By Pat Springle

Models of Leadership Development: Lead Pastor-Driven vs. Lead Pastor-Blessed

Leadership Network • Models of Leadership Development: Lead Pastor-Driven vs. Lead Pastor-Blessed

How involved does the lead or senior pastor have to be for a church to provide a strong and effective approach to leadership development? Brent Dolfo, the director of the Leadership Community, observes two distinct models: “Leadership development has consistently been noted as a hot button in surveys of church leaders,” he says. Some take an approach that’s driven by their lead pastor. For other churches, the lead pastor blesses the approach, but hands the implementation to another member of the senior team. “Whether the model is ‘lead pastor-driven’ or ‘lead pastor-blessed,’ we’re seeing churches develop strategies that integrate both organic, life-on-life elements and structured, programmatic components,” Brent says.

Lead-Pastor Driven ModelsValley Family Church: Jeff and Beth Jones

Since its founding 21 years ago, Valley Family Church in Kalamazoo, Michigan (valleyfamilychurch.org), has grown to a weekly attendance of 3,000. In the past few years it grew so rapidly that there weren’t enough existing leaders to effectively care for all the people. At a pivotal point, lead pastors Jeff and Beth Jones realized they had to change their strategy to find and develop more leaders. They had tried using small groups to identify and equip rising leaders, but the results were disappointing. They also had used a classroom setting to teach leadership

principles—a “we teach and you go” model—but this too had proven to be insufficient. They were determined to find a solution, and they discovered a hybrid strategy that blended the best of these components.

The entry point of discipleship training is an eight-week class called Getting a Grip on the Basics. In addition to the classroom teaching and discussion, they offer a mentoring relationship to anyone who wants individualized attention. Out of 200 people attending a class, 25 asked for a mentor to help them learn how to pray, how to study the Scriptures, how to be a more loving spouse or parent, and how to apply the other principles taught in the class.

The second and far more extensive part of the leadership development strategy at Valley Family Church is their three-year Epic School of Ministry. Typically, those who have come out of the basic class get involved serving in a department of the church.

After some time of seeing how God is using them, they can sign up for the school of ministry. Though the school lasts for three years, people can choose how many years of training they want to attend. The curriculum for the first year is intensive study of Bible doctrine and Old and New Testament surveys. The second year digs deep into leadership qualities, people skills, and understanding cultures, and the third year is like a medical school rotation in which people get hands-on experience in every aspect of the church’s life, including each department (children, youth, etc.), audio/visual, funerals, hospital visitation, and every other element of the church’s programs and mission. The people who are in the third year or have graduated from the Epic School of Ministry can be mentors for people in Getting a Grip on the Basics. The retention rate for the school of ministry speaks about the quality. Five years ago a new class began with 118

Models of Leadership Development: Lead Pastor-Driven vs. Lead Pastor-Blessed

By Pat Springle

Whether pastor-driven or pastor-blessed, both approaches to leadership development are effective.

Leadership Network • Models of Leadership Development: Lead Pastor-Driven vs. Lead Pastor-Blessed

people and graduated 90 students, and virtually all of these are serving in leadership roles. Jeff and Beth have a number of outstanding teachers and leaders in the church. Beth observes, “People here are hungry for God’s word. If we’re dishing up the right kind of spiritual food, they’ll devour it.” They observe that their church has a large contingent of people who are only spectators, but when they taste the joy of knowing and serving Christ, many of them are willing to change their priorities and schedules to get the teaching, training, and mentoring they need to be effective.

One of the hybrid features of Jeff and Beth’s model is to create a different type of small group in the context of the school of ministry. A mentor may meet regularly with three or four people, but not just for fellowship. They come together with a clear vision to impart knowledge and specific skills, as well as facilitate spiritual growth so that the group members become excellent leaders. The combination of outstanding classroom teaching and effective mentoring is proving to be a model that works well for their church.

Jeff observes the history of the church: “For years, we focused on helping people love God, share their faith, and be good parents. In the last few years, though, we’ve become much more intentional about creating environments and structures to build multiplying leaders.” Far from being a burden, he says, “This strategy has put wind in our sails,” and it given clear direction to Jeff and Beth as they lead their staff.

University United Methodist Church: Charles Anderson

Charles Anderson, lead pastor of University United Methodist Church in San Antonio, Texas (www.uchurch.tv), reflects, “Our pathway to leadership development had become bottlenecked in too many places. To be more effective in building people, we needed to trim down the buffet of program options and instead focus more energy on discipleship, which is the heart of developing leaders.” Charles realized his church had to make significant changes in the philosophy and methodology of leadership development. When he examined the existing model of discipleship and leadership development at his 100-plus-year-old, tradition-rich church, he noted that their goal for discipleship was clear: to build into people so they look to Jesus and look like Jesus. But decades of bureaucracy had hijacked effective development of leaders. They needed “a corps of missional entrepreneurs,” he decided. Yet for generations at that church the pathway of leadership pointed mostly to becoming an officer with a title and a role on the governing board.

A transforming insight came to Charles during a yearly nominating process for officers. At that point, he recognized a stark difference between “officership” and leadership. Being an officer may be a valid form of service, but the authority of that role was granted by

others; it didn’t grow out of the vitality of the person’s relationship with Christ earned by demonstrated character and competence. At that moment, Charles changed course and developed a comprehensive strategy to develop disciples who would eventually become missional entrepreneurs.

Charles notes that the genesis of the Methodist denomination was in the leadership development strategy of John Wesley, but in recent years, many churches had adopted a corporate business model. “There’s a difference in processes and outcomes between programs and people,” he reflects. “Programs need officers, but people need leaders. We needed to create a model of leadership that rises out of the biblical narrative about how people become effective disciples of Jesus.” Gradually, the church concept of leadership shifted from holding an office to developing men and women of passion, vision, and skills. As a mark of the new strategy, Charles changed his title to Chief Leadership Development Officer. For University United Methodist Church, the transformation to a new leadership culture is part evolution and part erosion. As he and other leaders teach and model new concepts, people are catching on.

In established, denominational churches, innovative pastors have to be patient with the process of change to a new strategy of leadership development. Charles didn’t do away with officers in the church. “Some of the spiritual gifts function well in administrative offices in our church,” he explains. “As we help people understand how God has wired them, some of them find their most effective and fulfilling roles in the traditional offices. Our emphasis, though, is on developing men and women who boldly lead and serve outside those traditional offices.”

Instead of trying to fill slots on the board of officers, Charles developed

Beth and Jeff Jones, lead pastors of Valley Family Church, use a hybrid model of classroom teaching and mentoring to maximize leadership development training.

Leadership Network • Models of Leadership Development: Lead Pastor-Driven vs. Lead Pastor-Blessed

a “metric of anointing” to determine if a ministry is supportable. The three criteria are: Is there a God-given vision? Has God provided a Spirit-driven visionary to lead the effort? And has there been a Jesus-given moment that confirms the need for the ministry? Asking these questions showed that many of the church’s existing programs fell short of the metric of anointing. Too often, someone years ago had voiced a need, so an office had been created to meet it. Now, however, the church doesn’t proceed with a plan unless they can see that God has provided a vision, a skilled and passionate leader, and a stamp of his validation.

To uncover and develop missional leaders, Charles and his staff implemented a number of courses and mentoring opportunities. Every person in the church is invited to participate in the “Pathway of Discipleship.” There are three legs of this training: Meeting Jesus consists of several opportunities to introduce people to Christ and help them become established in their faith. The Message of Jesus is a survey of the Bible and practical methods to help people learn to dig into the Scriptures on their own. The third leg of the triad is The Mission for Jesus. This is where identified leaders are equipped, mentored, encouraged, and placed in effective roles. In this level, the Pastor’s Academy is classical training on leadership; the Pastor’s Cabinet is a nine-month peer coaching model in which a few people hold Charles accountable for his effectiveness in leading the church and his spiritual health; Directed Study enables young leaders to learn from the best teachers and leaders in the church with personalized instruction; and the Walk to Emmaus also facilitates leadership skills. In all of these environments, teaching and mentoring play equally important parts in equipping people. At every stage, people find and follow God’s unique calling for their lives.

Charles concludes, “Old line, existing churches aren’t as nimble as newer

church plants, so we have to find a way to develop leaders that fits our traditions. Actually, the ‘new strategy’ at our church goes back to the model Wesley pioneered in the 18th century. The strategy of building disciples and leaders that seems cutting edge today is the same one he used long ago.”

In these two pastor-led models, the senior leaders observed the need for a more effective leadership development strategy, charted a new course, and took bold steps to create a new culture.

A Lead Pastor-Blessed ModelThe Austin Stone: Kevin Peck

From the beginning of The Austin Stone Community Church (www.austinstone.org) ten years ago, Kevin Peck, the lead pastor, and Matt Carter, the pastor of preaching and vision, shared the roles of senior leadership. In fact, Kevin and Matt formed a true partnership where Matt values Kevin’s leadership and generously shares the platform. They trust one another and communicate very well. Kevin notes, “Our vision of the church always includes one another. He trusts me to build leaders. I lead our elder team and senior leadership team, and there’s never a sense in our church that Matt and I are competing or that there are two separate ministry strategies. Our relationship enables us to present a unified vision for what God has called us to be and do.” Out of Kevin’s theological conviction about discipleship and his vision for building leaders for the kingdom, he realized early in the life of the church that developing people who are “on mission” for Christ doesn’t happen by magic, chance, or a few programs sprinkled throughout the year. It requires intentional discipleship. He dusted off the old classic by Robert Coleman, Master Plan of Evangelism,

University United Methodist Church developed a three-leg “Pathway to Discipleship” training program.

New ministries at University United Methodist Church must meet three criteria before Lead Pastor Charles Anderson champions them.

Leadership Network • Models of Leadership Development: Lead Pastor-Driven vs. Lead Pastor-Blessed

and began to implement the time-honored principles he found there. Kevin states, “We wanted to go beyond classroom education to develop leaders through expert teaching, peer learning, and individualized coaching. In this process, we want people in leadership to see themselves as multipliers: recruiting more leaders and releasing them to fulfill their God-given dreams. Our goal is to train reproducible gospel coaches at every level, decentralizing at every step to value one-on-one connections.”

More recently, Kevin’s perception of the pace and intentionality of discipleship was reinforced by the results of the Willow Creek “Reveal” study. It showed that genuine discipleship occurs at a much slower pace than attractional churches grow. Instead of getting caught up in increasing numbers, Kevin developed a comprehensive strategy to build depth and quality into the men and women who said they wanted to be Christ’s disciples. Leadership development is much broader than filling slots in the church’s organizational chart. Kevin observes, “It’s much more about the K than the C—more about the kingdom than the church. We want to build men and women to be leaders in their homes, the church, the city, and the world. If we’re only trying to fill slots in our church, we aren’t going to attract or build outstanding leaders.”

Initially, Kevin met with eight men, and the strategy gradually began to take shape, including excellent teaching, peer learning, and coaching. Today, The Austin Stone has 360 men and women in their leadership development program focusing on character, competence, and culture. They use a cohort model of 5-6 people meeting regularly to study theology, Scripture, the broad impact of the gospel, personal development, skill development, and cultural dynamics. Typically, the yearlong process results in 80% of participants choosing a ministry tract for further development.

These include urban ministry, global ministry, being chosen as an elder at The Austin Stone, leading a missional community in the city, or becoming a gospel-centered lay counselor. The vision and scope of these tracts is far beyond the local church. For instance, every two years, Austin Stone Community Church leadership team has asked for 100 people to volunteer to go long-term to unreached people groups, and because they’ve caught a vision for God’s kingdom, they’ve gone. Kevin reflects, “It’s an amazing thing to see singles, couples, and families really get what it means to give everything for Christ. When I see them get on a plane to live, serve, and give their lives for people in another land, I feel like I’m watching the apostle Paul leave on a ship to go to the ends of the earth. What an honor to be part of that.”

Kevin suggests two things are essential for people who are leading a pastor-blessed strategy. First, they need to demonstrate results. The first eight men he discipled became outstanding leaders in the church and the community. He observes that people who genuinely want to make a difference for Christ are strongly attracted to the results of transformed lives. When they see men and women being used by God in big ways, they

naturally want to join in. “There’s no better marketing than that,” Kevin says. “Actual results are incredibly attractive to people who want to become leaders, but without tangible results, no amount of marketing will overcome a poor strategy to attract the right people.” Second, those who are leading a pastor-blessed strategy have to obtain the buy-in of the senior leader. Without a shared vision, the leadership development effort competes, or at least seems to compete, with the senior leader’s heart and goals.

Either Can WorkPastor-blessed leadership development strategies have a distinct advantage: the focused attention, passion and gifting of a senior staff member who is fully committed to this ministry. For this to work well, however, the lead pastor has to be an ardent supporter. Both models—pastor-led and pastor-blessed—are viable strategies to build leaders for the kingdom. Kevin Peck summarizes, “We want to build people and release them to fulfill their God-inspired dreams. Nothing less will do.” Both models have the potential to do that well.

A team leadership strategy allows for a singular vision for The Austin Stone Community Church.

Leadership Network • Models of Leadership Development: Lead Pastor-Driven vs. Lead Pastor-Blessed

About the AuthorPat Springle is the president of BaxterPress in Friendswood, TX. He served on thestaff of Campus Crusade for Christ for 18years, 11 as the Texas state director. He wasSenior Vice President of Rapha for three yearsbefore starting his publishing business.

Contact UsLeadership Network welcomes your response. The primary writer is Pat Springle. Editorial advice was given by Brent Dolfo, Leadership Community Director, and Warren Bird, Director of Research and Intellectual Capital Support for Leadership Network. Contact them via stephanie.jackson@leadnet.org

Copyright © 2013 by Leadership Network

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Leadership Development: An Age-Old Challenge with a Modern-Day Twist: Many of today’s church leaders face the same problem: leadership development. Most struggle to find better ways to empower and release their people for ministry, and now with the emergence of the multisite movement, church planting and rapid church growth, many of the top choices have already been taken. Churches today are using a variety of strategies and philosophies to generate new leadership in order to find the right balance of formal leadership development and more organic spiritual training.

The Changing Role of Large Church Senior Pastors: Trends and Developments:While the size of megachurches has remained relatively constant, the number of young large churches continues to grow rapidly. The role of large church senior pastors continues to change with the rise in multisite, multiethnic, and externally focused churches. Team ministry and the role of teaching pastors has become more prominent while denominational involvement has declined. Dave Travis, Leadership Network’s managing director, examines these trends and other developments in the role of large church senior pastors.

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