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5 Cautions About Emphasizing Leadership Over Followership
Leadership matters. A lot.
But sometimes I wonder if we’ve elevated the value of church leadership over a much more important biblical trait – followership. Also known as discipleship.
Before any of us are leaders, we’re all supposed to be followers. Followers of Jesus. Together.
At best, any leadership authority we have in the church is reflected and borrowed leadership from Jesus himself.
Paul encouraged the Corinthians to “follow my example as I follow the example of Christ.” The very strong implication of that statement is that if the leader stops following Jesus, we should stop following that leader.
That’s why church leaders need to be very careful to be followers of Jesus first. In fact, our followership should be more on display than our leadership.
Another phrase for this is “servant leadership.” And the order of those words matters. Being a servant always comes first.
When we forget this, bad things can happen. I don’t need to go over the list of Christian leaders that have fallen. But it’s hard to think of any Christian servants that have fallen.
If you’re in church leadership – a high, noble and important calling – here are five cautions we should all be aware of:
The Immeasurable Influence of Encouraging Leadership
As a leader, I’ve always believed that one of my primary roles is it try to say “yes” to people’s ideas. This week, I heard a story that reinforces that principle in a very powerful way. For all of us.
As a boy, Mitchell loved to draw. When he started first grade, he walked up to his teacher and told her “If you’d like any drawings or artwork done for the classroom, I’m your man.”
Upon hearing this bold proclamation, the teacher went to her desk, pulled out a box of multi-colored chalk, removed one piece and drew a square in the corner of the chalkboard at just the right height for little Mitchell.
She then leaned down to him, met him face-to-face and told him. “I would like that. Whenever you’ve finished with all the assigned work, you may draw whatever you would like in that square.”
Mitchell was in heaven. He worked hard at his studies every day, then drew in that square. Getting better every day, he completed hundreds of pieces of chalk art by the end of the school year.
The next year, he went into second grade. Feeling confident, he walked up to his new teacher and told her “If you’d like any drawings or artwork done for the classroom, I’m your man.”
The teacher looked down at Mitchell, placed her hands on her hips and scowled, “Get back to your seat!”
Thankfully, that second grade teacher didn’t stop Mitchell from drawing. The inspiration he had received from his first grade teacher had buoyed his spirits enough to overcome the negativity from his second grade teacher.
Mitchell Tolle went on to become a great American artist.
How to Drop Your Church’s Secret Menu and Make Your Guests Feel Welcome
Every church has a secret menu. Things we say and do that our regulars take for granted, but can be confusing and frustrating to newcomers. Here’s an example of how frustrating a secret menu can be.
I was at a Starbucks this week, when the man in front of me ordered short latte. The employee responded “a tall latte”. Then they went back-and-forth with these exact words.
Short
Tall
Short
Tall
Short
Tall
I leaned in and told the man “tall is the shortest one they have”. He thanked me. The Starbucks employee looked perturbed.
I posted this on Facebook and got quick responses from friends about how funny and frustrating that sounded. Then Jonny Craig, from 200Churches.com commented, “As a former Starbucks employee, I am appalled! Short is, in fact, a size option! (it’s 8 oz).”
It seems Starbucks has a secret menu. So secret that this employee didn’t even know about it. In addition to the short option (as seen in the above photo, supplied by Facebook friend Lou Covey), they also have a super-size called a Trenta.
How to Stop People from Playing On Their Phones In Church
“Pastor, does it bug you when you see people on their cell phones when you’re preaching? Does it make you wonder if they’re on Facebook or playing a game?”
A church member asked me that question last week.
My answer? No. It doesn’t bother me at all. Honestly.
As I told her, people on phones in church could be using their bible app, taking notes or tweeting my last point to their friends (I know that happens, I’ve seen the time-stamp).
Sure, some of them are playing Words With Friends when they get bored. Years ago, people doodled on the back of the bulletins when they got bored. They still do. Different technology, same problem.
Cell phones in church don’t bother me because I’ve discovered an ancient secret that keeps people from getting bored in church.
Do church better!
The answer to people being bored in church isn’t to get upset at them for being bored, it’s to give them a less boring church experience.
Are You a Slave to What’s Popular? Or to What Used to Be Popular?
“People don’t want good teaching anymore, they just want what’s popular!”
That statement was made on a Facebook page for ministers recently. The conversation was about using the King James bible in church. Looking for a fight? That’ll get you one.
The pastor was insisting that the decline in the use of the KJV was a sign that the church has grown weak and shallow.
As soon as I read that line, my gut reaction (which I did not write in the comments) was “But the KJV was the most popular bible on earth for centuries! What does its popularity have to do with its value?”
Things become popular because people like them. Things used to be popular because people used to like them.
Sometimes when we complain about the way church is done today, we’re just longing for things that were popular when we were young. But, instead of admitting that, we try to convince ourselves and others that we’re sticking with the old ways because they’re better. And if the old ways were better, the new ways must be wrong.
So we blame “the church these days” for following the latest trends and putting popularity ahead of truth.
Certainly there are churches that bend their theology to suit the latest fad. But more often than not, churches are just adapting their methods to speak the Gospel in today’s language.
So what’s worse? Being a slave to what’s popular? Or being a slave to what used to be popular?
I say we stop doing both. And do what works.
9 Essential Elements of a Healthy Small Church Experience
When someone goes to a healthy Small Church for the first time, what should they expect?
That’s an easier question to answer for big churches, because they have a lot more in common with each other. Once any group – church or not – is serving 1,000 or more people at a time, certain systems have to be in place. So, while big churches each have their own personality, there is a level of quality control that we all expect to see. Age-appropriate Kid Ministries, high-end musicianship, professional-quality graphics and printed materials, etc. It’s like going to a brand-name restaurant when you’re travelling. There’s a comfort level in knowing what you’re going to get.
But the kinds of experience you’ll have in Small Churches vary widely. It’s more like visiting a new town and deciding to check out the local diner. You don’t know what you’re going to get, but you take the risk because you want local cuisine. And you’re hoping for an experience you can’t get anywhere else.
But, even in a Small Church, as varied as they are, first-time guests have the right to expect certain things that tell them the church is healthy. Like a local restaurant should observe standard requirements for cleanliness, service and food quality, Small Churches should have a baseline of quality that people can rely on.
In one of my most-read posts, 23 Non-Numerical Signs of a Healthy Church, I wrote about some of the ways we can tell if a church is healthy, even if we don’t have the numerical growth that many seem to believe is a requirement.
Here are a few things that I think are a baseline that every guest has a right to expect in any healthy Small Church. These are universal. The standards every church needs to observe if they want to create a great worship experience that people will want to come back for.
A Healthy Church Should Always Look Something Like This
Last Sunday, Skylar and Gene chatted in the hallway between services at our church. I took this picture of them without them knowing it. It was Gene’s 90th birthday. Skylar is in her early teens.
Three-quarters of a century separates their ages. Gene has great-grandchildren older than Skylar.
On Monday through Saturday their lives could not look more different. But on Sunday mornings, that distance gets reduced to no wider than the space between their chairs.
Gene can’t always make it to church any more. And when he does, he can’t sit in in the folding chairs we set up in the main room. So, while Skylar and the rest of us sit, stand, clap and raise our hands in worship in the sanctuary, Gene sits quietly in an armchair in the lobby and listens.
When the service is over, the second part of church begins for Gene. He can’t get up and walk around as people chat, laugh and hang out in the lobby, so he sits quietly in his chair. But he’s seldom sitting alone. People like Skylar stop and chat with Gene, soaking in his quiet friendliness and wisdom.
Why “Preach Like the Room Is Full!” Is Terrible Advice
“Even if only three people show up to church, preach like the room is full!”
That’s some of the worst advice I’ve ever received in ministry. And I’m not the only one who’s received it. Many of you have heard it to. Some of you may have repeated it.
If so, stop.
It’s not a good idea. In fact, it’s a very bad idea.
Let me explain.
If what people mean by “preach like the room is full” is that a smaller crowd should get the same quality of ministry that you’d give to a larger crowd, then I am in full agreement. Everyone should always get our best.
But if that’s what we mean, that’s what we need to say. “Give a small crowd the same quality experience as you would give a large crowd.”
The problem with saying “preach like the room is full” is that there are too many pastors taking that saying literally – and it’s hurting their church, not helping it.
Preaching to 10 people as if there are 300 in the room is not the best way to give those 10 people a quality church experience. It’s just awkward.
Here’s an example.
Overcoming the Danger of Ministry Silos in the Small Church
If you’ve never heard of the term “ministry silo” before now, don’t worry. I first heard it a couple months ago, when some bloggers started using it. It’s one of those terms that’s really new, but people use it like everyone is supposed to automatically know what it means. I had to Google it.
Tim Stevens, in his very helpful new book, Fairness Is Overrated writes that “Silos are the walls that are between departments in an organization.”
Imagine a silo on a farm. It’s that very tall building filled with valuable crops. But it’s separated from the rest of the buildings by very high walls.
On a farm, silos protect the crops from cross-contamination. In a church, says Stevens, “Silos turn colleagues into competitors. …Silos will tear apart a church faster than just about anything. From a silo-built church come jealousy, slander, gossip, bitterness, conflict, and competition.”
In my experience, silos happen in two way in Small Churches – both of which need to be identified and overcome.
