To be a leader in the church is to walk the tightrope between control and freedom. Jesus refers to himself as the Good Shepherd. Church leaders are shepherds. The shepherd metaphor says a great deal about church leadership. The shepherd leads the sheep by controlling them when they wander or when dangers threaten. But day in and day out, the shepherd leads the sheep by observing (overseeing) them and helping/letting them choose the green pastures and still waters. The shepherd does not force the sheep to eat and drink; he only provides the environment in which they survive and flourish. There is a tension that exists between knowing when to be firm, demanding and controlling, and when to be patient and distant and freeing. This tension can be described in various ways. It is often described in the contrast between leadership and management.
One goal of church leadership is that every member be engaged and involved. The New Testament describes the church as a body where every member has a specific activity or role. The church is edified when every member does its own work. This means that members must be prepared for their work of ministry and service. Leadership involves walking among the flock; leadership involves mentoring–demonstrating and encouraging involvement.
Obviously, some measure of compliance is essential in the church, but what is equally or even more important is members who are actively engaged in the work–members who feel ownership and are interested in whether the church advances or declines. Church leaders, LISTEN! People do not engage by being managed; they do not engage by being controlled.
The church members who are involved and engaged are those who feel personal purpose, fulfillment, and responsibility. Guiding, equipping, and training are important, but the members who are most involved are those who are acting under their own steam. (More accurately, they are active because of their personal relationship with Christ.) Effective church leaders realize that this requires a different model of leadership. Growing churches are generally filled with members who have a tremendous amount of autonomy over what they do. Growing churches are those whose members led by God’s spirit help determine the shape of the ministry in the local church. In growing churches, the members are given a lot of autonomy over what they do, how they do it, when they do it, and who they do it with. When the members of the body help define ministry on the basis of the opportunities they see, when the members are encouraged to work together to accomplish the tasks for which they share passion, and when they are freed to help work through the details, ownership is virtually automatic.
A missionary with many years of experience was asked why some churches in the U.S. and in the mission field fail to grow. The context of the question was a conversation in which it was observed that many religious groups are growing tremendously, both in the U.S. and in the mission field. Why do some churches grow and other churches not grow?
His response focused on methods of leadership. Controlling leaders stifle the church and keep it from reaching its potential through the active involvement and the work of every member. When everything has to go through the preacher or business meeting or elders, when church leaders are fearful or threatened by what the flock may be saying or doing or thinking, the church seldom grows.