I've been reading George Barna's The Power of Team Leadership. I'm only 20 pages in, so I can't say whether it is good or not. It has had some interesting points concerning a group of people leading the church rather than the sole individual.
Here is a great excerpt:
"One of the most common complaints I hear from pastors is that they want laypeople to be involved as leaders in ministry, but they simply cannot find enough qualified and competent people to fill the various leadership posts within their ministry. Frankly, if they are seeking a score of dynamic, charismatic, articulate, multitalented, universally loved individuals who will provide outstanding direction and support to church people, always know what to say, can solve everyone's problems, create efficient procedures, and conssitently develop creative strategies and plans, then they are right: We do not have enough of those poeple to get the job done.
God, however, never sets us up for failure; He always provides His people with whatever resources they need - and when they need them - to accomplish His will. The fact that churches do not have a plentiful source of high-powered, intelligent, aggressive, supercompetent, highly regarded, productive leaders is not because God has forgotten what we need to faithfully and effectiviely serve Him. God never intended for any church to have an abundance of usch people, because He never intended for us to desert one of the most significant leadership models that He provided for us - that is, the model of team leadership."
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I've been thinking a ton about church leadership and structure lately.
Here is one of my thoughts. And I'm sure it isn't original. However, it has been in my head long enough that the original source of the idea is long gone.
Church leadership needs to create an atmosphere of approachability and transparency. It is much more difficult for a church to be healthy if the relationships between the leaders are strained. The church is not a factory that is in the business of production and getting tasks done. We're in the business of relationships. We are called to love God and to love one another. If we hurt relationships by getting a job done, then we haven't really done the job of the church but have only fulfilled our own selfish sense of achievment.
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Ken Jennings is off Jeopardy now. He couldn't handle missing two Daily Double questions during the Double Jeopardy round. If he would've hit one of those, it would've made the Final Jeopardy question irrelevant again, something he has down 64 out of his 75 wins. However, it came down to the Final Jeopardy question. He answered incorrectly and the $2,500,000 man is no longer on the show. Thanks for entertaining me, Ken. You seem like a good guy. It is going to be a little more boring in the evening without you. But don't get a big head. The main reason I like you so much is because my little three year old loves you. How do I break it to him that you aren't going to be on the show tomorrow? He saw you lose, but I don't think he understands you are going away.
Last night, they asked Ken if he has quit his job yet. He answered that he hasn't and that he doubts he will. He likes his job and the people he works with. He figures he will probably just work fewer hours. Incredible.
Watch out for the potholes.
