Aligning Church Leadership To Increase Momentum

by Mark Tidsworth, Team Leader

Here’s what the outcome of this strategy looks like on the ground. The next time another member says something like, “I’m leaving this church. Our pastor’s preaching is too (fill in the blank) and I don’t like it,” there is a clear response from lay leaders. “Yes, I feel uncomfortable too at times in our worship, Bible study groups, and in our conversations in this church. Yet, we as the leadership of this church recognize spiritual growth includes challenge. Much of the time growth is exciting and interesting, but sometimes transformation includes discomfort. The leadership of our church has decided to pursue becoming disciples, accepting the discomfort as normal. We hope you can join us in that pursuit.”

Wow, so many of us yearn for the day when this is the response of the leadership in our churches when complaints arise about being challenged or hearing things with which we disagree. We quickly recognize the potential payoffs for churches who effectively align their leadership around purpose, equipping leaders to lead effectively.

• Increases momentum and energy

• Sets direction for the entire church

• Clarifies expectations for all, including newcomers

• Prevents numerous potential conflicts

So, how do we get there? How do churches align their leadership around purpose?

Recognize and accept that leadership matters

When we do this we are positioned to invest in leadership, doing the work it takes to align our leadership with purpose. To align your leadership requires time, energy, and resources… a serious investment. Churches who recognize leadership matters invest in leadership alignment. Those who aren’t so sure will let this kind of church development slide.

Clarify the purpose of your church

It’s an old article now, written years ago by church consultant Gil Rendle, called The Happiness Trap. Rendle describes churches who inadvertently adopt an undercover mission to keep as many people happy as long as possible. Churches caught in this happiness trap are highly sensitive to criticism, reacting quickly to please as many as possible. Put this way, we easily recognize the fear driving this way of being church.

Churches who align their leadership dedicate the time and energy required to grow clear on their purpose. They typically identify some variation on the calling to transform ordinary human beings into Christ followers who partner with God’s mission to transform this world toward the kingdom. When we are caught up in this way of being church, our spiritual satisfaction grows exponentially, knowing we are part of something really good. Then our concerns about preferences and slight discomfort fade. Living into meaning and significance, caught up in a spiritual movement which transforms the world, influences us to lay aside our pettiness.

Identify your LeaderGuides

What does your church need from its leadership in order to pursue its purpose? When your church is making great progress toward its purpose, what will the leaders be doing? When the leadership of our churches cannot answer these questions, they are vulnerable to misdirection, mission-drift, and happiness trap pressures. When the leaders in our churches grow clear on these questions, their influence rises through clarifying their roles.

LeaderGuides is our word for the leadership principles and practices your leaders will pursue. Here is an example from one church with whom we worked. Feel free to use this LeaderGuide example toward inspiring your leadership (lay leadership team, church staff) toward developing yours.

https://www.pinnlead.com/s/LeaderGuides.pdf

Practice healthy support and accountability

Churches are notorious for starting initiatives followed by ignoring those initiatives. This one will be helpful when it’s actually used. Over time, we must constantly align ourselves with our LeaderGuides. Besides, since church life is inherently bumpy, leaders need repeated realignments in order to steer well.

Okay, but who has the time to do this deep dive into leadership development?

Well, certainly not those who neglect aligning their leadership around purpose. They are too busy managing the symptoms of a directionless system or putting out the inevitable brush fires. I guess it depends on how much we believe leadership matters, is a spiritual function in God’s church.

May we be faithful stewards of the leadership opportunities before us in the body of Christ.