developing spiritual pioneers

Imagine what the church could look like if we stopped outsourcing the development of leaders to institutions, stopped circulating leaders like sports stars and instead began creating environments where individuals were faced with the challenging of developing their character, talent and passions.

We could achieve it in our generation by selling or leasing the properties we now hold as academic institutions and using the funds to create a grass roots model of leadership development, built around local churches. Use the funds to start something new that partners developing leaders with experienced ones and pays for them to go through the training. Specialists could be retained from the old system to continue to teach specialized topics in regional intensives. But the focus would be to build a new criteria for spiritual leadership, one that emphasizes the priority of character over talent.

Students or disciples could forge unique and life long relationships in the community they serve, and their community would see them as flawed but fruitful leaders, not super-heros who can never be allowed to make mistakes. It strikes me as so tragic that early reports about the scandal surrounding Mike Guglielmucci suggest he may have faked having cancer partly because he was so intimidated by the leadership challenge in front of him. This latest scandal involving church leaders is too complex to sum up in this blog, but surely we have to look deeper than simply saying “this is the effects of sin” in assessing what keeps going wrong in the life of spiritual leaders around the world.

In a new, experimental leadership model, transparency and authenticity would increase as leaders had access to not only solid relationships but also invigorating training, focused not around an academic model but instead on leveraging their unqiue abilities in building the Kingdom of God. Enabling pastors and catalysts and evangelists to develop in a local community means that their history can be processed, their sin grieved and dealt with, all in the context of authentic, graceful community. They can no longer be hired on talent and fired on character.

Innovativion could be fostered in all developing leaders by encouraging them to tackle issues of justice and develop effective missional strategies; rather than leaving mission to a 2-week trip, mission could be a central focus of their development in a local context. Moreover, finances could be reserved as funding prizes for the most creative and effective strategies. The most effective missions get the most funding, rather than channelling funds to ineffective projects. Leaders could learn first hand to look after orphans and widows in their neighbourhood, engaging the culture around them and gaining influence & credibility through their service, not just their study.

To make it work, funds would need to be generated externally, and I believe the best way to free up cash is to get those doing the training, the discipling leaders, to work bi-vocationally. It would create chaos, but chaos is probably a good thing in a lot of environments. We settle for far less when we are comfortable. The bi-vocational approach to church leadership creates several advantages; leaders no longer have to fear those who ‘pay their salary’ when making tough decisions or face hypocrisy when raising funds for projects. Leaders cannot do everything and be everything; their bi-vocational status makes space for volunteers and emerging leaders to step up and take responsibility. It encourages a biblical, 5-fold ministry to develop and mobilize the church, not create passive community. Leaders are then able to be visional, tapping into and releasing the visions God has for people around them, not creating their own vision for everyone else to follow. Leaders would also have more opportunity to build credibility in the community, more chances to develop meaningful friendships outside of their formal ministry role and can decentralize care in the church community so that people are not dependant on them for sole support.

There are some who have already gone down this path…