Navigation | the new economy: leadership…one more thing
in regards to leadership, a thought that i’ve been bouncing around with friends and contemporaries is this:
in most settings the ‘lead pastor’ and the ‘lead communicator’ are the same person. why is this the norm? what if an individual is gifted in one area, but not the other? and in light of the new economy, does this paradigm still have legs?
Filed by Joe at May 24th, 2007 under Rants
i\\\’m guessing it is this way because the foundational presupposition in how church leadership functions has to do with positions = salaries and thus most communities find it unfeasible to \\\’staff\\\’ extra people…. and in turn, over time, the expectation establishes itself that multiple leadership dynamics (which indeed might be best spread out among several people) should be manifested in the fewest people possible….because its governed by finances as long as our presupposition is orientated around the idea of \\\’staff\\\’
Comment by James Shelley — May 24, 2007 @ 8:13 am
I think the “pastor as professional” paradigm is a nasty byproduct of a once good paradigm in the history of the church.
Historically the church has expected much of those in a leadership role. Scripture sets certain criteria for a Christian to be an elder or a deacon within the church and the bar is set quite high for the benefit and health of the whole community. So, for example, we have required “pastors” to go to seminary because we believe that a leader should have good theology, and a dedication to learning and teaching. This is good. However, what has emerged over time is this idea that the “ministry” is a profession, like a doctor or a lawyer. So we have churches that are ok with hiring “mail-order” pastors to do the “real work” of ministry. We put unrealistic expectations on the hired gun to make it happen for us. Like james post mentioned, you naturally will expect the professional to do as much of the “real work” as possible. After all, the pros know what they are doing and you are just the layperson paying them to do it!
Frankly, I think this understanding of “pastor as professional” is totally unbiblical. At the same time, I think that this shift has really lowered the standard for who can be a leader in the church. A degree doesn’t mean you are qualified, according to scripture. Neither does a good “skill set”. (1 tim 3, titus 1)
So, lets lose this idea of “staff” and move toward a biblical model, where all Christians live daily on mission with Christ. Let’s start training all our people in our churches, but especially let’s raise and appoint leaders from within.
later,
A
hey joe mel here…doing some research and found a link to your blog
just thought i would say hey…….keep pluggin
Comment by mel wright — May 25, 2007 @ 8:15 am
it’s the norm because it’s the norm… i.e. we have always done it that way. we have created a role called “pastor” and loaded it down with all kinds of baggage and as a result of both robbed God’s people from serving in pastoral capacity [because after all you need bible college and seminary to “pastor”] and have created a role that is unbiblical, and moved the church to only expect “pastoring” from the official staff people.
the paradigm is not dead - yet - but it is dying - & it can’t happen fast enough.
that’s my rant
Mike
Comment by michael bells — May 24, 2007 @ 8:09 am