Old rule: Pastors are ‘prepared’ for ministry New rule: Pastors are life-long learners
This is another rule that applies in all areas of working life. The pilot who trained on a DC-3 won’t be competent in a Boeing 777. And you wouldn’t necessarily want the doctor who graduated forty years ago operating on your child unless she had continued with her professional qualifications, assessments and training. If a church leader assumes that past degrees, experience and success are all that is required to lead today’s church, then he will be wrong most of the time – and they could be the biggest liability he brings to today’s opportunities.
My response:
I love this change in attitude; I am keen to be a life-long learner! Your ability to grow spiritually, in skills and in emotional capacity directly affect your ministry goals. What are you planning to do this year to ensure you are growing as a person and a leader?
Old rule: Godliness is assumed but not required New rule: Godliness is required but not assumed
In the past it was assumed that if a pastor had done theological college training and had been ordained, then he was godly. A good pastor carried out the duties of preaching, visiting, marrying, burying and pastoral care – and didn’t do anything bizarre. Following increasing revelations of moral failure and financial impropriety in the media, this view has been undermined.
Churches and para-church organisations moved godliness up to the top of the priority list and increased their diligence in assessing the character and spirituality of leaders.The leader is expected to have a close personal relationship with God that is lived out in prayer, chastity, financial accountability, integrity and relational authenticity. Any flaws are less likely to be given the benefit of the doubt. And full-time Christian ministry isn’t the only area of leadership subject to scrutiny – integrity is a major issue for all areas of public life, both for great and small!
My response: I believe this is a good development – the heart of leadership is to live a life of example and the primary leadership requirement in the New Testament is that of character. Too many pastors fall due to moral or financial failure. (see my resource paper on ‘Marriage, Sex and Leadership’ to the right hand side of this posting.)
When there are multiple and often conflicting visions within the same church the leader’s task becomes complicated. Rising levels of education, increased travel, living in more locations and meeting others from diverse places and backgrounds – all these serve to exponentially raise people’s expectations of their church leaders. From this situation arises a division over the rules that govern church life.
Old rules and new rules of church leadership
Leith Anderson points out that the new rules of church leadership aren’t available in a definitive list – they are continually changing. He gives some examples and points out that sometimes the new rules are a new version of the old rules!
Old rule: Faithfulness is sufficient New rule: Effectiveness is expected
Leaders born before 1950 will commonly honour other retiring leaders with praise for their faithfulness. This encompasses loyalty, showing up, working hard, not complaining, and tolerating less-than-the-best pay and working conditions! Those born after 1950 will tend to major on effectiveness. This isn’t to imply that earlier generations reward incompetence, nor that today’s leaders aren’t faithful. But it does recognise that the pendulum has swung toward an expectation that leaders not only show up but know what to do and get those things done before they leave. If they are ineffective their employment is more likely to be terminated than previously.
And if a veteran leader is asked to stand down for not doing a ‘good enough’ job, his response will often be, ‘But I’ve worked here for 20 years. I took a pay cut when the budget was short – I’ve given my life to this organisation’ - explaining why he should stay under the old rules which no longer apply. The new rule asks, ‘What have you done lately that has made a difference for good?’
My response:
I believe that the clash of this old rule/new rule is increasingly found in today’s churches – for good or ill! I also think it should be possible to find a middle road where loyalty and service are honoured while recognising that any under-performance is an issue that needs to be addressed.My observation on this is that we can lean toward an overly pastoral attitude to the needs of the individual leader while overlooking those he oversees. Honest dialogue is required to ensure that we are caring biblically for our 21st century flocks and continuing to build integrity and strength into the churches.
Leith Anderson’s Leadership That Works is a book that I have read, re-read and benefited from. His clear and accessible style and the issues he deals with will make this book a profitable read for any church leader – and those who aspire to lead. Covering topics like why leadership is so hard, the myths behind leadership, why nothing seems simple anymore… to name a few, he then goes right through to ‘finishing well’.
In the next series of blogs I shall be giving particular attention to expectations in leadership, basing the series on the chapter in the book which deals with why the rules of leadership are changing. I’ll be giving Leith Anderson’s perception of the situation and the rules as he sees them – both old and new - then giving my own response to each of these ‘rules’.
Managing change (now a constant in our experience) in the midst of what Anderson calls an ‘epidemic of excellence’ brings us into conflict with a whole series of expectations. These can be our own or from our churches! Often these expectations are couched in terms of ‘vision’ - conflicting vision and conflicting expectations – which can seriously compromise our achievements as leaders and churches.
I’ve been doing some reading around the multi-site issue recently and in particular A Multi-Site Church Road Trip by Geoff Surratt, Greg Ligon and Warren Bird, where I came across the following…
'In his 2008 address at Catalyst in Atlanta, Georgia, Jim Collins of Good to Great fame highlighted some key issues that impact replication of DNA - the genes that shape every cell of an organism. He noted that great organizations (and in our case great churches) have a culture of discipline demonstrated by a history of making choices that lead to that greatness. ‘Most overnight successes are really about twenty years in the making’, he said.’ It took seven years for Sam Walton to open his second store. It took Starbucks thirteen years before they have five stores.’ Once greatness is achieved, the DNA is set and replication can effectively begin. The same is true, we believe, for multi-site churches. In these churches, we find that the core DNA of the congregation has been developed over time. Time-tested core vision, mission, and values must be present in each venue or campus. In fact, a clear and widely shared DNA becomes the engine for expansion – but it must be reproducible.'
I was looking at Luke Davydaitis’ blog recently www.lukesblog.org/ - he had a brilliant quote from Tim Keller which I make no apology for reproducing. It’s about preaching and preparation… ‘In my blog post on Willow Creek, I said that many Reformed evangelicals think of sound, expository preaching as something of a 'magic bullet.' We may think that as long as we are preaching the Word--preaching the law and the gospel rightly--that everything else in congregational life will somehow take care of itself. We may give lip service to the other two marks of the church--the administration of the sacraments and discipline--but we don't give them proper weight. Fully considered, the administration of the sacraments includes pastoral care, education, and discipleship, while the ministry of discipline means rightly ordering the community, that is, pastoral leadership. I have often seen many men spend a great amount of time on preparing and preaching lengthy, dense, expository messages, while giving far less time and energy to the learning of leadership and pastoral nurture. It takes lots of experience and effort to help a body of people make a unified decision, or to regularly raise up new lay leaders, or to motivate and engage your people in evangelism, or to think strategically about the stewardship of your people's spiritual gifts, or even to discern what they are. It takes lots of experience and effort to know how to help a sufferer without being either too passive or too directive, or to know when to confront a doubter and when to just listen patiently. Pastors in many of our Reformed churches do not seem to be as energized to learn to be great leaders and shepherds, but rather have more of an eye to being great teachers and preachers.’
(concluding the series on the Cross by guest blogger Mick Taylor)
Finally, the doctrine of penal substitution is important because it underlines and clarifies a number of vital truths. Our fundamental problem is not only that we are victims of Satan’s power but that we are violators of God’s holy requirements. Sin is not simply missing God’s best for us but an act of rebellion. We are not just prisoners of war in spiritual conflict, we are traitors.
It is only as we see the depth of our plight, the bleakness of our situation and the unworthiness of our lives that God’s salvation is seen in all its splendour and the necessity of our guilt being dealt with is fully grasped. Other perspectives on the cross are vital for a full understanding of the gospel and enjoyment of all its benefits, but without penal substitution we are in danger, not just of throwing the baby out with the bathwater, but of losing the bathroom along with the whole house because we will have fatally destroyed a strategic part or our foundations.
There is much to learn from present discussions. Controversy is not all bad. Church history indicates that it is often a sign of spiritual vitality. It shows that people think that truth matters and that theology has the power to shape our worldview and thereby our values, attitudes and actions. Current questions about the atonement are a stimulus to have our thinking refreshed by forcing us to think deeply and carefully about all that scripture teaches about Christ’s sacrifice for us. Such reflection can only lead to renewed power and devotion as we glimpse again all that He did for us.
And once again I look upon the cross where you died I’m humbled by Your mercy and I’m broken inside. Once again I thank You Once again I pour out my life…
Further Reading: Where Wrath and Mercy Meet by David Petersen edit. The Glory of the Atonement by Charles E Hill and Frank A James III edit Pierced for Our Transgressions by Steve Jeffery, Mike Ovey, and Andrew Sach (see also related web page http://www.piercedforourtransgressions.com/ The Atonement Debate within Contemporary Evangelicalism by Mick Taylor http://www.newfrontiers.xtn.org/uploads/Atonement.pdf
The content of the above series of blogs on recent theological debate about aspects of Christ’s death on the Cross was previously published in the Newfrontiers magazine in 2008
I lead King’s Church London in South East London, with sites in Catford, Downham and Lee. Over the past fifteen years the church has seen continued growth, both in size and diversity. I also oversee a number of other Newfrontiers churches in the UK. My book, “Good to Grow”, was published in July 2011. I am married to Deb, and we have three sons.
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