Leading Together

God has chosen to do his work through communities of people with a variety of strengths, weaknesses, life experiences and unique personalities. These biblical truths drive church administration and leadership. Church leaders are community builders and catalysts who lead called people with a shared vision. Plural leadership can be messy and difficult, but rewarding and powerfully effective when it involves the following intentional values:    

Teamwork. This value is driven by an attitude of service. The needs of the team are more important than the individual leader. Team members have a high commitment to the organization. This high commitment should be coupled with genuine joy as we lead effective, high-performing teams.  

Trust. The foundation of leadership and organizational health is trust. This trust can take years to build into the culture of an organization. It can be lost quickly because of reckless decision making or a lack of competence.    

Service. The mode of leadership is service. Jesus taught his disciples the way to glory when he washed their feet. He instituted a new model for leaders. Those with power are to share this power with others. Leaders use their power for the greater good of the organization.

High View of God’s Activity. Leaders must be in prayer seeking God’s will. We continue to ask the question, “What is God doing in our midst?”  We must make adjustments to join Him in what he is doing as we share his love and mercy to generations hungry for something more than this world could ever offer.

Cultural Interpretation. As church leaders, we lead in such a way that appreciates and interprets the culture and environment already in place. Transformational leaders are environmental interpreters, both internally and externally. Good leaders must be good interpreters. This value cannot be underestimated. Its absence creates irrelevancy and conflict.    

As leaders in the Kingdom, we have the responsibility to empower, equip, and release people with whom we have influence. It is an absolute privilege. Within the local faith community, we must be intentional about our Kingdom assignment as we join the continuous movement of God’s Spirit in shaping an eternal future.