Pastoral Leadership We Need Now

by Mark Tidsworth, Team Leader

Little did we know how needful this new paradigm for pastoral leadership would become when we began describing the pastor as Faith Change Agent in 2017. Since the plague came upon us, plus all the other volatility in our world, churches need Faith Change Agent pastors to help them navigate these waters even more. So, for those who haven’t engaged the FCA course or presentation, here’s an introduction to a contextually formed and situation specific new pastoral leadership paradigm.

What does this church need from its pastoral leader(s) in order to live into its best self; to be the best expression of church it can be in this community for this time? In other words, when we let the Spirit wind blow while gaining perspective on the challenges in the current ministry landscape, then what role or functions do we need from pastoral leadership? Let’s explore each word in the FCA paradigm to get a sense of this approach.

Faith

This is the current in which we swim. Faith is our currency, our language, our story. FCA pastoral leaders are immersed in our faith story. First, this life of faith is not a job for them, but a personal life journey. They are disciples of Jesus before they are pastoral leaders. Faith is their native language, so to speak. They know the Biblical story, centering their lives in the story of Jesus Christ as revealed in scripture. Then FCA pastors know how to connect the ongoing journey of a particular church to the ongoing story of salvation history (our faith). These pastors are always seeing the connection points between what’s happening in and through a church and our faith as described in the Biblical narrative. They naturally employ the images and language of the Bible to expand our awareness of our church’s journey. Certainly FCA pastoral leaders draw illustrations and examples from many areas of life, yet their first language is that of faith, always situating what we are doing within our faith story. When our church wanders away from our faith story, FCA pastors feel free to call out our wandering too, raising our awareness. Were we to call this new pastoral leadership paradigm only “Change Agent,” we would be leaving out something essential. This change agent, the pastoral leadership sort, is all about faith.

Change (transformation)

We prefer the word “transformation” to change, but Faith Transformation Agent doesn’t flow off the tongue well. When you see this word “change,” think transformation. Isn’t this what the gospel is about? When we are renewed through God’s grace, then we are changed. We are in the process of becoming who God is calling us to be. So, we are a people of expectation….expecting to be changed as a result of participation in this Christian Movement. Our expectations for change or transformation tend to show themselves in each of these three venues.

• First, due to the power of the gospel to transform, we expect ourselves to be different as a result of participation in the gospel.

• Second, due to the power of the gospel to transform, we expect our churches to be different.

• Third, due to the power of the gospel to transform, we expect our communities and even the world to be different.

Agent

1. a person who acts on behalf of another person or group.

"in the event of illness, a durable power of attorney enabled her nephew to act as her agent"

2. a person or thing that takes an active role or produces a specified effect.

"universities are usually liberal communities that often view themselves as agents of social change"

-Oxford Dictionary, Internet Version

The way we are using the word “agent” really requires us to combine these two definitions together. An FCA is acting on behalf of another person (God), serving to initiate, cultivate, and encourage transformation. The general understanding of people who serve as agents does not include passivity. Instead agents tend to be active initiators. They see their role as stepping out to accomplish a mission. The mission of the FCA is to link our faith to our journey’s, cultivating transformation of individuals, churches, and communities. This is what FCA pastoral leaders do.

More specifically, FCAs believe they are called to help the church move from its twentieth century expression of church to the unfolding twenty-first century expression of church. FCA pastors know they are called for this place and time in history. They recognize that the Church is in the transition zone, being transformed as we speak. As the church makes this trek, from what was to what is becoming, it needs effective guides to help it navigate the journey.

So, how ready are you (pastors) to serve as an FCA? How ready are you (churches) to engage an FCA pastor? How we understand this present moment, our current situation, is a primary driver for what we expect and need from pastoral leaders. Through God’s provision, may we exercise the courage to embrace Faith Change Agent pastoral leadership.