This article explores the issue of balance in large church leadership. Although pastors sometimes think that leading a large church is the same as a small one on a larger scale, this is not the case. According to Joseph Britton (Yale Divinity), there are different staffing and leadership needs in the large church, with the pastor having broader responsibilities. Large churches can do much that small churches cannot, but they require a larger management structure, with services, staff assignments, program innovations, and ministerial commitments planned years in advance. When moving to a larger church, pastors often experience culture shock over the differences in roles, responsibilities, and organizational structure.
In many ways, the pastor of a large church, whose main tasks are “setting the vision, unifying the people, designing change, and especially narrowing the band of people he (or she) can closely minister to,” can be more like a CEO than a shepherd. While I understand this dilemma, it is somewhat troubling. This could easily result in pastors who are out of touch with the intimate spiritual needs of their flock. The macro level of church leadership is necessary, but it should not be done to the neglect of pastoral care at the micro level. The challenge especially for large church pastors, then, is to find a balance between these two levels and work to equip their staff/team to minister to the specific needs of the congregation that they cannot address due to other responsibilities. According to the article, this requires accountability, humility, and a strong theological center, among other things.
Great article Michael! I think that the author is correct; pastors of large congregations will inevitably spend more time leading by casting vision and delegating rather than ministering among the people of their congregations.
ReplyDeleteWhile this certainly can lead to such pastors becoming out of touch with the heartbeat of their people, I don't think this has to be the case. One of the ways in which pastors can avoid becoming disconnected is by focusing upon the vision which God has given them for their congregation. God's vision for a congregation will always focus upon the care and development of the people of God. Sometimes when pastors have lost sight of their focus upon the people it is not because they have failed to spend time with the people, but because they haven't spent time asking God to remind them of the vision which God birthed within their hearts for God's people.
Additionally, pastors of large congregations should continue to pastor a core group of people who are in turn ministering to others in the congregation. Through this interaction with their core leaders, pastors are able to consistently be in touch with the heartbeat of the congregation.
Thanks for sharing this article and I enjoyed reading your thoughts.