Super Bowl Seat
A man had 50 yard line tickets for the Super Bowl. As he sits down, a man comes down and asked the man if anyone is sitting in the seat next to him.
"No", he said, "the seat is empty".
"This is incredible", said the man. "Who in their right mind would have a seat like this for the Super Bowl , the biggest sport event in the world, and not use it ?"
Somberly, the man says, "Well... the seat actually belongs to me. I was supposed to come here with my wife, but she passed away. This is the first Super Bowl we have not been together since we got married in 1967."
"Oh I’m sorry to hear that. That’s terrible. But couldn’t you find someone else - a friend or relative or even a neighbor to take the seat?"
The man shakes his head, "No. They’re all at the funeral."
Did you hear that passage that we read about Moses? I love it because it is so real. I have felt exactly like that. Here is Moses leading all of the Hebrew people. Great job, right? Hardly. Everybody has something to complain about. Moses turns to God and says, “If this is what I’m in for, just kill me now. Put me out of my misery.” God responds and says, “You need to learn to delegate. Get some help.”
That is exactly how it feels sometimes to be a leader of a church. I can say this because this isn’t my livelihood. I’m trying to get out of this job.
Ministers walk a strange tightrope. To us, it often seems that a congregation is a huge bureaucracy. Everything needs to go through three committees that only meet once a quarter. Even then, everything has to be done by consensus. It takes months to make decisions like changing where the church buys copy paper.
Sometimes ministers go to the opposite extreme. They don’t clear anything with anybody. They operate as if they were the entrepreneurs running a business financed by their own money. They do first and ask permission later. For example, I heard about a minister who didn’t like organ music, so he took it upon himself to sell the church’s organ during his first week after being called to a new church. The church organist showed up on Sunday morning and was greeted with a synthesizer keyboard.
What is the right balance? How much of the direction of the church should be set by the elders and church board and how much should be set by the minister?
Every congregation and every minister has their own unique personality. There is no one right balance between the two. Different traditions work this out in different ways. Still, there are some general principals that can guide us.
Let us look at our own history. In the early days of our denomination, and of Park Christian itself, there was no one in a formal pastoral role. Instead, we had the two E’s – elders and evangelists.
The evangelists were professional members of the clergy, but they acted more like missionaries than pastoral ministers. The evangelists traveled from place to place. In new locations, they would start new congregations. At other times the would drop back by from time to time to conduct a revival and to check on things, but they never stayed long. The evangelists could be arrogant and authoritarian, but every one knew they were temporary. They would leave and the congregation would decide what to adopt and what to ignore.
The elders came from the opposite extreme. They were people in the community who made their livings in other ways. They rarely had any formal religious training, and were often uneducated overall. Their strength was their genuine commitment to the congregation.
As a side note, I think that bi-vocational ministers are often a throwback to this old model. I think it is the model that Linda and I most closely follow.
The weakness of the preaching elders was that they were often woefully unprepared for the tasks that they faced. Religious positions that were “creative” to the point of being totally divorced from church tradition were proclaimed from rural pulpits across the land.
Park was fairly typical of most congregations in this era in that there were two preaching elders who took turns leading the congregation on Sunday mornings. Everything we know says that Park was blessed with individuals who did a good job of opening the scriptures and meeting the needs of the families within the congregation.
In the late 19th and early 20th century it became increasingly apparent that congregations over a certain size, around a hundred people or so, benefited from having fulltime educated leadership. The key element in our own transition from a reformation movement into a new denomination had to do with our commitment to providing education and credentialing for the clergy. If you are going to support a system of colleges and seminaries and if you are going to set standards for who is ordained, you are, in fact, a denomination. There is no way around it.
The problem is that this new breed of congregational minister was neither evangelist nor preaching elder, but they had the responsibilities of both. They are supposed to provide the vision and offer the challenges as the evangelists would do. They are supposed to develop the cohesion of the congregation as an elder would. It is almost an impossible task.
So what is the solution?
The most successful ministers are strong leaders. They have an entrepreneurial attitude. They push, they stretch, and they proclaim a vision.
Unfortunately, these same qualities often ruffle the feathers of the congregations. They are like a spirited horse that needs to be harnessed, but never truly broken.
Congregations have a choice to make. They can bring in ministers who are compassionate pastors, but who provide few challenges and no vision. Such ministers are tame and safe. No one will be upset. Yet, they will never lead a growing church. Everyone will be comfortable and happy as the congregation withers and dies.
The other choice is to choose someone from the wild side. For this to work, the church needs to step up and provide strong congregational leaders who will maintain balance and order. The more visionary the minister is, the more congregational leaders must assert themselves in providing structure and stability.
The common wisdom is that large churches are built around specific superstar ministers. While there is a grain of truth in that, I think that if you peal back the covers of any successful large congregation, you will find a whole collection of leaders who make the superstar ministry possible. You will find elders and professionals who run the business needs of the church. You will find leaders who are visiting the sick and caring for the infirm. You will see people focused on maintaining the consistency and integrity of the congregation’s ministries. The more visionary the leader, the more structure is needed to keep the congregation grounded. The more visionary the senior minister, the greater the responsibility of the congregation’s leaders to see that the church’s ministries and missions continue and grow.
So what are the qualities of a great congregation leader? The vast majority of these apply equally to the senior minister and the congregation’s lay ministers.
The number one consideration is personal character. Both the senior minister and congregation’s lay leaders must be people of outstanding character.
It is not fashionable these days to talk about personal purity. The single greatest risk has to do with a leader who forgets their wedding vows or who fails to act responsibly with their families. Nothing does more damage, or seems to happen with more frequency, than basic moral failures.
My parents recently left their church. The minister had used the church’s equipment to download and print “Playboy” style photos. These photos were not what people would generally classify as pornographic in a legal sense, but they certainly set a poor example and reflected a lack of judgment. The minister lost his job and the congregation split into pieces.
Similarly, affairs happen far too often. I have seen youth ministers, always adults, who have had inappropriate relationships with teenagers. Even when these ministers are unmarried, the consequences are devastating to the church.
The congregation has a right, actually an obligation, to set high expectations for their leaders, both ministers and elders. No sexual improprieties are acceptable under any circumstances. No use of illegal substances is acceptable. While the moderate social use of alcohol is generally considered acceptable, alcoholic dependency and excess is unacceptable. Fair or not, a higher standard exists for leaders. Both elders and ministers must live up to these standards.
Another aspect of personal character is integrity. If you do not personally believe in the positions of the church, it is not appropriate for you to serve as a leader. Our teachings must be in tune with your convictions. Anything less creates a situation where the church can be labeled as insincere and hypocritical.
Another key characteristic is humility. It is not, and never will be, about any particular individual. The entire purpose must be to serve the mission of Christ. Whenever our personal agenda supercedes that mission, we have ceased to serve the cause of Christ. There is no compromise on this point.
In addition to personal character is our commitment to the message itself.
I have mentioned before a book called Exodus which is a journalist’s look at the decline of some denominations and the growth of others. He talks about a mainline protestant seminary where one student approaches another and says “We have figured out your problem. You’re the only one here who believes in God.”
We really do have a message. That message is the message of Scripture. Anyone who can not, in good conscience, proclaim the basic message of the faith and who cannot surrender themselves to the authority of Scripture has no business leading Christ’s church.
Leaders need to be willing to confront problems. There is a tendency in modern society to be tolerant to a fault. The simple truth is that churches must stand for something. Churches must be willing to take stands on moral issues and to hold themselves to high standards. The reluctance to stand for anything creates a congregation that is viewed by all as wishy-washy and irrelevant. It is far better to risk offense than to be seen as meaningless.
At the same time, leaders must be flexible. There are items that can not be compromised under any circumstances. Still, in a wide variety of situations, people are simply putting forward their best ideas in a number of circumstances. Good leaders choose their battles. They listen and willing adopt good ideas on the many matters that are outside of core beliefs. Leaders must never be dictatorial or authoritarian on general matters of church administration.
Obviously, the most prominent leader in the congregation is the senior minister. However, the leadership that is most crucial to the congregation’s success is that of the elders. You will not be hiring someone to discharge your leadership responsibilities for you. You are called to lead.
You need to develop your capacity as leaders in this congregation. We will be scheduling a leadership retreat, similar to one we held last year. If you are invited, come. We will be encouraging participation in a Leadership Summit in August. This will be a key opportunity for you to develop your leadership skills. Read books. Listen to lectures and seminars. If you have an interest in these resources and can’t find them, talk to Linda or me. We have plenty of resources that we are more than willing to share.
Let me close by reading once more our New Testament reading for this topic.
Philippians 2:1-5 (New International Version)
1 If you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any fellowship with the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, 2 then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose. 3 Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. 4 Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.
5 Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus:
