Are leaders benefactors or beneficiaries? Many, too many, operate as benefactors. The intentions are (almost) always good. They have been nominated, trained, elected, ordained – for service – so they hit the ground running, to serve their fellow believers and to lead their congregation in the ways of God. They work, they organize, they plan, they evaluate, they build up, and in the process, they strengthen the faith and ministries of the church. They become benefactors – people who “confer benefit” upon others, as Webster explains the term.
But, is that what was really intended when they were called to be an elder or deacon? What if they were to cast their role not as benefactors but beneficiaries? What if instead they reinterpreted leadership as receiving an inheritance?
Obviously church officers must first receive the “inheritance” before they can share it. Leaders who understand that they cannot effectively lead without receiving, will regularly engage in the spiritual disciplines of prayer, Bible study, service ministries, personal evangelism, self-reflection, confession, repentance, stewardship practices, and ministries of hospitality. They will guard against the temptation to turn these spiritual practices into routine habits or traditions. They will allow these practices to grow out a true desire to be in communion with God. Indeed, these practices will become an integral part of their new life in Christ Jesus.
Spiritual leadership that focuses on receiving more than giving also focuses more on being than on doing. How then can they shift their thinking from one who does the work of a church officer to what does it mean to be a church officer? The receiving leader will find a way to creatively merge the mission work of ministry with the management work of ministry.
Officers in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) are normally exceptional managers and interpreters of the Constitution. Elders and deacons are also called to take seriously their responsibility to interpret what it means to “live a life that demonstrates the Christian Gospel in the church and in the world. … ” (Book of Order G-6.0106 a).
Those who have been called to be in covenant with God as leaders, to build up the body until we all reach the full stature of Jesus Christ, are called also to be interpreters of spiritual growth.
As leaders receive the mandate to go and make disciples, as they embrace the call to discipleship, as they are inspired to worship in new and innovative ways, when they become courageous enough to speak out against the injustices that exist within our communities, when they say yes to change and transformation, when they engage in local and global mission, when they learn to trust God enough to walk by faith and not always by sight, and as they become life-giving agents of God’s grace, they are leading as receivers of the gift.
Those who “receive” leadership rather than “give” leadership see the church as a life-giving organism. When the church is being guided by the Holy Spirit and engaged in the mission set forth by Jesus Christ, it is a life-giving organism.
The effective spiritual leader for today and for the future must be more concerned with the life of the church than with its death. Such leaders enhance the life of the church by basing the decisions they make on the fact that they are called to continue Christ’s agenda instead of on the fear of losing disagreeing members, or spending the church’s savings, or on anything that they think will keep the church afloat. Death is not the worst thing that could occur for some congregations. As we know, dying is the first prerequisite to rising again.
Leaders who have fully received the gift and the Giver must be prepared to lead congregations through times of hardship not only within the congregation but also through predicted calamities in this nation and also in the world. They lead their congregations to redirect their focus from the limited internal view of the sanctuary to what is occurring in the world, to take seriously opportunities to be a way mark for those who are and who will be in search of refuge.
Receiving leaders understand the need to be more concerned about the lives of potential members than with the status associated with some church positions. They realize that the church and the world have changed.
Congregations need a new style of leadership to build solid relationships with young people and with people who are not members of any congregation. The style of church leadership that has successfully guided us through the 20th century will not be able to navigate the shifting waters of this century. Leaders on the receiving end are willing to lead horizontally, not vertically. They will lead as learners, instead of as experts. As we all strive to become unified in the faith and the knowledge of Jesus Christ, we are prepared to embrace new models for leadership.
The role of the directing leader will no longer be enough to inspire and positively reach people for Jesus Christ. More respect will be given to those who lead by example. They must therefore practice the art of receiving what they would like others in the congregations to embrace. Church officers along with pastors and other church leaders must fully accept the spiritual gifts they have been given in order to effectively lead the people of God into a celebratory future.
Let us therefore lead a life worthy of the calling to which we have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing one another in love, making every effort to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace (Eph. 4: 1-3).
Stephany Jackson is associate for congregational leadership in the Theology and Worship office of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) in Louisville, Ky.
