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Why Leadership is Vital for the Church |
The term leadership could be used to refer to everything that leaders do, including preaching, pastoral work, evangelism, administration etc. Our definition of leadership is somewhat narrower, referring to the process of seeking out God's vision and purpose for a church, and for individuals; sharing that vision, and enabling and encouraging a church to own and reach that vision for themselves. George Barna has been writing on leadership for many years. To show the importance of such leadership for the church we quote from one of his books - Leaders on Leadership..... |
"After fifteen years of diligent digging into the world around me, I have reached several conclusions about the future of the Christian church in America. The central conclusion is that the American church is dying due to a lack of strong leadership. In this time of unprecedented opportunity and plentiful resources, the church is actually losing influence. The primary reason is the lack of leadership. Nothing is more important than leadership. Most recently, I have discovered that the current exodus from the church is partially attributable to the flight of the laity who possess the leadership abilities, gifts and experience. These individuals, whom the church so desperately needs, are leaving the Church because they can no longer stomach being part of an alleged movement that lacks strong visionary leadership. These are people of capacity, people who can make things happen. I have watched with sorrow as they have tried to penetrate the culture of the Church and offer the benefit of their gifts. They have been unable to contribute because their churches are neither led by leaders nor by those who understand leadership. I have studied modern history to comprehend the dynamics of revolutions, people movements, societal systems and national fortunes. The result is the conviction that there have not been - and are not likely to be - any significant and successful movements, revolutions or other systems in which strong visionary leaders were not at the forefront of those groups, leading the way for change in thought and word and deed. " Christian Schwarz, in his book "Natural Church Development", based on a study of more than 1000 churches in 32 countries concluded that empowering leadership was the first of their eight quality characteristics for healthy churches. "Leaders of growing churches concentrate on empowering other Christians for ministry. They do not use lay workers as helpers in attaining their own goals and fulfilling their own visions. Rather, they invert the pyramid of authority so that the leader assists Christians to attain the spiritual potential God has for them. These pastors equip, support, motivate and mentor individuals, enabling them to become all that God wants them to be." Leadership is vital for healthy churches. Leadership is vital for the church to influence the society in which we live. Leadership is vital to encourage church growth. Leadership is vital to enable Christians to grow in ministry. Leadership is vital! |