Leadership and the Church {thoughts in process} – - thoughts along The Waythoughts along The Way

I’ve been doing a considerable amount of thinking lately about the church, leadership in general, and my leadership. Some of this thinking has come about because of internal pressures that I’m feeling. Things like…

desiring to lead better and in areas of my own gifting (rather than outside of them),
wanting to equip others better in their areas of gifting and to release them to create for the Kingdom, and,
to do it all while balancing my business and loving my family better.

I don’t necessarily think I’m doing any of that well right now; hence the internal pressure.

There’s also some external pressure as well, which is all well and good. External pressure can come from things that exert force on our church that are beyond our control (e.g., the economy and what it does in drawing off available resources, changing culture around us), things in our limited control (timelines for projects are at least partially in our control), and the pressure of a community of diversity that is Columbia Ridge (folks with different opinions on how different things should be done). Again this is all well and good as long as we can move forward together in openness and mutual care and love in Christ.

Because of that desire to move forward in mutuality, I wanted to open up and share this because I think it is important for the Columbia Ridge family to know that such thinking isn’t bad at all. In fact, it gives us an opportunity to move forward in different ways, to enter into deeper trust in Christ, and to move forward together as he leads us.

At present, the Board has advocated, and I wholeheartedly agree, that a staffing and leadership group be formed in order to discern how we might move forward in a new and different manner in those regards. It has and has begun its work. I’ll be reporting on it as “discovery” comes together.

Additionally, I’ve revisited and will be writing on some foundational assumptions, activities and hopes with regard to our congregational life together. I felt it was a good practice for me to get such things out of my head and into the world in a formulated manner. I hope you’ll agree as pieces of that appear in this blog.

Finally, in some of the reading I’ve been doing on church leadership, the following passage from a church consultant’s essay on leadership in the church (link) struck me profoundly, emphasizing our need to think and pray about our leadership structure and philosophy going forward:

“Even though congregations resemble other institutions — with physical assets, human resources, budgets, markets and products — the interplay of a transforming God and a change-resistant constituency, a Savior who suffered and died and constituents who avoid suffering and fear death, and a Spirit who is making all things new even as Christians are grounding themselves in tradition, makes for a complex organization… A church community draws people close to their deepest yearnings, their most vivid fears, their wounds and their triumphs, their doubts about everything, including themselves, and their native optimism or hope that life can be better… walking with God can be a discomfiting and humbling journey. The effective church leader accepts this complexity, tries to understand it, works within it, and exercises both patience and determination in trying to help people get beyond their flaws. That is demanding and often confusing work. Little in the rest of life, except the challenge of living in a family and raising children, prepares one for the challenge.”

I am thankful to be part of the Community of Christ that is Columbia Ridge. I believe that we have people here that love the Lord and each other deeply and are engaging, even right now, in how we can move forward together in honor of the One who gave his life for us. Whether or not you are part of a team, a leadership group, or the staffing/leadership discovery group, you can participate in our journey forward through your prayers for the health of our congregation and the fulfillment of the mission God has given us. Please considering offering them up to the Lord regularly! Furthermore, I am open to hearing your thoughts via this blog or email. Feel free to speak up anytime.

Afloat in His Grace,
Pastor Reed

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