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21 Steps to Courageous Church Leadership

21 Steps to Courageous Church Leadership. Dr. 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?.

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21 Steps to Courageous Church Leadership

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  1. 21 Steps to Courageous Church Leadership Dr. John P. Chandler The Ray and Ann Spence Network for Congregational Leadership

  2. 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?

  3. Vision Maintaining clarity Courageous honesty Opportune reinforcement Leadership Processing criticism Gaining tenure Finding life-giving learning communities Patterns: Vision, Leadership, & Structure • Structure • Releasing ministry • Shedding outdated practices • Thriving amidst complexity

  4. 1. Often, the obstacle to vision clarity is found within the leader. • Performance trap • Codependence

  5. 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

  6. 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

  7. 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?

  8. 5.Sometimes we are compelled to announce that “the emperor has no clothes.” • Prophetic role • Church members: not customers nor consumers, but missionaries

  9. 6. Persistence repetition of the vision is irreplaceable. • Nehemiah: every 26 days, or the people will lose it • Developing intentional processes

  10. 7.Articulate interpretation and daily incarnation of vision are ongoing mandates. • No churchy jargon! • We are translators • Not just your talk, but your walk

  11. 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

  12. 9.Leaders can and should quarantine destructive criticism. • Closing the back door can be overrated! • Not rewarding dysfunction

  13. 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

  14. 11. Long tenure is a joint project between pastor and people. • Boards taking the lead to encourage tenure for the well-matched pastor

  15. 12. Succession planning will be critical. • Sustainability • Intentional transition of long-term leaders • They have roles before and after they officially “finish”

  16. 13. There is a horizontal revolution happening! • Intentional networks • Leader to learner • Peer to peer • Mentor to protégé • Flattening of hierarchies • RASNet

  17. 14. Learning communities keep leadership dialogical, energizing, and accountable. • Beyond autocracy to the full creativity of the community of leaders

  18. 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?!

  19. 16. Pastors in growing ministries understand and practice appropriate “span of care.” • Beyond people-pleasing to reproducing and multiplying ministry

  20. 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?

  21. 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

  22. 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

  23. 20. There can be great blessings in spiraling complexity. • Contrarian: do larger churches do a better job with benchmarks of discipleship?

  24. 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

  25. For further exploration, go to www.amazon.com and search “John Chandler” Courageous Church Leadership: Conversations With Effective Practitioners

  26. 21 Steps to Courageous Church Leadership john.chandler@vbmb.org

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