Leith Anderson - Leadership That Works

Leadership That Works

Help and Direction for Church and Parachurch Leaders in Today's Complex World

Leith Anderson

Bethany House Publishers

a division of Baker Publishing Group

Minneapolis, Minnesota

1999 by Leith Anderson

Published by Bethany House Publishers 11400 Hampshire Avenue South Bloomington, Minnesota 55438

www.bethanvhouse.com

Bethany House Publishers is a division of Baker Publishing Group, Grand Rapids, Michigan.

www.bakerpublishinggroup.com

Ebook edition created 2012

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any meansfor example, electronic, photocopy, recordingwithout the prior written permission of the publisher. The only exception is brief quotations in printed reviews.

ISBN: 978-1-58558-434-5

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is on file at the Library of Congress, Washington, DC.

The internet addresses, email addresses, and phone numbers in this book are accurate at the time of publication. They are provided as a resource. Baker Publishing Group does not endorse them or vouch for their content or permanence.

To my seven mentors

Charles W. Anderson...father

Austin Chapman...layleader

Robert P. Dugan Jr.... junior high youth pastor

Jack Estep...senior pastor

Vernon Grounds...seminary president

Charles Horne...theology professor

Lyle Schaller...consultant

Cover Title Page

Copyright

Endorsement

Dedication

1. Whats Happening Thats So Different?

2. Why Is Leadership So Hard?

3. Leadership Myths

4. ComplexityNothing Seems Simple Anymore

5. BusynessTheres Never Enough Time

6. OptionsLiving in a Catalog Culture

7. CompetitionLike Running a Marathon

8. ExpectationsThe Rules Are Changing

9. RelationshipsIts Who You Know

10. StressThe Weight That Holds Us Down

11. HopeWe Need It to Go On

12. ActionsWhat the Leader Can Do

13. VisionSee the Goal and Show the Way

Notes

About the Author

Back Cover

Tom is a third-generation parish minister who has served five congregations in four states over thirty-five years. When he graduated from seminary at age twenty-five he was called cutting edge, maverick, and brave young pastor. He won the seminarys preaching award because of his classical oratorical skills, and he built his ministry by perfecting those skills in fifty Sunday morning sermons every year and by making more than one thousand pastoral calls and appointments yearly.

But then the unimaginable happened. Three members of his church board took Tom out for lunch and asked for his resignation. Tom listened in shock as they laid out the details. He would have six months to seek a call from another church. During that time no one else from the church would know that he had been asked to leave. If after that period of time he hadnt been called to another church, he would be given six months severance salary plus coverage of his familys health insurance for up to eighteen additional months or until he started another job with benefits.

Not until after lunch did Tom realize that the whole conversation centered on the how of his leaving rather than the why. The men never clearly told him why they wanted his resignation.

At the regular monthly meeting of the entire board a week later, Tom asked why he was being asked to leave. In a tense and uncomfortable exchange, the board gave several vague answers: This is a new day in church life and we need new leadership, the chairman said. Younger adults prefer a more conversational style of preaching, another man added. We want a pastor who focuses more on vision than visitation, someone else said. Were losing our young people to other churches. The new independent church down the road is attracting our members. Many people in the church would prefer more informal but more intense worship.

Tom didnt fully understand some of the comments, especially the one about informal but intense worship, so he drew his own conclusion. Even though no one said, Youre too old and we want a younger pastor, that was Toms interpretation.During the next three weeks Tom preached his best. He also increased his number of home and hospital calls by 20 percent, in the hope that he might hear something from other church members that would help him

understand what was happening and maybe even build up loyalty in the case of a church-wide showdown.

He also called his new district superintendent. The superintendent agreed to intervene and invoke denominational policy if Tom insisted, but he thought it would be better for Tom to leave quietly and gracefully. After all, he said, if you win you lose. What are your chances of effectively ministering in a church where the entire board wants you out? Why dont you let me recommend you to some other churches?

So Tom agreed to begin the interview process.

In the past, search committees had always been delighted to have Tom as a candidate. Hed had his pick of the best churches. But this time was different. Now he was being recommended to churches no one else wanted and ones that didnt really want him. Again, no one said, Youre too old, but several came close when they said they were looking for a pastor who will celebrate a twenty-fifth anniversary here. Tom found such comments interesting since none of those churches had kept a pastor more than seven years in the past century.

Tom had not expected to conclude his ministerial career in this way. He assumed that the combination of his preaching skills and faithful leadership would only lead to better and better churches. Hed been sure that one day he would have to choose between a denominational leadership role, teaching at the denominational seminary, or preaching until he died. Instead it was beginning to look as if he would have to seek secular employment until his denominations pension kicked in. How could someone considered to be on the cutting edge such a short time ago all of a sudden be too dull to cut it in the ministry? Tom wondered.

As a child Mary not only dreamed of being a preacher someday but she practiced it. At age six she began gathering together the neighborhood children for pretend church services. She would set up the chairs in rows, play religious songs on her moms tape player, read from the Bible, preach about Noah and the Ark, and serve Communion with Kool-Aid and animal crackers.

Even though Mary had never met a woman minister, her dream did not flicker or fade. And even though college friends convinced her she would be better off in social work or teaching, her desire didnt change.

She majored in elementary education at one of her denominations liberal arts colleges, participated actively in student ministries and the life of the campus church, met and married Charles, and taught third grade for two years before becoming a stay-at-home mom for the next eleven years. By then her husbands career was well established and the children were in school all day, so Mary decided to go to seminary.

Three years later Mary completed a master of divinity degree with a 4.0 grade point average. She won the Golden Pulpit award as the best preacher in her graduating class. At last her dreams were coming true. Or so she thought. Her denomination requires every pastoral search committee to be made up of equal numbers of men and women and to consider fully and fairly female candidates. Mary had four interviews, but each church chose a man. Gender was never an issue, they said. The men were more qualified. Had more experience. Were better suited to the pastoral profile. Mary received several job offers, but they were from large affluent churches seeking childrens pastors, not from churches wanting to hire a preaching pastor.