moving away from the spoke--nobody does it better
This is the second in a series on the downside of leadership driven by the spoke mentality-when every decision (and in many cases every task) MUST be made by the lead pastor, thus impeding the growth of the church.
After more than 20 years in the ministry, I can say with accuracy that I've had many odd jobs through the years. The very nature of ministry calls us to do many tasks and wear a number of hats, but a major part of the maturing church is the handoff. The tasks that we don't enjoy may not be simple to delegate, but we tend to work at those.
The difficult tasks to move away from are the ones we enjoy. The difficult tasks to move away from are the ones we know we do best. In many cases, the lead pastor of a small congregation is the best qualified to complete many tasks, but the growth comes when you hold onto many of your tasks loosely, and know when to let go entirely. There are some tasks that never need to be delegated and should always remain in the hands of the lead shepherd. On the other hand, there are tasks that, once delegated, can change a member of your congregation into a leader, or at least owner, of a ministry.
Many pastors wonder why they seem to spend all their time accomplishing small tasks and keeping the wheels of the church turning. There are certainly exceptions to this rule, but one of the greatest reasons is their inability to relenquish ownership.
Pastors must cast the vision God has put before them.
Pastors must own the vision they feel God has given them.
But the most overlooked piece of the vision pie is offering ownership. Fear of vision drift is often cited as a key reason for not offering ownership to members of the congregation, but in some cases it is simply egotism. I know I can do it better keeps us from developing new leaders and expanding the ownership team. Vision for your organization is not very unique. But vision that sticks and is being applied in the lives of most of your church members is pretty rare.
There are certainly exceptions where the pastor has tried to increase the ownership team and has been turned back. But until the team leader decides he wants a team, you're left in the curious position of shepherding an audience instead of a team of difference makers. Take one of your sacred cows and hand it off to someone today. You might be surprised how God will work and the liberation that will bring.