Don’t train leaders?
Last issue’s most controversial article is turning out to be “Why I Don’t Train Leaders in Malinta, Ohio,” by David Coffin. Some people sent letters saying the article “lifted my spirit more than anything I’ve read lately.” Others asked, “Why was this in a journal called Leadership?”
For those who thought we lost our minds or editorial judgment, we thought the article raises an important question: What is the shepherd’s role in an era emphasizing pastor-as-leader?
Unconditional surrender
In a recent letter, Matt Woodley, pastor of Cambridge (Minnesota) United Methodist Church, passed on this quote from seventeeenth-century spiritual writer Francois Fenelon: “When it comes to accomplishing things for God, you will find that high aspirations, enthusiastic feelings, careful planning, and being able to express yourself well are not worth very much. The important thing is absolute surrender to God. You can do anything he wants you to do if you are walking in the light of full surrender.”
Campaigning against church
Rich Hansen, pastor of First Presbyterian Church of Visalia, California, noted this during the fall elections: “Sometimes politicians position themselves as Washington outsiders to run against their own political culture. New churches sometimes do the same thing: they run against the ‘boring, frumpy, out-of-touch, institutional’ church. Two start-up churches in my area have mass-mailed brochures, implying, ‘Why go to a “loser” church when you can come to us?’
“Gaining by painting traditional churches in such a demeaning (and untrue) light is like a snake eating its tail. It’s not win-lose, but lose-lose. The long-term negative consequences of ‘running against’ established churches will catch up with these folks, just as it has caught up with politicians who have convinced the electorate to be cynical about everything in Washington.”
Why I read Leadership
Joe Ramos, pastor of Open Bible Community Church in Lynnwood, Washington, writes: “A line from the movie ‘Shadowlands’ describes why I read Leadership Journal: ‘We read to know we’re not alone.’ “
Pastoral phobias
Most people know about claustrophobia and agoraphobia. But not until Ron Habermas, professor at John Brown University, sent us this list did we know about similar fears among church leaders: Altercallaphobia-the fear nobody will come forward during the invitation. Dyslexophobia-fear that from the pulpit you will mispronounce the name of the church’s premier contributor, Mrs. Mary Hakeover. Megaphobia-the fear that in your large building, only a few people will show up. Hymnophobia-the fear you’ll forget to sing all seven stanzas of a deacon’s favorite hymn.
Small-church dragons
In Turnaround Strategies for the Small Church, Ron Crandall identifies five major hurdles to be cleared by churches and their pastors as they move from a survival mentality to renewed investment in ministry and evangelism. As listed in Net Results:
- low self-esteem and apathy
- lack of vision for the future
- lack of concern and love for “outsiders”
- finances and stewardship of resources
- issues of power and interpersonal conflict
What Happened to Elders?
Don Argue, adviser to Leadership, is concerned: “I am hearing a lot of comments from pastors 50 or older who are being rejected by churches because of their age. Many have wisdom that could be of great blessing to a local church, yet they are not given a chance. I heard of a study conducted by Harvard University indicating that people in their fifties and sixties are the most capable leaders; the church needs to rediscover this fact.”
1997 by Christianity Today/Leadership Journal.
