{"id":1038,"date":"2015-01-06T02:14:28","date_gmt":"2015-01-06T02:14:28","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.resourcezoneinternational.com\/?p=1038"},"modified":"2019-06-25T11:10:44","modified_gmt":"2019-06-25T11:10:44","slug":"leadership-styles-for-different-sized-churches","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.resourcezone.com.au\/?p=1038","title":{"rendered":"Leadership styles for different sized Churches"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Leadership<\/a><\/p>\n

Not all pastors are the same. Some give all their attention to the professional side of ministry, while others concentrate solely on addressing organisational needs and a third group try to balance both of these needs. Research shows that where a pastor\u2019s attention is directed dictates the size of the church. What they do is not wrong, it is the focus of their behavior (and often their culture), not their hearts.<\/p>\n

Pastors who \u2018pay the rent\u2019<\/strong><\/h5>\n

While this may not be the most important obligation for most pastors it does take precedence over everything else. We can define this as:<\/p>\n

a. Leading worship
\nb. Preaching
\nc. Teaching
\nd. Pastoral care
\ne. Organisation and administration<\/p>\n

This pastor defines the coming week in terms of tasks and relationships:<\/p>\n

a. Monday \u2013 One of the pioneers of the church has an operation. Stay with the family from 8.00am-1.00pm
\nb. Tuesday \u2013 the funeral of one of the teenagers from the church \u2013 killed in an accident on the weekend \u2013 4 hrs
\nc. Wednesday \u2013 sermon preparation
\nd. Thursday \u2013 marriage counseling and preparation for a small group study
\ne. Saturday \u2013 wedding and reception
\nf.\u00a0 Sunday \u2013 Leading the Service and preaching (often a number of times)<\/p>\n

\u2018Paying the rent\u2019 is not a full time job and these pastors have discretionary time and energy left over after \u2018paying the rent\u2019. This discretionary time is channeled into:<\/p>\n

a. Family responsibilities
\nb. Personal and spiritual growth
\nc. Hobbies
\nd. Community involvement
\ne. Academic degrees
\nf.\u00a0 Denominational responsibilities
\ng. Working the speaking circuit
\nh. Overpaying the rent
\ni.\u00a0 Teaching a few subjects at a Bible College
\nj.\u00a0\u00a0 Leading groups on a tour of the Holy Land<\/p>\n

How a pastor uses discretionary time will usually determine whether their ministry is one of maintenance or mission. These pastors can maintain a small church of 70 to 120 people for long periods but they do see the church slowly decreasing in size.<\/p>\n

Pastors who fail to \u2018pay the rent\u2019 on time or in full<\/strong><\/h5>\n

This scenario may be the result of one of the following:<\/p>\n

a. Lack of competence
\nb. Poor health
\nc. Family or marital responsibilities
\nd. Poor work habits
\ne. Uncertainty about the call to ministry<\/p>\n

The end result of this situation is:<\/p>\n

a. Unhappy church members
\nb. Departure of members
\nc. Few first time visitors return
\nd. Brief time in each church<\/p>\n

Task-driven Pastors<\/strong><\/h5>\n

This pastor \u2018pays the rent\u2019 in full and on time (a priority) and devotes most of their discretionary time and energy to formulating and performing specific highly visible tasks. These pastors define the coming week in terms of time required to \u2018pay the rent\u2019 and then plan on how to get the best return on the discretionary time. This may mean:<\/p>\n

a. Working on buying the house next to the church so the children\u2019s ministry can be expanded
\nb. Working out where to find the money to accomplish this project
\nc. Meeting with one of the elders who has not indicated support for the project
\nd. Planning for another morning service latter in the year which will allow the church to double the size of the congregation<\/p>\n

These pastors can grow a church to about 400 and then maintain it at that size.\u00a0 Some of the reasons why they can\u2019t grow it any bigger:<\/p>\n

a. They concentrate their effort on obvious needs in the church
\nb. They work hard to have everyone in the church on-board
\nc. They do most of the leg work
\nd.\u00a0 If they need things done by others they delegate not empower
\ne.\u00a0 They live under the self-imposed ceiling of their perceived abilities.<\/p>\n

Goal-driven Pastors<\/strong><\/h5>\n

These pastors devote most of their time and energy to forming alliances to reach attainable goals. The goal-driven pastor believes ceilings should be seen as challenges. These leaders have the following in common:<\/p>\n

a. They form alliances with the key people in the church who will help them to challenge the church to break through ceilings and grow
\nb. They help people focus on what is attainable with the right systems in place
\nc.\u00a0 For them it is important to pay rent and they get others to help them do it
\nd.\u00a0 Their style is the right one for the 400-1000 sized church<\/p>\n

Vision-driven Pastors<\/strong><\/h5>\n

These pastors are different to the other styles in that they are not driven by the obvious or what is attainable; they are driven by a vision of a new\u00a0\u00a0 tomorrow. It is unlikely for a church to grow beyond 1,000 unless it has this kind of leader. These leaders have the following in common:<\/p>\n

a. Attainability (what we can do) is replaced by potential (what God can do)
\nb. They challenge people to fulfill the vision set by God for the church
\nc.\u00a0 They are transformational leaders \u2013 to them the church is a transformational movement
\nd.\u00a0 All goals are building blocks to turn vision into reality
\ne.\u00a0 Everything they do is driven by core values
\nf.\u00a0 They have a good grasp of their strengths and limitations and play to their strengths and staff for their limitations
\ng. They take on the responsibility of being an initiator and are comfortable with having people around them who are as competent or more competent than they are
\nh. They want to work with a small group of allies. People who can grasp a vision are more important than numbers
\ni.\u00a0 They attract people who believe in transformation as the core to the church
\nj.\u00a0 For them a new tomorrow requires innovation not adoption
\nk.\u00a0 For them it is important to pay the rent but others do it for them<\/p>\n

\"Leadership<\/a><\/p>\n

Adapted from \u201cThe Very Large Church\u2019 by Lyle E. Schaller<\/p>\n

\"\"
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\nColin Noyes is the Director of ResourceZone International. He has thirty-five years of ministry experience as a pastor, college lecturer and consultant\/coach to consultants, denominational leaders and local church pastors. He can be reached at info@resourcezoneinternational.com<\/a>
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Related Resources<\/strong><\/h5>\n