Plural Leadership vs Strong Centralized Leadership
JOHN LELAND CENTER FOR THEOLOGICAL STUDIES
PLURAL ELDERSHIP VS. STRONG CENTRAL LEADERSHIP:
IS THERE A MORE HELPFUL MODEL FOR THE YOUNGER CHURCH?
SUBMITTED TO DR. ANDREY SHIRIN AND DR. MARK OLSON
IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF LEADERSHIP IN MINISTRY
OCTOBER, 15, 2013
The question asked by everyone who observes an accomplished and strong leader in action is, “how can I use what they have learned, and to what extent?” Even in ministry, which should be at least partially immune to excessive success comparison, leaders can tend to look for the next best idea. They can think “if I could just know what leader X would do in my position, I would be fine.” I do not know a single leader, myself included, who hasn’t struggled with that thinking at some point.
What makes this temptation even more complex is that we all want to be, to translate Paul’s words, “an expert builder” (1 Cor 3:10 NIV). We want to serve, lead and guide the churches we have been given responsibility for well. The question is. how do we do that? Who do we listen to? It only takes a quick look at what the Spirit has used Bill Hybels to do to understand why his name would be often mixed up in this conversation. The effectiveness and innovation at Willow Creek (WC) is obvious, and the skill used to lead it, clear. Most of that goes back to Hybels. So it can be easy to think, “What would Hybels do if he were here?” or to simply envy the success of Willow Creek.
A complication for leaders is that there are lots of models for doing church to choose from. Some popular models include Hybels’ strong central leadership, plural, polycentric, and congregational leadership all the way to no direct central leadership, to name just a few. All have strong traditions and all have both been used well and poorly.
Page numbers needed.
The question of which model is ultimately preferable is not answerable in a discussion of this size.
PLURAL ELDERSHIP VS. STRONG CENTRAL LEADERSHIP:
IS THERE A MORE HELPFUL MODEL FOR THE YOUNGER CHURCH?
SUBMITTED TO DR. ANDREY SHIRIN AND DR. MARK OLSON
IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF LEADERSHIP IN MINISTRY
OCTOBER, 15, 2013
The question asked by everyone who observes an accomplished and strong leader in action is, “how can I use what they have learned, and to what extent?” Even in ministry, which should be at least partially immune to excessive success comparison, leaders can tend to look for the next best idea. They can think “if I could just know what leader X would do in my position, I would be fine.” I do not know a single leader, myself included, who hasn’t struggled with that thinking at some point.
What makes this temptation even more complex is that we all want to be, to translate Paul’s words, “an expert builder” (1 Cor 3:10 NIV). We want to serve, lead and guide the churches we have been given responsibility for well. The question is. how do we do that? Who do we listen to? It only takes a quick look at what the Spirit has used Bill Hybels to do to understand why his name would be often mixed up in this conversation. The effectiveness and innovation at Willow Creek (WC) is obvious, and the skill used to lead it, clear. Most of that goes back to Hybels. So it can be easy to think, “What would Hybels do if he were here?” or to simply envy the success of Willow Creek.
A complication for leaders is that there are lots of models for doing church to choose from. Some popular models include Hybels’ strong central leadership, plural, polycentric, and congregational leadership all the way to no direct central leadership, to name just a few. All have strong traditions and all have both been used well and poorly.
Page numbers needed.
The question of which model is ultimately preferable is not answerable in a discussion of this size.