One of the primary jobs of top leaders, however, is to recruit the best possible leaders. They avoid handing leadership to members who will abuse the privilege to aggrandize themselves, work out some personal issue, perform poorly because they don’t have gifts for leadership, or who will disrupt leadership groups by their needy or non-collaborative behavior.
Leaders can lay important ground by not allowing leadership slots to be seen as the only way one gets attention in the congregation. Leadership is a ministry, not a sign of popularity or acceptability. All are respected, all add value to the mission of the church.
They also can teach that ministry is grounded in giftedness, by way of the Spirit, not in personal desire. Thus, God gifts some people for service as leaders, and others for ministries such as teaching, hospitality, and caregiving. Unlike top slots in a typical institutional hierarchy, church leadership isn’t a prize to be coveted, sought, and hoarded.
No matter how clear the teaching, there will always be some people who consider themselves worthy of leadership positions but who, in the reasonable judgment of clergy and top lay leaders, aren’t suitable candidates. In the end, someone needs to say “No.” That “No,” in turn, will have consequences, such as a storm of resentment or even leaving the congregation.
It is inevitably an awkward moment. Two things needs to happen:
First, the No must be firm and clear, not a tentative Maybe that can invite negotiation or pressure.
Second, clergy and lay leaders must support each other when a No has been poorly received. This is a time when top leaders must hang together.
For more on leadership development, you can join the Church Wellness Project at https://www.churchwellness.com
Tom Ehrich is a writer, church consultant and Episcopal priest based in New York. He is the author of “Just Wondering, Jesus,” and the founder of the Church Wellness Project.
