The Role of Church Leadership

Part of our traditional vision of church leadership goes something like this. Leader(or leaders) casts a vision and tries to get people to buy into it. Leaders develop structures to implement the vision and work on ways to get people involved in implementing the vision and filling out the structure or organization. Churches have traditonally been managed from a central authority or body that oversees what the church does and often controls the system.

In a conversation with one of our pastors this week, I affirmed his church's leadership efforts. His leadership team was simply trying to respond to what was happening among the membership on the outer edges of the congregation. Members were engaging in ministry. The leaders were simply trying to keep up with what the members were doing in response to the leading of the Holy Spirit. I see this as a good thing. People are listening to the Spirit and are engaging in ministry. The leaders are not busy trying to get the people to do something, they are encouraging and facilitating the ministry that is taking place.

This conversation led to my stating two key convictions: Our existing church system or structures cannot contain an outpouring of God's Spirit, a spiritual awakening, or a great revival. In fact, I am convinced that these structures often inhibit the movement of the Holy Spirit. When our thinking is confined to our systems, where is the room for the Spirit to act or lead? We have done such a thorough job of acclimating church members to our system, that many cannot think or act for themselves. They have to wait on a word of instruction from one of the "leaders." These leaders expend all their energy trying to get people to work in the church system in order to make the system work. Our mistaken belief is that if the church system is working well, then we are doing what God wants us to do.
Jesus made it clear if we will just listen: You cannot put new wine (outpouring of the Spirit) into old wineskins (church structures and systems).

The second conviction is that if genuine spiritual awakening occurs, no one of us can describe what it will look like. The mistake church and denominational leadership have so often made is to call for spiritual awakening and then define how that would look, i.e. specifically in terms of the existing church or denominational structure. I can say two things about the spiritual awakening for which we pray. First, it will be in keeping with the character of God as revealed in scripture, and second, the movement will be in keeping with Holy Scripture. I think if we say more than that, we are restricting and hindering.


What if leadership took a responsive position over a restrictive one? What difference would that make? Isn't that what the Jerusalem church did toward the outpouring at Antioch? They sent Paul and Barnabas to see what was happening and responded to the need for spiritual development among the new converts.

Maybe it's time to rethink church leadership!

Spiritual Renewal

I served for the past two years on the Leadership Team of the Network of Baptist Associations. The primary purposes of this loosely knit organization have been to advocate for associationalism, to network associational leadership, and to provide for relevant continuing education opportunities for persons serving in associational leadership. In a separate blog, www.heykenmay.blogspot.com, I wrote about my recent trip to Texas to attend the annual Summit, where I had the opportunity to meet a very distant cousin.

One of my colleagues I have connected with the past four years shared an impression with me. He said we spend so much time and energy making "mechanical" adjustments to our activities, structures, and content that result in minimal change in impact.
He is convinced that our "mechanical" changes are not the ultimate answer. The reason we are not more effective is a spiritual one. Referring to a passage of scripture, Luke 9:23, where Jesus said, "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me," my friend interprets this to mean "I get off my agenda and get on God's agenda." He calls for a new spiritual awakening, saying that the church has drifted significantly but so slowly that it seemed imperceptable since the last great spritual movement in 1858. He pointed to a document he had composed while returning from a trip to South America that contrasted the church of scripture with the church and our lives today. It was pretty telling. There is no doubt in my mind that we need a great spiritual awakening and renewal today. I told my friend I have heard many people call for this in my lifetime, but they almost always seemed to know how this would take place and what form it would take. Thankfully, my friend said he did not have a clue.

All this reminded me of what my associate said a few weeks ago. He read about a monk to set out to change the world. After several years of struggle, he realized he could not change the world, so he sought to change his country. When this did not work after several years, he sought to change his city. Of course this effort did not succeed so he decided to focus on changing his family. Well, by now you know this did not happen, so near the end of his life be begin to focus on changing himself. Obviously, he got it all backwards. Spriritual renewal must begin within. I cannot effectively call for spiritual renewal if I am not seeking spiritual renewal for myself.

How does this happen? It begins with serious prayer and reflection, seeking that deeper relationship with our Lord, and our Lord's will for my very own life. As change begins there, it can then begin to spread to others. I dare not ask others to pray if I am not willing to make the same commitment, or one that exceeds what I am asking of others. How can I seek spiritual renewal in others if I do not seek it as an essential in my own life.