It is a common complaint among pastors. However, I believe they are generally wrong. Often the issue is not that there are not good leaders in your church but that the leaders you have are not attracted to serve on your board. Here are some of the things good leaders are not attracted to:
Board meetings that drone on and on with an inability to make clear decisions. Issues that come up time and again after they have already been discussed. Agendas that are about the status quo rather than thinking about the future. Lack of accountability for follow through on decisions that are made. Passive board members. A board with a history of conflict. It is clear that there are elephants in the room that no one is allowed to talk about. Little time for prayer or robust dialogue. An ethos that does not allow for candid conversation about church issues. Lack of a collegial atmosphere.
None of this should surprise us. Good leaders recognize a good leadership culture and they are very good at sniffing out bad leadership cultures and avoid them assiduously.
Good leaders are looking to serve and lead with other leaders who want a healthy, forward looking and results oriented ministry. They love to tackle problems, solve them and move on. They are more focused on the future than the status quo. They value candid and robust dialogue where there are no elephants in the room. They also value their time and want meetings that start and end on time without wasting time on issues that could be decided elsewhere. And they want to do this with a group that is passionate about following the Lord of the Church.
Here is my point. The culture and ethos of your leadership board has a lot to do with whether good leaders want to sign on. On the healthiest boards, leaders don't want to leave. On unhealthy boards they cannot leave soon enough.
3 comments:
Do board members who serve out of loyalty or "just willing to serve" constitute a bad leadership culture too?
The person who says "I cannot find good leaders for my church" is admitting that they are not a leader themselves.
Bingo, T.J.
My pastor told me how our board was dominated by more than one outspoken individuals who opposed his leadership, and our church had many endless board meetings which included rehashing of decisions that had already been made. He was repeatedly told that he wasn't improving in ways that "the board" said he needed to. My pastor had asked me to consider serving on the board; while I declined for unrelated reasons, I had a great deal of hesitancy to involve myself with such an unorderly leadership culture despite being fully in support of his leadership and his desired direction for our church.
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