any wrongdoings and hurt their people in the process. It is far better to say I am sorry than it is to be “wrong and strong” as my mother used to say.
When you know that it is Jesus’ church and not yours, you are released from the desire to craft the church in your image. The most practical way this is played out is in how you do church. What I am not saying is that you have to let go of all of your convictions and bend to every whim of your congregation. What I am saying is there should be flexibility in your leadership. Leaders, you must remember that your convictions are not Gospel. If your church is begging you, insisting that some things change or be adjusted for the good of your congregation, listen.
A great example of this I recently came across is a church that decided to do communion weekly after historically only doing it monthly. Members of the congregation brought this before the Elders and asked them to consider it. They believed that this is such an important part of the gathering that it shouldn’t be left to once every few weeks.
Again, that doesn’t mean you do every little thing your congregation wants and don’t stand firm on your beliefs. It does mean that you listen to your people, consider their feelings, and show them that their voices matter. Over the years I have often heard pastors express jubilation at the fact that the New Testament does not prescribe how we should do church and then turn around and refuse to change anything about the way they do church because it’s their conviction. Our goal as leaders in the church is to set our people up to flourish in Jesus, there’s no need to put up unnecessary stumbling blocks.
To piggyback on that, I think it is important for leaders to recognize that they are not above critique. I grew up in a church context that protected pastors from any sort of critique by misapplying the verses to not touch God’s anointed ones (1 Chron. 16:22 or Ps. 105:15). The problem with that is pastors and church leaders are fallen and broken people just like the rest of us.
I have spent enough time in and around church leadership to know that many of the critiques and complaints they receive are invalid. They are often people upset that their personal preferences and needs aren’t being met. They are people taking offense to things that were not meant to be offensive or personal slights. This does not mean, however, that every critique is invalid. The people you lead will often have genuine concerns and cares that should be heard and cared for. The point here is simply to have an ear and heart for your people’s concerns. Good leadership listens.
Be a shepherd
The primary role of a pastor is that of a shepherd. I cannot stress this enough. People will trust you more, give more, and be more bought into the mission if they feel shepherded. Why? Because to truly shepherd a flock is to invest in it and show that you care.
A good shepherd smells like his sheep. He knows them by name. He knows their needs and the longing of their hearts. This is only achieved by spending time with them, listening to them, and gently guiding them. For many, this will mean a radical shift in how your time is spent, and that is ok.
Being a good shepherd will greatly improve your relationships with your people, the health of your church, and even your preaching. Good preaching will preach to the heart. In order to effectively do that, you have to know what’s going on in the hearts of your people. The only way to truly know that is through time spent together.
Of course I understand the limitations of a pastor. It is impossible to dive deep with every single person but it should not be impossible for you to spend some time at least twice a year with each of your people. It should also not be impossible for your people to get to you in the event they are looking for you to pastor them. Of course I get to say all of this from the privileged position behind the keyboard and not on the front lines of pastoral care but with my experience and the experience of good pastors I know, I don’t think I am completely out of bounds.
Make Room
Good leadership identifies, trains, and makes space for the next generation of leaders. There have been too many stories of leaders dying with no succession plan because they did not want to give up their spots. On the flip side of that, there are too many young ego full leaders who have stifled the gifts of those around them out of fear, rivalry, and self-preservation. Let us be reminded, this is not ours, it belongs to the Lord.
I think of how Elijah trained Elisha for the ministry. Good leadership is a willing teacher, faithful guide, and humble enough to make room. Your church will not suffer for having a dearth of good, high quality leadership. My guess would be that most churches are craving it.
The only perfect one
In the end we are all leaders who fall short of the standard set by Jesus. We model our leadership after him and while we never be the leader that Jesus is, it doesn’t stop us from doing our best to come close.
We want to be humble like him, Jesus was the most important person in the room and yet he was willing to wash the feet of those he lead (John 13:1-17).
We want to be gentle like him, tenderly caring for the people lead (Is. 40:11).
We want to be attentive like him, taking notice of those others do not see as he did for the woman with the issue of blood (Lk. 8:42-48).
We want to be compassionate like him, Jesus’ heart broke for those who did not know him (Lk. 19:41-42).
Finally, we want to fiercely stand for the glory of God like him when he drove the money changers out of the temple (Matt. 21:12).
Our leadership will never be perfect and that is ok. We look to the one who is. My hope is that these words were encouraging for you. My hope is that in reading these words you are inspired to be a better leader and perhaps have even discovered ways in which you are falling short. But honestly, my greatest hope is that you would love Jesus more and in turn, love his people more. For his glory and our good.
For further reading:
Dangerous Calling by Paul Tripp
Leadership as an Identity by Crawford Loritts
Strengthening the Soul of Your Leadership by Ruth Haley Barton