Michael J. Quicke - 360-Degree Leadership: Preaching to Transform Congregations

360-degree
leadership

360-degree
leadership

> preaching to transform congregations

michael j. quicke

2006 by Michael J. Quicke

Published by Baker Books
a division of Baker Publishing Group
P.O. Box 6287, Grand Rapids, MI 49516-6287
www.bakerbooks.com

Printed in the United States of America

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.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Quicke, Michael J., 1945
360-degree leadership : preaching to transform congregations / Michael J. Quicke.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references.
ISBN 10: 0-8010-9188-8 (pbk.)
ISBN 978-0-8010-9188-9 (pbk.)
1. Pastoral theology. 2. Christian leadership. 3. Preaching. I. Title. II. Title:
Three hundred sixty-degree leadership.
BV4011.3.Q85 2006
253dc22

2006016385

Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture is taken from the New Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture marked KJV is taken from the King James Version of the Bible.

Scripture marked Message is taken from The Message by Eugene H. Peterson, copyright 1993, 1994, 1995, 2000, 2001, 2002. Used by permission of NavPress Publishing Group. All rights reserved.

Scripture marked NIV is taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION. NIV. Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved.

See figure credits listed at the back of this book as a continuation of the copyright page.

To
my sons Simon and Robert
with love and enormous admiration
for the people they have become

Contents

Introduction

3. Both Need Each Other Today

8. Initiating Process

When we teach seminars on the topic of leading healthy congregational transformation, we often say that the pastor has a unique but not exclusive role in this process. So what does that mean in the day-to-day leadership of a church?

It means that the pastor has the specific biblical role of teaching, equipping, and leading the local body of believers. It means that God calls pastors into these roles and that we should not take this call lightly. It means that the pastor has far more opportunity than anyone else to influence the spiritual health and the strategic direction of the church. After all, who else is actively involved in the key decisions and also able to exhort the entire body each week?

Many books have described the role of pastor as leader, and others have taught the practices of effective preaching. What is lacking, however, are resources that integrate the practical aspects of pastoral leadership with a theological understanding of the office of pastor and teacher. That is where Michael Quicke so ably steps into the gap. Quicke is both a practitioner and instructor, someone who understands the complexities and nuances of leadership through preaching. He rejects the notion that leadership and preaching can be divorced, and he accurately recognizes that this is exactly what many preachers and churches practice. He recognizes the traps of thin-blooded preaching into which many falltraps that may result in smiles on the faces of congregants, despite how such preaching underestimates the transforming power of Scripture at the individual and corporate level. He also understands that leadership alonewithout the guidance of the Holy Spirit and the foundation of Scripturecan quickly turn a church into just another club.

To those who might think this sounds like hard work, we would respond that it most definitely is, but it is also work that is filled with adventure, purpose, and joy. And for those who are concerned that adopting this approach is risky, we simply say that being a minister of the gospelthe good newshas never been intended to be a safe journey. Instead, we are called to be Christs ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us (2 Cor. 5:20 NIV) and a workman who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth (2 Tim. 2:15 NIV). Surely this calls for excellence in preaching and leading.

As you open these pages, we encourage you to also open your mind. Allow Michael Quicke to challenge and instruct you as you consider how leadership through preaching can revolutionize your ministry and your church.

Mike Bonem, Jim Herrington, and James H. Furr
coauthors of Leading Congregational Change

This book has emerged out of a long journey of personal involvement with leading through preaching. So many experiences in my own pastoral ministry and through reading and engaging with others have benefited and shaped me.

I am particularly grateful for the academic settings in which I have had opportunity to think aloud and gain valuable feedback from students and pastors. In particular, I thank the principal and faculty at Acadia Divinity College, Nova Scotia, for the initial outing of these ideas in the 2004 Simpson Lectures. Afterward several pastors commented that I was scratching where they were itching. One said, You have no idea how relevant your teaching has been to our situation. For years we have been steamrollered by leadership techniques, and we desperately needed you to reclaim the role of preaching. Another said, You have touched a raw nerve.

Further lecturing opportunities have sharpened my understanding of the subject, including the 2005 William Conger Lectures at Beeson Divinity School, Birmingham, Alabama, and the 2005 Gladstone Festival Lectures at McMaster Divinity School, Hamilton, Ontario. In the last two years I have also engaged with pastors and doctoral students in other conferences and taught a Doctor of Ministry course on leadership through preaching, all of which have stimulated my thinking. Importantly, several preacher/leaders have granted me interviews and shared their ideas at some length, notably Ed Brown, Lynn Cheyney, Vic Gordon, Jim Nicodem, and Jon Stannardto whom I express heartfelt thanks.

A few friends have taken trouble to read early drafts of this book, especially Noel Vose, and also John Armstrong, Lori Carrell, and Jim Stamoolis. For their insights and help I am extremely thankful, though no blame is attached to them for the convictions I express and the conclusions I draw. I also owe much to Baker Booksthe support of Robert N. Hosack and the splendid editing skills of Paul Brinkerhoff.

Though I refer to several influential books, I chose one to be of particular significance: Leading Congregational Change by Jim Herrington, Mike Bonem, and James H. Furr. This workbook arose from fieldwork with one hundred local churches. In part 2 I use it as a basic text and owe much to its realism and wisdom. I am grateful to these authors for their encouragement to work with this model and for their gracious foreword to this book. I am also grateful to Jossey-Bass, their publisher, who generously gave permission.

It is Christ whom we proclaim, warning everyone and teaching everyone in all wisdom, so that we may present everyone mature in Christ. For this I toil and struggle with all the energy that he powerfully inspires within me.

Colossians 1:2829

Warnings

Various friends have expressed fears about this book project and warned me of the risks that I am taking. One person said: Im worried that some preachers will skim your book and just assume that youre placing them on even higher pedestals as leaders. It will only pump up their large egos. The last thing the church needs is more self-important and manipulative preachers! Agreed. Please note, I have no intention of feeding any preachers pride, least of all my own. This book is not an invitation to puff up self-aggrandizement of dominant preachers. In some places and cultures such preachers may already have unilateral control and receive adoration from the masses. What one of my African American students calls the big dog syndrome where the senior pastor rules with a rod of iron. I shall grieve if, by any misunderstanding, I add just one to their number.