BY Dr. Steve Grusendorf
Director for the Alliance Center for Leadership Development
I was met with an interesting tradition for new pastors at the first church that hired me. I was required to dress up in a suit and tie and go down to the local photographer to have my official pastoral portrait taken. A few weeks later my picture arrived at the church in a large frame, and it was added to the pastoral portrait wall. There I was in line with all the other pastors in their suits and ties.
As I reflect on that wall of pictures, I think about all the staff that worked at that church—the staff not on the wall. I also thought about all the volunteers who served and lead ministries at that church. They were not on the wall either; it was just the pastoral team.
As church leaders we need to get better at making more room for more photos on the wall, so to speak. But how do we do this? Here are four ideas to consider:
1. Don’t Let Titles Hold Leadership Hostage
If leadership only corresponds to “titles” in the church, then leadership will always be limited to the number of official positions in the church such as pastor, elder, youth leader, etc. Instead, work to build a different view of leadership in your church. Help people see that leadership is attached to responsibility rather than a role. So, the person who helps park cars in the parking lot is a leader. The volunteer in the nursery is a leader. The person who chooses to turn around and greet the newcomer in the sanctuary without being asked is leading.
In this way, you will help your church begin to see that leadership is about influence more than it is about the title. Talk about leadership as responsibility and influence more than you talk about it as a role or title. Doing this will go a long way in helping free “leadership” from just being something done by the “pastors on the wall.”
2. Help Leaders Become Better Followers
It might seem counterintuitive that one of the ways to increase the number of leaders in our churches is by helping leaders become better followers, but it is so true. Because leadership relates more to responsibility than title, we must recognize that no leader will be leading 24/7. Yet if we are honest, this requires a shift in thinking.
We’ve all visited a church where the whole congregation, when asked, would point to a select few and say, “These are our leaders.” Honestly, this is not healthy. A leader must influence others when given a key responsibility. However, they must also be willing to follow others when someone else is given a key leadership responsibility. Learning this give and take is important if we want to help our church develop an abundance of leaders.
3. Increase Responsibility Incrementally and Strategically
As you start to develop leaders do so by giving someone a simple but important task. Let her learn the task, own the task, and lead others in accomplishing the task. As she gains mastery of the task, increase her responsibility. The task may or may not come with an official “role” or “title,” but that’s not the most important thing. As you gradually increase the responsibilities of those within your congregation you will be growing a pool of people who are already leading. This creates a ready pool of people who are qualified to step in when more formal roles in the church need leadership.
4. Provide Relevant Training
As you seek to increase the responsibilities of individuals within your church be sure to support them with relevant and “just-in-time” training. Adults are not generally interested in learning new skills for fun. But, when given a new responsibility, we all are eager to learn new ways of thinking and doing in order to succeed.
The Alliance Center for Leadership Development is a hub for leadership development within the C&MA and offers online courses in Bible, Theology, and Ministry Leadership. Our courses are designed to support you in the development of local leaders in the church. Learn more about our courses and how you can connect emerging leaders in your church to our resources by visiting AllianceLeaders.org.
Every church needs formal leaders, and every church needs more than just formal leaders. The ideas we’ve discussed can be the start to your church moving leadership beyond just formal titles.