Great Small Church Leaders

Because I'm a 40-year Chicago White Sox fan of course I had to read Bill Veeck's Veeck As In Wreck book. Who could pass up reading the book by the only major league owner ever to send a midget up to bat in a major league baseball game. The midget walked and Major League Baseball made a rule against midgets batting the next winter.

What I remember most about Veeck's book was his explanation about how some managers fail because they have been hired to manage in the wrong situation. Veeck wrote there are managers who are good with kids and those who work best with veterans. Some managers work best with rebuilding ballclubs. Some managers are better at managing middle of the road clubs. And some managers are best with contending clubs.

It occurred to me that pastors are the same way. Some are gifted at growing churches, some at dealing with crisis situations, some are best at managing maintenance churches. Seems to me most main line denominational seminaries train maintenance pastors. But there are some pastors who are undoubtably better at leading small congregations and some who are better leading larger churches.

Most small churches probably reside in a maintenance or declining status, while large congregations are most likely are maintaining their size, or growing, or both

We are about small churches here so the question I have is what makes a good small church pastor? Put down your hands it's a rhetorical question. Right off we know that survival skill one for small pastors is a personable personality. Small churches most of all want lovers for their pastors. And I'm going to guess that most small churches want maintenance pastors. Leaders who will keep the rhythm of the church going without rocking the boat. Carl Dudley says its the year in and year out rhythm of occasions and programs that are the circular system of small church life. Small churches who lose that rhythm are like Steve Martin trying to dance in the movie “The Jerk.” Not a pretty site.

Now that I'm reading George Barna's new book Master Leaders, it strikes me that small church pastors don't really fit into the understanding of what leadership is often understood to be. Barna interviewed 30 different successful, and mostly well known leaders, and then created a book where he fashions what he found in imaginary group discussions between the leaders, at a leadership conference.

In the second chapter of the book “Defining And Evaluating Real Leadership,” Barna starts out by offering his own definition of leadership: “Leadership is motivating, mobilizing, resourcing, and directing people to pursue a shared vision that produces a positive transformation.”

Keep in mind about what I just offered as the importance of continuing rhythm to small church life. Transformation often involves change. Doing things differently interrupts any rhythm.

Former U.S. Attorney General John Askcroft defines leadership as:

“Leadership is taking people where they are not already going. It is about redefining the possible.”

“I have come to understand leadership is different from governance,” Askcroft said. “Some people confuse the two. Governance is the process whereby minimums are established... Leadership is different from governance because it doesn't establish the lowest and least that is acceptable, but it inspires people to their highest and best.”

In other words governance is about keeping things going and leadership is about change and inspiration.

Generally speaking the rhythm of most small church life is slow and seldom changing. Like the rural life of bygone years that rhythm was born out of. Today, however, most small churches are in urban areas. Where the fast pace of experiences and problems make the small church and life outside the church seem like, well, two different worlds. And that's exactly what a good number of folks like about small churches.

Before I arrived at the last church I pastored it took them 3 years to decide to purchase a duplicating machine. The chairman of the stewards committee came to the church counsel meeting with the exact same budget as the year before and joked “see didn't I do a good job?” The church's rhythm was on a faulty pacemaker. And the congregation knew it. They were ready to be led.

Which means what a lot of the work of leadership that needed to be done had already been accomplished before I arrived. Many declining congregations talk about wanting to grow, but what they are really interested in is restoring past rhythm that no longer works, or has fallen apart because the church is dying. I was lucky because this congregation was blessed with strong leadership that helped prepare my way. All I really had to do was unlock them and empower them. Often the test of true leadership is gathering a group of good leaders around you.

Ken Melrose, former CEO of Toro, has written a book Making the Grass Greener on Your Side: A CEO's Journey to Leading by Serving. He says that his journey brought his the understanding that top down management doesn't work very well. In Chapter 1 of Barna's book Melrose says:

“I eventually learned that a much better way to lead was from underneath the organization, where you're coaching and mentoring and serving the constituency and employees, trying to make them successful. If you get rid of your ego about being a powerful executive and focus on the success of others, and they do the same with their people – we are all focused on the team's success instead of our own – then by virtue of the fact that they become successful, it guarantees that the boss becomes successful too. It unleashes all the potential in the employee base.”

Seth Godin, author of Tribes and Web site entrepreneur, added this in chapter two

“So leading is about delaying personal gratification. The sales culture of our country and our world says you need to get paid first. In fact, leaders get paid last. If you wait your turn, the payoff is far greater than if you take your return first.”

Oh my, maybe these folks are talking about the same kind of leadership small congregations need. As I read what they are saying the teaching of Jesus in the Gospels comes rolling out. About how the last shall be first. And what Jesus spoke to his disciples (all future leaders) about feet washing servanthood leadership. Remember Jesus delegated much of his earthly ministry to his disciples. Sometimes they failed, in a really bad way, but Jesus just kept on delegating. His model of shared leadership fits right in with what these secular and religions leaders are saying.

Several leaders in Barna's book explain the importance of a leader's ability to understand their strengths and weaknesses. Rather than try to be a do-everything kind of person, successful leaders surround themselves with supporting leaders who are good at what that leader isn't. Which frees the leader to further develop their strengths while also working on getting better in their weaknesses. In this way a leader can succeed no matter what kind of situation they face.

I am a second generation pastor. My father had a gift for growing churches. But whenever he left the church the congregation always declined. (A fact which he always regretted.) My greatest joy as a pastor came when, after I left, the church didn't lose one person for over a year. Part of that is because I spent the last six months of my call trying to convince the congregation not to jump ship just because I had to resign. But most of it was because a solid core of leadership had been recognized and empowered. Leadership that shared my vision for an alive and active church. The congregation's rhythm had been restored. They had a heart transplant. The most important factor in the team building, of course, was openness to Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit.

Legendary football coach Lou Holtz observed:

“Plain and simple. You can't worry, in a leadership role, whether you're popular or well liked, and you can't worry about what the media says. Your job is to help people reach their potential.”

This does seem to contradict what was said earlier about the importance of the small church pastor being a lover and personable. But not really. I'm afraid the hard truth of the matter these days is that too many pastors are more interested in their job security, and being liked, than the spiritual growth of the congregation. You can be loving and personable without worry about whether you liked. That is what Jesus did after all. And the hard fact is that loving people and trying to makes things better, is going to set people against you. And you are your family may pay the price of that opposition.

Been there done that.

Jesus has given us new life and a cross. The hard truth is that real life only comes after the cross. But God is always ready to resurrect us. Christianity is really about the hope of Easter not the plunder of Christmas. And if we pastors and leaders can't live and lead that way what hope is there for the congregation.

A number of leaders in Barna's book note that any kind of leadership there are two elements, relationships and task. One can't get done without the other.

Author Henry Cloud observes that:

“I think that every organization and every leader ends up defining success differently because of their own mission. But there's got to be fruitfulness in what they were there toddo, and it's got to be done in a way where people have been bettered in the process...”

We were told in seminary that if we have to have a business make people your business. Good advice.

Of course, everything that makes for good leadership can't be covered in any book or article, but there is one more thing that must be noted. The need for integrity. The kind of integrity that involves faithfulness to God and living a life others can trust. This kind of integrity is not a solo flight by the way. Such integrity can only happen with the support of trusted others. Who may or may not be part of your leadership team. For what you are is what, over time, your people will be

The good news is that integrity doesn't mean doing everything right and never sinning. It means accessing the kind of accountability and openness to growth God wants from us. As any small church pastor knows, you can't hide the real you from the congregation. As they see you as faithful they will love you anyway.

Monty Keeling

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