21 steps to courageous church leadership dr. john p. chandler the ray and ann spence network for...
TRANSCRIPT
21 Steps to Courageous Church
LeadershipDr. John P. Chandler
The Ray and Ann Spence Network for Congregational Leadership
Summary of Ten Leadership Conversations
Transcripts of interviews with some of the most effective pastors in the U.S.
What patterns emerged in these conversations?
Patterns: Vision, Leadership, & Structure
Vision Maintaining
clarity
Courageous honesty
Opportune reinforcement
Leadership Processing
criticism
Gaining tenure
Finding life-giving learning communities
Structure Releasing
ministry
Shedding outdated practices
Thriving amidst complexity
1. Often, the obstacle to vision clarity is found within the leader.
Performance trap
Codependence
2. The ultimate measure of Kingdom vision is human and community transformation. Congregational transformation is but a means to that greater end.
Vision and values unite, not personality
Not church, but Kingdom
3. Admission of personal defects to oneself and others is the pathway to the next level of leadership.
Speed of the leader …
Sherpa, not guide
4. Frank and ongoing assessment of one’s giftedness and calling are critical matters of open discussion.
What chapter of ministry are you in?
With whom can you talk about this?
5. Sometimes we are compelled to announce that “the emperor has no clothes.”
Prophetic role
Church members: not customers nor consumers, but missionaries
6. Persistence repetition of the vision is irreplaceable.
Nehemiah: every 26 days, or the people will lose it
Developing intentional processes
7. Articulate interpretation and daily incarnation of vision are ongoing mandates.
No churchy jargon! We are translators
Not just your talk, but your walk
8. Criticism of leaders by congregations is a pervasive and painful thorn in the flesh.
“Pastor Pigface” letters
Culture of criticism in churches Vulnerability of
pastors
9. Leaders can and should quarantine destructive criticism.
Closing the back door can be overrated!
Not rewarding dysfunction
10. There is a strong correlation between effective, courageous ministry and a long-term match of pastor and congregation.
Most pastors interviewed had served 15 years or more in one place
11. Long tenure is a joint project between pastor and people.
Boards taking the lead to encourage tenure for the well-matched pastor
12. Succession planning will be critical.
Sustainability
Intentional transition of long-term leaders They have roles
before and after they officially “finish”
13. There is a horizontal revolution happening!
Intentional networks Leader to learner Peer to peer Mentor to protégé
Flattening of hierarchies RASNet
14. Learning communities keep leadership dialogical, energizing, and accountable.
Beyond autocracy to the full creativity of the community of leaders
15. These communities are a source of energy, strength, and joy to those in them.
Would you come back from vacation to go to a staff meeting?!
16. Pastors in growing ministries understand and practice appropriate “span of care.”
Beyond people-pleasing to reproducing and multiplying ministry
17. The way beyond hoarding ministry is to measure outcomes of transformation
Beyond “shepherd-sheep” to “body of Christ” images
How much are people and communities changing?
18. Courageous leaders create congregational cultures where change is assumed, transition is welcomed, and leaning into the future is the default posture.
The attitude toward change itself matters much
The past gets a vote, but not the only vote
19. There are strong cases to be made for both evolutionary and revolutionary strategies for spurring change and transition in congregations.
“Cry only once!” or:
Slow, steady, evolutionary pressure
20. There can be great blessings in spiraling complexity.
Contrarian: do larger churches do a better job with benchmarks of discipleship?
21. Leadership amidst complexity requires humble, patient, sharing.
Beyond the bottleneck of what the pastor can do to the glorious mess of shared gifts in leadership
For further exploration, go to www.amazon.com and search “John Chandler”
Courageous Church Leadership: Conversations With Effective
Practitioners
