FOCUS ON PASTORS -Time for shared leadership
Embracing a community of shared leadership
Written by Laird Crump
What would it look like if pastors saw themselves as both team player and coach, and recruited diverse people with varied expressions and approaches? What would it mean for pastors to endure the messiness of inclusion and collaboration? Can you imagine creating a community of leadership where pastors and parishioners work side by side as friends in the Gospel?
The player-coach
When I was in college, our school volleyball team was in need of a coach. Most of our professors were unathletic academics who probably couldn’t tell the difference between a volleyball and a football. Seeing that I had experience in playing, refereeing and coaching, I volunteered for the job, and the team agreed with this arrangement. The problem was that I didn’t just want to coach, I also wanted to play.
Being a first-time player-coach, I recognized that the team’s success depended on my leadership. But as the season began I found myself leaning heavily on other players, watching them and listening to them and attempting to put them in a role suitable to maximize their strengths. They also challenged and inspired me, and we became good friends.
Most importantly, as the designated leader, I felt it was important to help everyone see themselves as a team leader. As a result, there was never a time when one team member would be the winning or losing factor of a game. We won together and we lost together. In retrospect, that was probably one of the most crucial leadership lessons I learned while in Bible college.
Although all teams (athletic or pastoral) need someone to lead, much of the success of the team comes from shared leadership. Often, this produces leadership ambiguity and sometimes much confusion. Yet, in spite of the obstacles, building a community of leaders is well worth the effort.
So long, Lone Ranger
As I survey the current ministerial landscape, no longer is there room for a top-down, lone-ranger pastoral leadership style. I suppose some traditional ministries still operate with a hierarchical “leader knows all, sees all and does all” approach. But certainly this style will not draw this new generation into church leadership and have missional impact. Rather, a shared leadership approach is proving to be quite effective: People tend to support what they help create.
If we can engage men and women, both young and old, in the leadership process and create a community of leaders, no doubt there will be greater expressions of commitments to the cause of Christ.
Diversity in leadership
As Tim Keel, in his book Intuitive Leadership1, writes:
We need more and different kinds of people and roles in the mix. We need prophets, poets, apostles, mystics, artists, liturgists, and who knows what else. More than that, we need to allow the boundaries of our communities to become so porous, so that all kinds of different people see themselves as players in the life of the [Gospel] beyond the traditional roles of leadership, both inside and outside the walls of our formal structures.
Isn’t it interesting that those often chosen for church leadership are confident business folks who have run a tight ship and made a lot of money in business? As a result, we sometimes give more attention to Robert’s Rules of Order than listening to the still small voice of the Holy Spirit. In doing so, we can overlook others who don’t fit the stereotypical leadership mould, yet they could be players who could make tremendous contributions. In our postmodern culture, building a diverse leadership community is increasingly important. Creative and collaborative leadership is as essential now as it was in New Testament times.
Emulating Jesus
I sometimes wonder if how we “do” church in Canada is very far from Christ’s original ideals. Most of us are Pauline in our ecclesiological expressions. No offence to Paul (I happen to be a big fan of his), but perhaps it is time to return to Christological expressions. Because, when we look at Jesus the leader, we see someone who was inclusive, collaborative, extremely unconventional – even audacious. His leadership team of men and women included all types and temperaments. He was okay with doing ministry in a messy, organic and opportunistic way.
Though the Son of God, Jesus was also a player-coach who led from the middle of the pack, exerting His influence in several directions. In fact, in John 15, Jesus invites His team to call him “friend.” Did that humble expression diminish His leadership authority? No; it probably had the opposite effect. But it also empowered others to own the ministry like they never had before. Was there leadership tension? Of course, but tension creates new possibilities and paradigms which are essential for each culture to live out the Gospel in an authentic way.
New possibilities
As church leaders, we are a team – and when we win or lose, we do it together. Are we able to move closer to each other with our security not based on our position, but on our relationship as brothers and sisters in Christ? Do you long for a church that is non-territorial and allows leaders to emerge from the bottom up as well as from the top down?
Our changing world needs us to embrace collaborative leadership. Fostering this kind of community will allow the Church to discover new paradigms and possibilities, and make disciples in a way that honours Jesus and brings glory to God. It’s what happens when pastors become player-coaches. Shared leadership is a winning strategy!
1Keel, Tim. (2007). Intuitive Leadership: Embracing a Paradigm of Narrative, Metaphor, and Chaos. (p.199). Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books.
Laird Crump is the Focus on the Family Canada regional director for the Greater Toronto Area.
© 2009 Focus on the Family (Canada) Association. All rights reserved.
