Mon, Aug 4, 2008
Perspective of Leadership in Ministry
As many of you know, I am working on a dissertation to determine the impact of leadership model to live as and develop Christians Leaders to impact the spiritual health of a church community. In this endeavor I am evaluating first how to measure the spiritual health of a church. If we take the premise that spiritual health can be observed through the focus of Christians (community participants) in their ability to transforming their life to living a Christ Centered Life (defined for this purpose by the Mariners Wheel Model), how then are we as church ministry leaders to execute ministry as a tool for positively impacting the spiritual health of a church community.
As I study more about the Mega-Church, Non-Denominational or Inter-Denominational, Denominational and Emergent/Emerging church segments of the Christian Religion, I believe that at times there is a disconnect between the leaders of a church (or ministry) and their flock. Is it that these leaders are out of touch relationally, do they use tools that only reach a certain segment of the community, are their tools outdated, do they really strive to meet people where they are at, or is it something else entirely? What is a ministry leader anyway (note I have asked this informally of leaders and often get very different responses)?
In my experience and research, I believe that leadership is simply one's ability to influence. So what does this mean? In my mind, ministry and church leaders are given a charge/responsibility to serve a given community of people in which they have influence. A leader does not exist based on a title or position but rather they are living by and in example of what Christ has called them to in their ministry. I believe that the church (let’s use Mariners for this reference), is a platform for which people conceptually want to participate in community while responding to Christ’s tugging at their heart for spiritual growth, to become more focused on Christ. Let’s assume then that all of us that attend a Mariner’s service or ministry event has an opportunity to experience something new that Christ wants to teach us. Do the leaders of the given ministry experience consider or reflect on the outcomes/learning that could come from the given event? Do the leaders consider the tools provided by the Church in their ministry? Do the leaders seek Christ as the center of attention in the given ministry event? Does spiritual growth happen?
Assuming that we may never arrive to realize the full-commitment of our individual race called life, I believe that we all must place Christ at the center of our lives, really in everything that we do so that we can all truely experience “life-change” at the core of our spiritual walk/journey. As this is the case, I really dig the “Mariner’s Wheel” as a conceptual approach to living a Christ Centered life. When I first learned about the “Wheel” I was excited to learn more and jump in to really understanding the four values (Reach, Belong, Grow, Serve) as I believe that Christ is calling me to be a leader and to influence others, I think that the leaders of Mariners (staff and volunteers) should really consider how these values are lived out in the communities of people that they influence. Is life-change happening? Do you feel that we individually have influence in a community of people in which we are reaching through the various ministry events that occur or are we just fulling tasks that just result in the occurance of another event? I am often burderned and troubled when the focus of leaders and staff is more about the the event than how life-change is experienced by those that attend. I am even more burderned when leaders tag a given event with one of the value labels from the "Wheel" and do not really see that the value is lived out through the event. Basically, what makes our events/ministry activities different from those things that the world provides? If there is not a commitment to having Christ be the center focus so that life-change can happen through ministry, should the event/ministry even occur? Could there be a miss and an outside seeker get the wrong idea of what it means to participate in a church community?
There are a few leaders and leadership gurus that I believe contribute a positive perspective on church/ministry leadership. Of course, we should always look at the various biblical examples and learn from Christ, Peter, Paul however there is often a miss from learning the theological approach to ministry and actually learning how to apply in a real-life circumstance.
My current favorite leadership gurus are John Maxwell and Max DuPree. Maxwell has a sense of how leadership is really based on influence that a leader has in a 360 perspective. Does a leader influence those he/she is accountable to, those that lead peer workgroups or ministries and those that are in his/her flock. DuPree has a current perspective of Servant Leadership that has made the Greenleaf theories a current and practical way of being a leader.
As I do not know Mawell or DuPree personally, I look to the folks currently who are living out and influencing life-change in the in executing these values. Though there are several, I have been most inspired in my approach to leadership by a few great examples of ministry leadership from the Mariners community. In living out the 360 degree approach and truly implementing life-change in leadership, I see a staff member from Mariners GO Ministry as an influence to her ministry flock, ministry peers and others in leadership both with and outside of Mariners. In terms of adapting the Servant Leadership model to life-change, I have found a ministry volunteer and leader serving both in the college ministry and HS ministry, to really lead through serving others. This servant leader is often serving Christ in positions that seem to never get the “recognition” of leadership however through his example and commitment to serving the flock, he seems to be extending the love of Christ to those that he comes into contact with.
What are your thoughts?
Do you influence/lead a community of people? Are you intentional at placing Christ at the center of attention? Do you follow either a 360 degree approach or servant leadership approach to leadership? Do you believe that the "Wheel" values represent values of a spirtually healthy person, therefore positively impacting the spiritual health of a church community?
Mike's August and Fall Planning:
So in my reflections, what is it that I will be doing differently? To be honest, I don’t know. I feel that I need to connect more with folks that are in my small group, I want to challenge folks in my sphere of influence to be more intentional in their leadership actions, I want to encourage us all to focus more on having Christ be the center and purpose of our ministry events/services. Of course, I will also fall subject to what God ultimately has planned.
The next phase of my dissertation process is to really understand what life-change looks like for people that attend a church ministry event or service. Can people change based on a single interaction? I believe yes, but do they change based on a single interaction? I would venture to say that it depends. I am not sure what it depends on or if a leader can really participate in this change. Assuming at the basic premise that leadership is influence and God uses us to influence those in our communities arounds us, how then must those in leadership develop their ministry efforts to have the greatest possible influence for producing life change? Of course I have a few ideas but over the next 45 - 60 days I will observing how this is played out in our church community.
Thank you for reading and showing interest. Until next time…
As I study more about the Mega-Church, Non-Denominational or Inter-Denominational, Denominational and Emergent/Emerging church segments of the Christian Religion, I believe that at times there is a disconnect between the leaders of a church (or ministry) and their flock. Is it that these leaders are out of touch relationally, do they use tools that only reach a certain segment of the community, are their tools outdated, do they really strive to meet people where they are at, or is it something else entirely? What is a ministry leader anyway (note I have asked this informally of leaders and often get very different responses)?
In my experience and research, I believe that leadership is simply one's ability to influence. So what does this mean? In my mind, ministry and church leaders are given a charge/responsibility to serve a given community of people in which they have influence. A leader does not exist based on a title or position but rather they are living by and in example of what Christ has called them to in their ministry. I believe that the church (let’s use Mariners for this reference), is a platform for which people conceptually want to participate in community while responding to Christ’s tugging at their heart for spiritual growth, to become more focused on Christ. Let’s assume then that all of us that attend a Mariner’s service or ministry event has an opportunity to experience something new that Christ wants to teach us. Do the leaders of the given ministry experience consider or reflect on the outcomes/learning that could come from the given event? Do the leaders consider the tools provided by the Church in their ministry? Do the leaders seek Christ as the center of attention in the given ministry event? Does spiritual growth happen?
Assuming that we may never arrive to realize the full-commitment of our individual race called life, I believe that we all must place Christ at the center of our lives, really in everything that we do so that we can all truely experience “life-change” at the core of our spiritual walk/journey. As this is the case, I really dig the “Mariner’s Wheel” as a conceptual approach to living a Christ Centered life. When I first learned about the “Wheel” I was excited to learn more and jump in to really understanding the four values (Reach, Belong, Grow, Serve) as I believe that Christ is calling me to be a leader and to influence others, I think that the leaders of Mariners (staff and volunteers) should really consider how these values are lived out in the communities of people that they influence. Is life-change happening? Do you feel that we individually have influence in a community of people in which we are reaching through the various ministry events that occur or are we just fulling tasks that just result in the occurance of another event? I am often burderned and troubled when the focus of leaders and staff is more about the the event than how life-change is experienced by those that attend. I am even more burderned when leaders tag a given event with one of the value labels from the "Wheel" and do not really see that the value is lived out through the event. Basically, what makes our events/ministry activities different from those things that the world provides? If there is not a commitment to having Christ be the center focus so that life-change can happen through ministry, should the event/ministry even occur? Could there be a miss and an outside seeker get the wrong idea of what it means to participate in a church community?
There are a few leaders and leadership gurus that I believe contribute a positive perspective on church/ministry leadership. Of course, we should always look at the various biblical examples and learn from Christ, Peter, Paul however there is often a miss from learning the theological approach to ministry and actually learning how to apply in a real-life circumstance.
My current favorite leadership gurus are John Maxwell and Max DuPree. Maxwell has a sense of how leadership is really based on influence that a leader has in a 360 perspective. Does a leader influence those he/she is accountable to, those that lead peer workgroups or ministries and those that are in his/her flock. DuPree has a current perspective of Servant Leadership that has made the Greenleaf theories a current and practical way of being a leader.
As I do not know Mawell or DuPree personally, I look to the folks currently who are living out and influencing life-change in the in executing these values. Though there are several, I have been most inspired in my approach to leadership by a few great examples of ministry leadership from the Mariners community. In living out the 360 degree approach and truly implementing life-change in leadership, I see a staff member from Mariners GO Ministry as an influence to her ministry flock, ministry peers and others in leadership both with and outside of Mariners. In terms of adapting the Servant Leadership model to life-change, I have found a ministry volunteer and leader serving both in the college ministry and HS ministry, to really lead through serving others. This servant leader is often serving Christ in positions that seem to never get the “recognition” of leadership however through his example and commitment to serving the flock, he seems to be extending the love of Christ to those that he comes into contact with.
What are your thoughts?
Do you influence/lead a community of people? Are you intentional at placing Christ at the center of attention? Do you follow either a 360 degree approach or servant leadership approach to leadership? Do you believe that the "Wheel" values represent values of a spirtually healthy person, therefore positively impacting the spiritual health of a church community?
Mike's August and Fall Planning:
So in my reflections, what is it that I will be doing differently? To be honest, I don’t know. I feel that I need to connect more with folks that are in my small group, I want to challenge folks in my sphere of influence to be more intentional in their leadership actions, I want to encourage us all to focus more on having Christ be the center and purpose of our ministry events/services. Of course, I will also fall subject to what God ultimately has planned.
The next phase of my dissertation process is to really understand what life-change looks like for people that attend a church ministry event or service. Can people change based on a single interaction? I believe yes, but do they change based on a single interaction? I would venture to say that it depends. I am not sure what it depends on or if a leader can really participate in this change. Assuming at the basic premise that leadership is influence and God uses us to influence those in our communities arounds us, how then must those in leadership develop their ministry efforts to have the greatest possible influence for producing life change? Of course I have a few ideas but over the next 45 - 60 days I will observing how this is played out in our church community.
Thank you for reading and showing interest. Until next time…
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