TOGETHER: Churches need ‘Jesus kind’ of leaders

Posted: 5/25/07

TOGETHER:
Churches need ‘Jesus kind’ of leaders

One of the recurring concerns in church life is moving effectively toward the future. Who will lead the way? What role does the pastor have? What is the role of deacons and church leaders? How does the staff fit into the process in churches with multiple ministers? These issues will always be with us.

In my book, The Jesus Principle, I address these matters . Here are some principles:

Executive Director BGCT Executive Board

• The only thing worse for a church than a dictatorial pastor is a pastor who won’t lead.

When a church calls a pastor, they expect spiritual leadership. They want maturity and sensitivity in their pastor—not arrogance and a “my way or the highway” attitude. They feel they deserve someone who has spent enough time in prayer, Bible study and service that they can have confidence in his or her leadership. But no pastor can give effective leadership if church members squabble over every attempt to move forward. Both pastor and congregation need to give thanks to God for each other.

• The pastor must lead through preaching the gospel and calling people to seek and find the will of God, “the mind of Christ,” for the church.

An old adage states: “The preacher’s job is to comfort the afflicted and to afflict the comfortable.” This fulfills both pastoral and prophetic roles. Jesus is the great example of this dual responsibility. And preaching about the way Jesus did ministry will begin to affect the way the church sees its task.

• Effective pastoral leadership builds the future out of materials on hand from the past.

Good leaders articulate gratitude for what has gone before and build on parts of the foundation that are strong. They desire for every person in the church to share in the growing vision of what is possible with God’s help. They listen eagerly and respectfully to “the church story” that makes up the way the members understand who they are. They build on that reality to begin to focus the energies of the congregation on what God’s dream for their church might be.

• Treasure the unique gifts the Holy Spirit has given to the church in the lives and hearts of its members.

A pastor needs to help clear off some ground where church members with vision and skill can get some traction and go about doing effective ministry. Lend your weight to encouraging those who will draw others into meaningful and life-changing service. Teach people how to have productive meetings where they pray, learn, discuss, plan and then do true ministry. In all things, model what it means to love others even when they are unlovely. But don’t let people with the least vision discourage those with passion to move forward. Call them to love one another, even when they may disagree.

When you take all of this together, you are expressing a Jesus kind of servant leadership. Leadership that is strong and encouraging, faithful and dependable, visionary and cooperative, passionate and pure, thoughtful and prayerful, sacrificial and filled with trust.

We are loved.

Charles Wade is executive director of the Baptist General Convention of Texas Executive Board. A longer version of this column is available on the BGCT website, www.bgct.org.