Then it boils down to how you define ‘church’. If it is a body of spirit-filled believers, then the ‘leadership’ will come from within each one. It will come from the Holy Spirit’s promptings. The more a body needs human leadership, the more the Spirit is quenched, if He is even there.

A very gracious and encouraging remark. Thank you.

Danny, Your reference to macro and micro caught my eye! In faith and politics, one cannot lose the human touch, which is recognizing and meeting the simple human need to be listened to as you said “The beauty of simply loving by listening and being present.” I feel that working in a ministry to young men aging out of foster care. The best part is sharing stories face-to-face. The danger of propogating corporate “leadership” methods into churches and ministries is they assume the human touch (“micro”) scales up to the “macro” of a large organization. It does not. You can’t go wrong by making time to honor the Image of God in others.

I love John Maxwell’s definition of leadership – which is simply the ability to influence others. There are so many ways to influence others – as Mike said by preaching, praying, eating with and meeting people, but also by setting examples. The one trait that I never really see modeled or spoken about much is leadership accountability. Perhaps the biblical word is discipleship, but I am convinced that no matter how pure of heart a leader is at the start, it is a lack of good, robust, humble accountability/discipleship that essentially does leaders in.

This is because ALL people are subject to the temptations of pride, and as our influence grows, so does the size of the temptation to believe that we are all that and more.

Bill did not fall because his model of church is wrong. He didn’t fall because he applied 1980s corporate leadership thinking (which some would argue has a biblical basis anyway). He didn’t fall because he asked us to be a better version of ourselves. He fell because he is a fallible man who lacked appropriate accountability and apparently, did some things that do not pass the smell test.

I agree with you Priscilla – the bible does not mention the word “leadership” much, but it demonstrates the carriage and effects of good and bad leadership very effectively. King David worked his way through breaking nearly every commandment, yet he was called a man after God’s own heart. How could that be? I put the idea that it was because he was prepared to be held to account for his actions, and humble himself when he was shown to be in the wrong.

To grow our next generation of leaders well, I would love to see current people of influence begin to have honest, public discussions about their own accountability structures. To couch it in biblical language, I would like to know by whom are my leaders/people of influence being discipled, and how effective that discipleship is in keeping them humble and Christ focused.

Nothing on building your team. Nothing on managing a staff. The books are conspicuous by their absence.

This phenomenon is recent and the plethora of leadership resources was something this older generation of pastors apparently neither needed nor wanted.

@LeoSandy – I think I get what you’re saying, that you’re tired of being inundated with marketing, but filling out a paper (or e-based form) really does help churches to foster meaningful relationships. Maybe some churches use them to fulfill a church-growth strategy in the same way businesses do. But lots just need your name and contact info so they can help you truly connect with a smaller group of people to do life with. Or to give you a call when they hear through the grapevine that a crisis has happened in your life, etc.

I agree! I think ultimately as long as we continue to look for perfection in leaders, we will always be disappointed. Bill Hybels is not the first and he won’t be the last.
We need to support our leaders, get behind them and encourage them. And when they fall, help them get back up again, forgive them, and share the learnings.

Such an interesting word “netless follower” I looked it up and it is a very powerful image. Thank you for sharing that!