Leadership: Issues

Common issues in Leadership include the following:

1. Not enough people to do the work: It's hard to imagine a situation where this issue will not apply. There will always be more work to do than you have people. If this is not the case, your expectations are too low.

Listed below are some examples of factors that should be considered as you plan the initial activities of the church.

Plans may be too ambitious: Keep plans simple, focused and in line with the capacity of the team. Also, keep in mind the logical extension of your initial plans and programs. A "small" service project may mushroom out of control and threaten to absorb all resources if allowed. Likewise, a "small" worship service can become all consuming if people get carried away with staging, music, advertising, etc. Plan with the end in mind, not just the beginning.
Activities may be too complex: Defer programs that require signficant logistics or specialized skills in favor of those that can be accomplished by almost anyone (e.g. pre-packaged). Otherwise you may find it impossible to replace a key leader on whom an entire program depends.
Emphasize "organic" activities: Organic activities are those that grow in size but not complexity. For example, small groups may group by simply adding new groups or by dividing the larger existing groups in two. This is organic growth which does not add complexity, hence does not add overhead or administrative burden. Trying to start and grow a children's church school is not so organic as numerical growth will introduce complexity in facilities, scheduling, recruiting teachers, etc.

2. Conflicting priorities/plans: Conflicts on priorities and plans should be resolved before investing significant effort or money. While conflicts are to be expected, the real issue is alignment of understanding and expectations. All too often, the outcome of the commonly-used "planning retreat" is uncommunicated confusion, doubt and unspoken opposition. Consequently, it is best to follow several practices to get everyone on the same page and keep them there:

Follow a group learning technique such as Peter Senge's The Fifth Discipline. This will give your team a common language and the freedom to challenge and object in a constructive way.
Keep it up! People learn at different rates and in various styles. Continue to communicate your priorities and plans. Don't expect everyone to "get it" the first time and don't expect everyone to stay loyal to your priorities and plans with no effort from the leader.
Constantly test your thinking with outsiders, e.g. the NCD committee, the Barnabas Ministry, other pastors, etc. This will give you the opportunity to refine your plans as you continue to learn by experience.

3. Factions/divisiveness: Consider how your�Launch Team was assembled and you may quickly come to see what a miracle it would be if everyone got along. While every group has its own dynamics, most will have a tendency to break into factions. Just look at the the Twelve who followed Jesus, or the early Church (e.g. the "circumcision party").

Here are some techniques to consider:

Continually re-ground the�Launch Team in Mission, Vision and Values. Don't leave them on the shelf to gather dust. Integrate them into all you do and repeat them. Figuratively speaking, these are the things that should be put on your doorposts and bound to your wrists.
Don't neglect the Pastoral Care aspects of Leadership. One of the four areas around which you must organize the�Launch Team is Leadership Development (see What Positions Should Be Included On The Launch Team?). This group should provide for the care of the�Launch Team including its overall cohesiveness.
Pray for one another. This is the most important ingredient. If/when you have problems, pray about them. Prayer in community is the most powerful thing you can do to combat divisiveness.
Allow for exits with honor. Leadership is not the right fit for everyone. Allow and even encourage an easy out for people who remain uncomfortable. This may reduce your numbers but will improve your productivity and unity.

4. Financial constraints: While money is not the biggest concern of a new church, it is one of the biggest. What is the role of Leadership when money is tight? Here are some guidelines:

Don't hide it. There may be a tendency to project the image that "all is well." But anyone who is making a serious commitment wants to know the truth, and will be alienated by "spin." You can remain optimistic while communicating honestly and openly.
Don't allow money to become your #1 problem. It may be tempting to lump all of your problems under the label of "money." Doing so can take our eyes off Jesus' command to seek the Kingdom of God first. If we keep our eye on the Kingdom, other things, including money, will become less important. And the Kingdom priority will lead us to workaround solutions that a focus on money prevents us from seeing.
Enlist prayer support. Use your wide area prayer network to pray for your financial situation. And trust that in God's time, the money will come. A sense of panic will drive desperation in our thinking, which may lead to coming on too strong with members and visitors. No one wants to be a member of a church that fixates on money.

5. Turnover within Leadership: Turnover in Leadership is inevitable and overall, healthy (including forced turnover). A�Launch Team with no turnover in a year's time probably has either the wrong plan, the wrong people or both. Leadership in a new church plant is not for everyone, and there is no way to anticipate how the experience will unfold for any of us. Here are some guidelines:

A Leader who will not be a Servant should not be a Leader.
Assess each Leader's experience and contribution after three months. This will give both the�Launch Team and the individual time to assess how it's going. If it's time to adjust responsibilities, adjust them now before small problems become too big to resolve. And if it's time to allow for an exit, do it now, saving much more heartache in the future. Prolonging upleasant decisions (to resign or to ask someone to resign) does no one a favor.
Provide honorable exits. No one should be demeaned if they choose to resign or if they are asked to.
Structure Leadership so that anyone can be replaced. Everyone should have a backup. This should not only help in succession planning but should also relieve pressure on everyone when they need to be temporarily absent (e.g. vacations, job demands, etc.).

Go back to Leadership

Go on to Leadership: Resources And Definitions

Last Modified 1/23/05 1:51 PM

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