Passionate Leadership

It seems a little strange to me that so few people who are given leadership roles in their organizations actually have any leadership training. This is especially (although not exclusively) true in faith-based organizations where pastors and other rostered leaders receive training in theology, Scripture, and a bunch of "how to's" like preaching and leading worship. But most church leaders don't learn "how to" lead during their seminary experience; neither do they learn the various theories of leadership, unless they are intentional about seeking out this kind of training on their own. No wonder leadership issues are at the heart of most church disasters.  

In fact, according to a recent study conducted by the Southern Baptist Church-Minister Relations Association:

Control issues were the top reason for staff dismissals, the same reason that has topped the surveys since they were initiated in 1996. The second through fifth most common reasons were the church's resistance to change; poor people skills of the pastor; a pastor's leadership style being too strong; and the church being in conflict when the pastor arrived. Reasons 6 through 10 were the same as the previous year: Decline in attendance; a pastor's leadership style being too weak; a pastor's administrative incompetence; sexual misconduct; and conflict with other staff.        

Click here to read the whole article.  

So, 8 or 9 of the top 10 reasons behind staff dismissals (including those involving pastors) have to do with leadership issues. Sounds like our seminaries need to be rethinking their curriculum. In the meantime, learning more about the theory and the "how-to's" of leadership is up to you.The good news is that most people called to lead churches should be able to grasp the concept that at the core of true leadership is service...and sacrifice. It's helpful to know how to ask purposeful questions, use participative processes, work playfully, and take place seriously. But leadership is, finally, about passion. And passion is about suffering. In other words, true leaders are willing to put themselves on the line for the sake of others. 

Check out this interesting blog post about a new book for more on this topic.  

Comments

[djbingham]

A couple of questions come to mind.
a. What has caused such a drought of leadership abilities in say the last 10-20 years that has brought on this.
b. Is their also a problem in that we don't teach how to follow a leader?