Leadership Reset: our evangelical blindspot

Our Evangelical Blind-Spot

Over the last few years, the lid has been lifted on leadership in the Evangelical Church- and it seems we have a blind-spot. Mark Driscoll inadvertently put his finger on the problem back in 2012 when he decried UK evangelicals for not having any crowd-pulling platform speakers like himself: “Why, when there are big events for evangelicals, a speaker often has to be brought in from another country to preach?” Not a few found themselves agreeing with the question, but not for the reason Mr Driscoll asked it. Some were rightly wondering what the preoccupation with big name preachers was in the first place.

We have an obsession in the evangelical world with worldly success. We measure leaders by earthly metrics such as church attendance, books published, looks and charisma. The Rise and Fall of Mars Hill podcast charted these things in the ministry of Mr Driscoll, followed by horrifying ministry collapse- all in heart-breaking detail. At least part of the problem was precisely this fixation we have with physical and very human measurements as a guide to how we approximate a Christ-like ministry. Driscoll memorised his numbers, was proud of his success and yet crippled by fear of losing it. His elders put up with ungodliness in part for the same fears and as a result literally thousands of Christians’ lives were horribly ruined. It is no wonder, with this as his success criterion, that Driscoll could not submit to John Piper’s oversight- “I can’t respect a man whose church is smaller than mine.” The 31:8 report into the Jonathan Fletcher scandal also brushed across similar fascinations in the UK scene- who speaks at which conference and so on. Evangelicals look to the big churches for our ideal of ministry, the growing churches for a glimpse of the recipe for the secret sauce, and gaze upon all such leaders as if they were inherently more beloved of the Lord than the pastor of its smaller or not growing neighbour.

It is time we stopped choosing our inspirational leaders and our models for ministry based on this dataset. The large church may well bring the Lord great pleasure, or it may be an Ephesian disappointment. Its size is irrelevant. The book-writing bronzed Adonis may be second to the apostles, or he may be a brilliant theologian in public and a pretty poor Christian in private. These metrics are not what marks a ministry as successful or a pastor as faithful. Not even a growing church is a demonstration of the Lord’s unequivocal approval: God is sovereign, lifting up Nebachudnezzar and humbling Job for his own much bigger purposes. We must recall that what originally brought many of us into pastoral work was the love of God’s people and the desire for God’s pleasure and Christ’s glory- and it is this which needs to sustain us going forwards. It is hard to measure and does not easily invite comparison with your cohort, which is quite possibly why we move to more worldly ways of assessing our performance.

Protecting against the Slippery Slope

A year ago, to help me with a seminar I was working on, I conducted an ad-hoc survey of churches that had been hurt by leadership failure. I was expecting the usual ABC suspects: Adultery, Booze and Cash. I had been taught in class that these would be the likely death of 10% of our own ministries. To my surprise, the ABC had changed- a lot. Booze and Cash had slid so far down the leader board that no-one but myself could quote an example. Number 1 and 2 spots were taken with Adultery and Bullying. Such a management style can arise when a pastor is driven by those earthly measurements of success, and not with an eye on the pleasure and favourable report from our Judge on the last day.

Marcus Honeysett in Powerful Leaders? notes the slippery slope that captures many an unwary pastor whom the devil puffs up, moving them from transparent and legitimate authority used for the benefit of others, through the spectrum, into opaque, illegitimate and bullying power for selfish ends. He also outlines some of the structural and organisational changes that can be implemented to mitigate against such abuses. His book is very well recommended. I’d like to also suggest a few less structural options for the pastor who wants to orient their heart more towards their congregation and their God.

• Teach your congregation that a holy man is what they need most, not a manager and not a strategist. A famous statesman once reflected “Whenever I meet a religious leader from the rest of the world, I meet a holy man. Whenever I meet a Christian leader from the west, I meet a manager.” Be their shepherd, their guide, their servant, their most faithful prayer-partner.
• The Church of England has built-in provision for plural eldership: it is official policy that church wardens should care for and support the vicar and function as a critical friend. Use it! Teach on plural eldership and shared responsibility, flatten management structures, make your teaching pastors and wardens co-equal with yourself. Have a lay person chair PCC.
• Not every church loves their vicar with deep affection, but if yours does, then give your wardens access to your support network or prayer triplet. Be transparent and human. No system can be set up which will prevent a liar from shipwrecking their faith, but if you can open yourself up to the Lord’s loving discipline, you will keep your soul, be a better pastor, and show and teach your flock how to grow in humble holiness.
• Learn the secret of contentment, the power of a long pastorate, the joy of a smaller church where members know each other and practise Christian one-another-ing, and the deeper pleasure of serving the LORD in quiet ways.

The 2023 Fellowship of Word and Spirit Conference, LEADERSHIP RESET, will address more of these issues facing the church and its leadership today. Get more details and book now to join us as we consider what it means to 'lord it over others as the Gentiles do', as we ask 'who can tell you to do something you don't want to do?', and as we think about what the Bible teaches and what wisdom we might learn from the world about how to lead well.