Phil served on staff with John Maxwell from 1982 to 1988. John would often tell the staff that “everything rises and falls on leadership.” A church that has made the decision to increase its fitness level needs someone to point the way forward. The pastor is an elder and has an obligation and opportunity to lead their church under Christ’s authority. While Jesus is the ultimate leader of every congregation (see 1 Pet. 5:4), each congregation has human leaders (elders) who are to “shepherd the flock of God among you, exercising oversight” (v. 2). The need for human leaders cannot be shunned or ignored. A leaderless church drifts much like the person of divided loyalty described in James 1:6: “Do not waver, for a person with divided loyalty is as unsettled as a wave of the sea that is blown and tossed by the wind” (NLT). A church with leadership that is blown and tossed by the waves of uncertainty will never make headway or progress. The pastor must make the decision to step up and lead the congregation.
Pastors have many responsibilities and often neglect the responsibility to lead. “Pastors, by and large, do an excellent job of everything but their most important duty—leading.”1 Pastors often fail to fulfill the important role of leading for two reasons: they accept the number one leadership myth as truth and they avoid embracing the responsibility for achieving results.
Number-One Leadership Myth
The number-one leadership myth is that leaders are born, not made. A pastor may neglect his responsibility to lead the church because he feels he is not a born leader.
In fact, often the first question I hear pastors ask at leadership conferences is this: Do you believe leaders can be developed? They are basically asking this: Are leaders made or born? It is accurate to say that some people are born with a propensity toward leadership because of some natural giftedness and personality. But anyone who chooses to learn can increase their leadership capacity. Indeed, anyone can ramp up their leadership ability.
In their book The Truth about Leadership, educators James Kouzes and Barry Posner report, “After examining the immense variety of stories from so many different people and places, it has also become crystal clear that leadership is not a birthright (emphasis added).”2 This underscores the demythization that leaders are born, not made. The sooner pastors recognize they can develop leadership capacity and competency, the more willing they will be to develop the skills necessary to lead a church to fitness.
Avoiding the Responsibility
The second most common reason a pastor may neglect to lead his church is a tendency to avoid accepting responsibility for achieving results. Often a pastor couches his reasoning in spiritual terms. He believes God brings the harvest, God is the one who saves, and Jesus will build his church, not us. This is all true, but it is also true that God works in partnership with human leaders. For example, in the parable of the sower, what begins the process of reaping a harvest? It is the action of the farmer! “Listen! A farmer went out to plant some seeds . . . he scattered them across his field” (Matt. 13:3–4 NLT, emphasis added). The farmer (leader) went out and scattered. All the seeds did not sprout, but some germinated and grew. And while God produced the fruit, you can be 100 percent certain that if the farmer had done nothing, nothing would have resulted.
Paul makes this same point to the church in Corinth. “After all, who is Apollos? Who is Paul? We are only God’s servants through whom you believed the Good News. Each of us did the work the Lord gave us. I planted the seed in your hearts, and Apollos watered it, but it was God who made it grow” (1 Cor. 3:5–6 NLT). God did indeed make the seed grow, but someone (a leader) needed to plant or water it—sometimes both. And God provided the growth.
A pastor cannot and must not avoid responsibility in the work God desires to do in the life of the church he has given the pastor to lead. When God was responding to the cries of his people in captivity, he called Moses (a leader) to partner with him. God said to Moses, “Then the LORD told him, ‘I have certainly seen the oppression of my people in Egypt. I have heard their cries of distress because of their harsh slave drivers. Yes, I am aware of their suffering. So I have come down to rescue them from the power of the Egyptians and lead them out of Egypt into their own fertile and spacious land’” (Exod. 3:7–8 NLT). God saw the need and took action.
His action was not unilateral. It was not exercised in a divine vacuum. He said to Moses, “Now go, for I am sending you to Pharaoh. You must lead my people Israel out of Egypt” (v. 10 NLT). God was going to do it, but he was going to do it through Moses. What God desires to do through your church, he desires to do through you. The call he has on your church to bring it to greater fitness is for you to lead. The call he has on your church to make it more effective for the Great Commission is for you to lead.
Pastoral leadership is an aspect of muscular endurance. Physically, muscular endurance is the ability of a muscle or a group of muscles to repeatedly exert force against resistance. You will experience resistance as you move the church toward an increased level of fitness. You will find resistance as the necessary fitness plans are put into place. The exertion of your pastoral leadership in dealing with the resistance will be the difference between increasing fitness and remaining static.
Take Responsibility to Lead
In running, distance is constant, i.e., a mile is a mile. The variable is the time in which the mile is navigated. The time is impacted by the runner’s level of fitness, the terrain that makes up the mile, and the weather (e.g., temperature, wind, snow, or rain). Each variable impacts the time in which the mile is run. It is true that running on a treadmill can negate some of the variables, but leading a church is seldom like running on a treadmill. Few things in a church can be set to remain consistent.
The need for leadership in each of the five types of churches, however, is a constant. Pastors need to lead. The variable is the context in which they lead. “We tell our audiences that as much as the context of leadership has changed, the content of leadership has not changed that much at all.”3 This being the case, how you lead in each of the five types will vary. A leader needs to decide the type of church they have and the church’s level of fitness and then devise a plan to move to the next level.
Pastoral leadership is critical in providing muscular endurance. When a church goes through the five stages, it will confront resistance. It is through intentional leadership that the resistance, when encountered, will be overcome. This resistance aids in the strengthening of the local church. Much like a muscle gains strength and tone when it repeatedly exerts force against resistance, a church is strengthened and toned by pushing through the resistance it faces.
When you lead your church toward an elite status, you will experience many challenges and difficulties. In the initial stages, minimal resistance may feel like too much to handle, but if you continue the effort, soon you will move to a heightened level of corporate strength and tone.
Baseline Fitness Factors
Most exercise programs recommend that a person consult a doctor prior to beginning strenuous activity. The purpose behind this is so the person can properly determine what level of activity they can engage in. When you go to see a doctor, they check three baselines of health. Regardless of your reason for the visit, the same three baselines are monitored: temperature, blood pressure, and weight.
Why these three? Each is an indicator of what the body is doing. These three do not tell the whole story, but they do provide indicators of trends. Establishing a baseline is critical in all health evaluations.
Do churches have baselines? The short answer is yes! The three baselines of church fitness are: salvations, baptisms, and funds invested in disciple-making initiatives. These three do not tell the entire story, but they do provide a snapshot as to the relative fitness level of a church. A leader should measure these three baselines as a guide to where his church is and how he might need to lead.
The guidelines for measuring the baseline factors are as follows. Salvations are a percentage of weekend worship participation. Baptisms are a percentage of those reported as being saved. The disciple-making investment is the percentage of a church’s annual budget invested in disciple-making processes and strategies. This investment includes evangelism and discipleship materials, promotional material, and training tools. The specifics of each baseline factor are delineated as each of the five types of churches is unpacked.
Five Types of Churches
Beginner Churches
Beginner churches are very sedentary and have low fitness levels. They have been involved in minimal missional activity. Like beginning runners, beginner churches are not prepared to walk a mile, much less run a marathon.
The baseline fitness factors for beginner churches might look like the following. They will have zero salvations and zero baptisms in a twelve-month period. If any funds are budgeted for disciple-making, normally less than one percent is designated.
This is equivalent to individuals whose physical activity has involved the least amount of exertion possible. In beginner churches, muscular endurance is extremely underdeveloped. The slightest exertion will result in resistance and soreness. Few churches, like people, enjoy the aches and pains associated with becoming healthier and fit. Most churches simply like the idea of being more effective but prefer not to do the work required.
The primary role of pastoral leadership in a beginner church is to determine how dissatisfied the church is with its current fitness level. A one-word definition of motivation is dissatisfaction. Until a church is dissatisfied with where it is, it will not be motivated to do anything.
Jesus modeled this when he encountered the man by the pool of Bethesda. The man was there because people believed the pool provided healing powers; when the waters stirred, the first one in would be healed. As you might imagine, it became a popular place. In John 5, we read, “One of the men lying there had been sick for thirty-eight years. When Jesus saw him and knew he had been ill for a long time, he asked him, ‘Would you like to get well?’” (John 5:5–6 NLT). Jesus knew the man had been ill for a long time, but he still asked him if he was interested in getting well. Jesus wanted to determine his level of dissatisfaction. Why? Not everyone who is sick wants to get better. Similarly, not every church that is unhealthy or in need of more physical activity is motivated to change.
Remember how Phil needed to come to a point of dissatisfaction before his motivation kicked in to start living a fit lifestyle? His moment of dissatisfaction came when he realized he would avoid, as much as possible, looking at himself in a mirror. He had gotten so heavy and out of shape that seeing himself was too convicting. Phil’s initial response was simply to avoid anything that might reflect his reality. Fortunately, he decided to change the reflection instead of avoiding it forever.
You need to find the mirror, or picture, that will stir the waters of dissatisfaction in your congregation. Beginner churches must see it is necessary to change and move toward higher levels of fitness. They must be motivated. Part of your job is to help your church see reality! When you help your church recognize its dissatisfaction, you will create motivation.
PLAN OF ACTION IF YOU LEAD A BEGINNER CHURCH
Novice Churches
Novice churches have begun to get more active. They have moved from a primarily sedentary role to one of moderate activity. Like novice runners who are capable of running one to three miles at a pace that is good for them, novice churches are following a plan and exercising three to five days per week.
These churches are engaging in regular evangelistic endeavors and have a heart for the communities in which they serve. Missional activity is also gaining traction. They are implementing ministry at a pace they can handle and have begun to have a higher sense of corporate self-esteem.
The baseline fitness factors for novice churches are salvations of 1–3 percent of weekend worship participation, baptisms of 10–15 percent of salvations reported, and budgeted 3–5 percent of the yearly income toward disciple-making initiatives.
Pastoral leadership roles in novice churches must develop a plan that will move the church toward a lifestyle of fitness. Leaders must take what the church understands about church health and growth and put the knowledge into practice. A key component is training.
Training in novice churches should include personal sharing of one’s faith story, leadership, discipleship, foundations in Christian living, and the power of involvement in faith communities. It is incumbent on each church’s pastoral leader to know where he can push the church. Work done at this stage lays a foundation for the church to move into the intermediate stage of church growth and vitality.
PLAN OF ACTION IF YOU LEAD A NOVICE CHURCH
Intermediate Churches
Intermediate churches are able to consistently and constantly engage in missional, externally focused activities. They have built up the spiritual stamina to sustain a higher pace than novice churches, similar to how intermediate runners are capable of running thirty minutes at a nine-minute-per-mile pace. Intermediate churches are both consistent (time) and constant (duration).
The pastoral leadership role in intermediate churches is to show progress. Dissatisfaction is definitely the key motivator in the beginning, but achievement is the long-term motivator. You have to show other church leaders they are making progress. Progress is the fuel of steadfastness. Progress is the mile markers on the road to a church’s destination. When a church knows it is making progress, it is motivated to continue.
PLAN OF ACTION IF YOU LEAD AN INTERMEDIATE CHURCH
Advanced Churches
Advanced churches are at a high level of fitness. Like advanced runners, churches at this point are both students and teachers. Advanced runners consistently push themselves toward new heights of running fitness. They look for challenges. They are constantly learning, and they choose not only to develop themselves but also to help others.
Thus, advanced churches help start other churches. They are radical, outward-looking churches. They are fit and healthy enough to raise up and send out people. They are similar to the church in Antioch that raised up Paul and Barnabas and sent them out. “So after more fasting and prayer, the men laid their hands on them [Paul and Barnabas] and sent them on their way” (Acts 13:3 NLT). Advanced churches are sending churches.
Church planters Todd Wilson and Dave Ferguson feel advanced churches “demonstrate the ability to reproduce leaders, services, and sites/campuses.”4 Advanced churches are fit enough, healthy enough, and confident enough to multiply disciples, leaders, and churches.
The role of pastoral leaders in advanced churches is to challenge the church with expanded vision. You must help the church see God’s kingdom is about expansion, and you must not confuse a vision with a dream.
The vision is what the dream looks like when it is achieved. It is definable, measurable, and achievable. A dream is drawing attention to the horizon. A vision is drawing attention to a particular point on the horizon. In advanced churches, you must have a point on the horizon. If you do not, the church will wander and begin to lose its fitness.
PLAN OF ACTION IF YOU LEAD AN ADVANCED CHURCH
Elite Churches
Elite churches have few models to follow. Therefore, they look not for models but for peers—peers that have achieved the same level of effectiveness. Then peer-learning communities are established. In these communities, shared learning is embraced, but the learning is meant not just for the elite churches—it is so they can invest in others. Just as there are few elite runners, there are few elite churches. In the 2016 Olympics, “There [were] 554 Americans competing in Rio, comprising 0.00017 percent of the US population.”5 This fact points to the rarity of elite athletes. Likewise, elite churches make up a very small percentage of all churches, perhaps 1–2 percent of all churches, at most.
The pastoral leadership role in elite churches is that of spiritual executive officer (SEO). There was a time when the position of chief executive officer (CEO) was thought to be the model for leaders in elite churches, but it is not enough to be the CEO in these churches. You have to be the SEO.
You have to stay connected to God so you can keep your church connected to him. You have to be a Christ follower so you can engender others to be followers of Christ. You have to open yourself up to the Spirit of God so you can get in tune with him.
Paul challenges leaders in this way: “Since we are living by the Spirit, let us follow the Spirit’s leading in every part of our lives” (Gal. 5:25 NLT). This is what a SEO does—follows the leading of the Spirit.
When you lead as a SEO, you must be open to hear what God is saying, ready to discern what you are hearing, and brave to act on what you discern.
PLAN OF ACTION IF YOU LEAD AN ELITE CHURCH
The pastor as SEO of the church should do the following:
Pastoral leadership is an essential ingredient in building the body. At each level of church is a primary role of pastoral leadership.