I've discussed leadership quite a bit over the past few months here in this blog, so I will primarily share Reggie's thoughts and words here. He says, "Church-based leadership... can be described as institutional, maintenance-oriented, positional, pastoral, church-focused, and highly controlling. Kingdom-oriented leadership is more akin to the kind of leadership we see at work in the early days of the Christian movement, in its apostolic era. A different set of descriptors captures the character of this leadership: organic, disruptive, personal, prophetic, kingdom-focused, empowering."
He points out that "in A.D. 30, no one had a church job... There was not a sense that church leaders served church members in a customer service relationship." He reflects that at some point in history, "The biblical idea that followers of Jesus are called to live out his mission in the world became replaced by the substitute agenda of church members expressing their religious devotion through church activities superintended by clergy... Instead of being spiritual leaders in the kingdom of God, partnering with his mission in the world, we have created leaders to run the church."
Therefore, in order to shift to a kingdom-based leadership, "Missional congregational pastors now pastor the community, not just the church. They deliberately develop relationships outside their traditional church role". He continues, "Some missional leaders forgo traditional church roles. Some take jobs to connect missionally with a culture that will never come to church." As examples he shares the stories of chaplains of businesses and sports teams, and people who work as managers of grocery stores, teachers, restaurant owners, and construction workers. Personally, I really like the idea of community chaplains. In fact, just the other day that was how I described myself to my friend Einar. He sees me kind of like his personal rabbi, and he told me that he always thought I would be a pastor. When I described to him what I am doing in my neighborhood and called myself a community chaplain, he liked the description and said that he hoped it would catch on and spread to other communities. I totally agree.
Reggie also uses the description of viral agent to describe a kingdom-based leader. He says, "Viral agents search for opportunities in the routines of people's lives. Day-care centers, schools, community baseball diamonds and parks, local health clubs, professional organizations, workplaces, art and entertainment venues - all are places where chances to be a viral agent abound... Just as viruses look for any way to gain entrance and infect a host, these kingdom leaders look for any way they can to gain entrance to people's lives to 'infect' them with God's love for them."
He also points out the need for empowering others. "This pastor doesn't need to be the star of every show; he doesn't even need to show up at most episodes. He plays the essential part of empowering leaders to pursue their callings and passions. He strengthens others' obedience by creating a culture where they can say yes to the Spirit. And he celebrates the heck out of their successes."
Finally, kingdom-based leadership is personal and relational, where we invite others into our story and onto our journey with God and they in turn invite others. It is where we lead by example and coach others to do the same. Reggie says, "Missional leaders experience what God is doing and then tell others about it." Reggie asks the question, "How did Jesus train leaders for the movement?" He answers, "He invited them to observe what he did, promising them on occasion that they would and could do what they saw him doing. After long hours of ministry, he routinely debriefed they day's events and teachings. He sent his disciples out on assignments before they were ready, knowing they would make mistakes. He would then debrief their experiences to help them learn from those experiences... Movement leaders can and must still be prepared this way."
Blessings,
Shiloh
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