The trouble with cultural observations is that it’s hard to know for sure if what I’m observing is a product of our specific church environment, our local context, or broader societal trends. So, I’d appreciate feedback on whether or not I’m onto something.
My observation is that, in general, people are less likely to pursue leadership opportunities within church life compared to 20 years ago. Two decades ago, it seemed that leadership was something to be desired, even ambitiously pursued. While we observe that people are more than willing to work hard, contribute, and invest in a community, the eagerness to pursue leadership appears to have waned somewhat.
At the same time, pursuing personal ambition or opportunity does not seem to have changed. So, it’s not necessarily a general malaise, but rather a perceived skepticism toward leadership opportunities.
Why Might This Be?
I have a number of theories as to why this might be the case:
Leadership failures have resulted in skepticism toward institutional leadership in general. Some might conclude: Perhaps institutional leadership itself should be avoided.
Public criticism of leaders has made it more obvious that leadership can be costly. Some might conclude: Why would someone sign up for that?
Economic uncertainty (especially in Canada) makes long-term leadership investment feel risky. Some might conclude: Let’s shore up our personal environment first.
Cultural pressure makes leadership feel like a knife-edge; one wrong word or action could be costly. Some might conclude: I’m not prepared or qualified enough.
The Harvest Is Still Plentiful
That being said, the potential for people to have an impact through leadership is as big as ever. Every day, and I’m not exaggerating, I reflect on Jesus’ words: “The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few, so pray to the Lord of the harvest to send more workers.”
This has been virtually my singular focus for more than ten years now.
I’ve written about some of the ways to respond to this: the importance of vision casting and missional clarity, cultivating a church family rather than an institution, and expanding our expectations of leadership to be bi-vocational first, rather than professional first.
A Very Practical Tool
There’s also a very practical tool that is essential for raising leaders to steward the church: a direct and specific ask of individual people to take on a role.
We, and I include myself in this critique, often rely on large-format communication campaigns when we would be better served to identify a person (or a few people) and make a personal ask.
Sometimes we speak of this as “air war” and “ground war,” where air war is the communications campaign and ground war is the one-on-one recruitment. (Forgive me if you’re not a fan of military metaphors.)
Many people who may be well-suited for leadership will often count themselves out for all kinds of reasons, including those mentioned above.
Seeing the Gold
This raises the essential leadership skill of identifying the gold in people. One of the most important things a leader can do is to recognize skills or potential in someone that are not yet cultivated, and then work to bring them to life.
By sitting down with someone, affirming their potential, and speaking hope where they feel hesitation, they become far more likely to take the risk of leadership.
So, who can you sit down with this week and ask to take on a new responsibility as a leader in the Kingdom of God?