09 Feb Shepherds Lead, Not the Sheep
John Edmund Kaiser in his book, Winning on Purpose, proposes that a new organizational structure is needed to assist and support church growth. The structure is called “governance” which is described this way:- The church board govern.
- The pastor leads.
- The staff manages.
- The congregation ministers.
This book and system is one that both Pat Jones and I have advocated for our local churches.
I came across an article written by Bill Essum on the Church Central website (www.churchcentral.com) and I wanted to excerpt a paragraph from that article for our consideration. The overall theme is that churches need to reproduce themselves in order to stem church decline in the US.
Bill writes:
There needs to be an end of democracy and consensus. Apostolic-led churches are structured around the Spirit-led leadership of a man or woman who listens to God rather than following a board. The more democratic the church is, the less likely it is to grow, much less become reproductive. Reproductive churches have small boards and very few committees if any. If you dig under the covers of the large megachurches and the churches that are planting churches, you won’t find much structure; and the sheep aren’t leading the shepherd. (Emphasis added)
I am tired of dealing with churches more interested in who is in charge than they are about being a Great Commission Church that is reaching lost people and seeing them become fully devoted followers of Jesus. I am tired of being called to churches where the sheep are trying to lead and the shepherd is just a “hired” employee.
I recently was in one of our churches talking about the need for that particular church to become more focused on Great Commission issues. One of the attendees took offense and pounded the table, “This is my church and we don’t want to be one of those big churches.”
I was able to inform the person they were wrong, it isn’t our church. The Church belongs to Jesus. He is the head. And because Jesus is the Head of the Church, he is also the head of our church. Wasn’t received real well.
Anyway, this whole debate about who is in charge in a local church is diverting much of our energy away from Great Commission ministries. To me, there are two crucial elements to what Essum is arguing:
- That the congregation sees the pastor as a Spirit-led man or woman who listens to God first.
- That the pastor is willing to lead. As Essum says, “The sheep aren’t leading the shepherd”.
I think that Essum makes a lot of sense. What do you think?
Pastor Adam Will
Posted at 17:06h, 09 FebruaryI really agree with what Essum is saying. That said, I have found that it is very difficult to get current local church gov’t to see that the structure needs to change. So often boards wil recognize or perceive the need for effective governance, but they fail to take the needed steps to improve. To them it seems like a great idea but then they move on to something else. What we need are more effective ways to communicate this to our leadership. Giving them a book and telling them to get back with you doesn’t work in most cases, or at least not in my limited experience.
I know I am young, but I haven’t figured out a way to tell people their way of doing things is part of the problem without actually coming right out and bluntly telling them that. If I do that, then that creates a hostility that completely prevents moving toward positive, Biblical change.
Roxton Spear
Posted at 11:09h, 10 FebruaryWe recently moved to a Governing system of administration. To this point, it has been very positive. We now have an objective purpose for existing, rather than simply to “meet the budget” and “not lose any members” and “have a nice pastor who preaches nice sermons”.
There are now objective goals to enable us to better fulfill the Great Commission. This brings a sense of excitement to me as a pastor.
Having said that, the Governing system in no way eliminates the attempted power plays by power brokers in the church. Most likely, we will have to deal with that throughout our ministry. The hope is that as more and more people “buy in” to a Spirit-filled pastor leading, that the power plays will diminish.
Living in a “majority rules” type society, it’s very difficult for the church to grasp that this is not a proper method of leadership. It’s “their church” and they should have input.
I definitely do not have answers, but do believe the direction Denomination is leading is positive and will result in more effective churches for God’s Kingdom.
Ddunten
Posted at 12:07h, 10 FebruaryBishop…..
AMEN!!!!!!!
bkittle
Posted at 08:42h, 11 FebruaryWe have shifted to a governance model here at The ROCK. What a blessing! I came from a congregational denomination that tied the pastor’s hands to do real ministry. I’ve found that the pastor must lead or some one else will, some one not called by God.
My response to Will’s comment above is to take heart regarding the necessity for change within the leadership model of your church! I would rather offend some one (and I have offended plenty) and inspire the congregation with bold, courageous leadership, than to minister ineffectively & miserably. Ironically enough, Roxton’s comment that we will always have power players is true. But, as more people buy into your leadership, those power players will either back down or leave. Its usually sad when some one leaves, but it can also be freeing!
Gary Boston
Posted at 12:15h, 05 MarchA local church can only be truly healthy if it conforms to the model shown in NT Scripture. I believe it is clear that the shepherd leads the sheep and the sheep do not lead the shepherd. Many local churches in this time have “power brokers” that determine who will be their pastor. The pastor is viewed as an employee that makes their employer happy by doing most of the work while they sit in their seat for entertainment.
In Luke 22:24-27, Jesus Christ showed His apostles that the greatest among them would be servant or slave to the others and in John 13:3-17, He gives us an example of what this looks like. The pastor’s function is not to make the local church membership happy, but to help them better use the gifts that the Holy Spirit has given to each of them.
Church members cannot just sit on their justification, but must move forward in sanctification day by day. Every member of the body needs to be performing their part for the church to be truly healthy (.1 Corinthians 12). A healthy local church should not be divided (1 Corinthians 1:10-17).
Every shepherd is accountable to the Chief Shepherd directly and to support shepherds that He has placed over them. Our UB government has cluster group leaders, our bishop, and other team leaders to support each local pastor (Ephesians 4:1-16).
We have been called for times like these. Let the church move forward in love as set forth by Paul, the apostle to the gentiles, in 1 Corinthians 13.