I have written a lot on leadership and the qualities it takes to be a good one. One question I have not answered is this, who are the leaders in the church? Some folks are turned off by the word, “leader”. Some think that the church should not have any leaders except Jesus. I reject the notion of a leaderless church. So who are the leaders in the church? Am I talking about Elders? Pastors? Deacons? Paid staff? When I use the term leader in my writing and in my teaching, I mean the following.
In the church family, every follower of Jesus is a member, every member is a minister and every minister is a leader.
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So if I’m reading this correctly, Joe, everyone in the church family is a leader~ or could be one, anyway.
The reason why I say “could” is because not everyone “will” (within the definition of being in front rather than behind, giving direction rather than following and making desicions rather than merely acknowledge them having been made)~ as a matter of fact I would say most do not see themselves as leaders in the traditional sense and are happy not to take on any leadership because with it comes increased responsibility, committment and accountability within the church body.
When asked “So, who wants to lead this church with me~ anyone?” I would be very curious to see how many would raise their hands…
I was hoping someone would ask that question. In short, I do think everyone has opportunities to lead, but you are right not all will. Not all leaders though function in the same role. Some will become leaders in their families, some within small groups, some with teens, or women, etc… The important thing is not the “title” but listening to the Spirit and leading where one is called to lead. I would also suggest that leadership is not really about making decisions or being in front vs. behind. Check out my series on the DNA of Leadership. Often leaders are never seen and get no credit, but they are great leaders for the Kingdom!
Joe,
I was wondering if someone was going to catch the implication of your statement as well.
In your comment, you said, “I would also suggest that leadership is not really about making decisions or being in front vs. behind”. If we look at what Jesus said about leadership, then leading is all about serving other people.
-Alan
I agree with your sentiment brother.
I also love to put unanswered thoughts in posts and see who is really thinking and brave enough to ask the right questions
I agree that every believer in a member and minister, but everyone a leader? Sure, every believer could be become a leader – but You seem to be miss using the term “leader”. By its simplest meaning – in a group, the leader is the ONE person who is leading – out in front with both the authority and responsibility of decision. The others are “followers”. Without this distinction, then no one is really the leader and the group goes nowhere. see “committee”
I understand your perspective Tyler, but I have to disagree and let me tell you why. You are using the term “leader” as a job description for a specific person in a specific role. You are then saying that no one else can be that person. I am looking at it differently. I am using the term leader as a character trait.
A leader can be, and is most often thought of as, the kind of person you describe, but a leader is more.
Different Kinds
…a teenager who influences their peer group.
…someone who takes initiative and leads a women’s Bible study
…hosts a home group
…helps organize others to serve in the community,
…a Christian at their workplace,
…my 7 year old son can be a leader to his younger brothers, etc…
Different Times
A leader can also lead for a season and follow in another season of life. At one point Barnabus was the leader of the First Missionary Journey in the book of Acts and eventually Paul became the leader.
I know some men who have served as pastors for years, and now they have moved into other areas and allow others take on the up-front role… yet they are still great leaders in other areas.
Many Groups, not One
I can lead my church as an Elder, but if I go on a missions project that someone else puts together, I allow them to be the leader, to set the agenda, to give direction, to speak, etc…
Again, leadership is not a job description, as you have outlined. Nor is it a static or permanent vocation. Rather, leadership is a characteristic of maturity that God would like to see in every disciple.
I have a post about about a specific woman in our church that will go up next month and I think that will help.
Joe,
Given your definition of “leaders”…
every follower of Jesus is a member, every member is a minister and every minister is a leader.
and…
leadership is a characteristic of maturity that God would like to see in every disciple.
…I would ask this question;
When decisions have to be made does each and every “leader” in your congregation have the same authority to make decisions, especially those decisions which affect the whole congregation?
Tom
In short, no. Again, I am not using the term “leader” to describe a structure, I am using it to describe a characteristic of maturity in each follower.
As to who makes what decisions and what role each member plays, I think that is left to the discretion of the local body… many members, but not all function in the same role.
Ok, but you really aren’t talking about leaders (proistemi) or leadership, rather you are addressing maturity (teleios, as in “fully mature” perhaps).
When you use the word “leadership”, discuss qualities of “good leaders”, say that you reject the notion of a leaderless church, define all followers of Jesus as “leaders”, then reply that you aren’t describing structure, rather quality–that strikes me as somewhat disingenuous, or at least misleading.
Here’s why this is bothersome to me–it’s real personal. I have experienced church situations where The Pastor has said the same thing you have in this post, wanted all persons in the congregation to function in “getting jobs done”, yet maintained tight dictatorial reins on each and every decision.
I certainly agree that “leadership” is not based on position or authority of office. Rather, in the NT leaders are those with demonstrated maturity in the Faith who are functioning out of Spiritual gifting to lead (“be out in front of, lead the way”) by example, exhortation, and by modeling sacrificial service through Christ-like love. Leaders are not “over” the Body, rather they are “among” the congregation. The over-arching purpose of leaders is to nurture the members of the body into “the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.”
Leaders must have a sense of direction, and that will mean some kind of “directing”. But, providing direction is not the same as making a unilateral decision and then telling others what to do.
I think you’re ducking the issue.
Tom
You bring up some valid concerns of how this is applied. I too have been in churches like the ones you describe.
I think we are closer on this than you let on. In the coming weeks I am making several more posts on this topic that will address the specific questions and concerns from this thread. I will be sure and interact more directly with your comments Tom.
In the meantime, I encourage you to read through my series on the DNA of Leadership. I have finished Faith and Integrity and am working on Commitment.
Joe,
I’ll follow your suggestion to read further and wait.
BTW, it wasn’t my intention to “let on”, rather, I was reading as written.
Just for fun I’ll share a “disclaimer” that was the footer of an email I received from a friend.
“Without the benefit of paralinguistic cues such as gesture, emphasis, and intonation, it can be difficult to convey emotion and tone over electronic mail (e-mail). Five experiments suggest that this limitation is often underappreciated, such that people tend to believe that they can communicate over e-mail more effectively than they actually can. Studies 4 and 5 further suggest that this overconfidence is born of egocentrism, the inherent difficulty of detaching oneself from one’s own perspective when evaluating the perspective of someone else. Because e-mail communicators “hear” a statement differently depending on whether they intend to be, say, sarcastic or funny, it can be difficult to appreciate that their electronic audience may not.” (Kruger, Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 2005, Vol. 89, No. 6, 925–936)
You have been duly warned, and my e-mail has been delivered to your inbox. Good luck.
Tom ;o)
Tyler, I forgot to mention it here, but I posted a response to your comment in a post entitled, Too Many Leaders?.