The Role of Leadership in Growing Churches

In writing a recipe for a growing church, most people would agree that leadership is an essential element. Without the right kind of leadership, churches simply cannot and will not grow. Even with the right kind of leadership, some churches won’t grow — but that’s a topic for another blog. (Hint: even good leaders can’t overcome engrained resistance to growth. Some churches don’t want to grow. They would rather die than change . . . and growth requires change.)

The question is, “What kind of leadership does a growing church require?” A related question: “What kind of leadership is needed to reverse the decline of plateaued church?” The answer to both questions is, in my mind, the same.

For a church to grow, it must have a leader … a leader, not a manager. The two roles are different. They have different foci. They have different objectives. They produce different results.

A leader focuses on the future — what can be. A manager focuses on the present — what is. A leader introduces purpose-shaped change. A manager promotes stability. In introducing purpose-shaped change, a leader creates anxiety by disrupting what is. A manager seeks to create effectiveness and efficiency with what is, keeping people comfortable and happy. A leader asks, “Are we doing the right things?” A manager asks, “Are we doing it right?” (This contrast is developed in Gil Rendle’s book, Journey in the Wilderness.)

An effective leader must have leadership skills in two arenas: in the spiritual realm and in the life of the church as an emotional system.

Vibrant spirituality is the heart of a growing church. An effective leader must be able to nurture vibrant, authentic spiritual community. He (or she) must be able to help people connect with God in deeply personal ways. (That connection generally centers in meaningful, uplifting worship.) An effective leader must be able to guide the people’s spiritual development so that each year they are growing in Christ. (The people’s spiritual progress requires preaching and teaching that is biblically based, full of grace, free from judgment and condemnation, relevant to people’s daily lives and their spiritual journeys.) An effective leader must guide the people’s growth in understanding and living the ways of the kingdom so that they embrace all as beloved children of God, so that they relate out of grace and forgiveness, so that they live out of a servant spirit. An effective leader must equip people to use their gifts and passions to serve others, training them to make a difference in their various worlds in the name of Jesus. An effective leader must be able to lead the people beyond where they are to where God is calling them to be, both spiritually and missionally.

The second set of leadership skills an effective leader needs is in systems-thinking. Systems-thinking sees beyond the church as an institution and organization. It understands the emotional dynamics that dictate the church’s life. It sees the church as a living organism, not an organization, as a spiritual community, not an institution. Systems-thinking recognizes the interconnected nature of the church as a spiritual community. It understands how anxiety flows through that emotional interconnection (especially anxiety related to change), often sabotaging progress before it can get off the launching pad.

Systems-thinking is what makes change, i.e., growth, possible. It understands each person’s emotional need for safety, belonging, power, and standing. It recognizes how the life of the church addresses those needs. It takes into account how change represents a threat to a person’s sense of place or sense of power or sense of value in the community, thereby robbing them of their sense of being safe.

Systems-thinking creates growth through addition and multiplication, not division and subtraction.  It creates new places for new people without threatening the established places of the current members. When coupled with vibrant spirituality, systems-thinking enables people to reach across social barriers to welcome and embrace “the other” as a brother or sister. Systems-thinking enables change to occur. It makes growth possible.

If a church is to be or become a growing church, it must have a leader. Sadly, most pastors are trained to be managers, not leaders. They are administrators overseeing the many facets of an institution—finances, buildings and facilities, worship, staff, programming, pastoral care. As a result, next year’s calendar and budget generally look an awful lot like last year’s. We keep repeating the same things we have always done, hoping next year they will produce a different result and things will be different. (What’s that definition of insanity?) At least, we keep the people happy by doing what we’ve always done!