Walking in Step

In this article Ben Merold lists four elements that he feels are necessary for a leadership team to work together well. The first is prayer. This establishes with his leaders that no decision will be made until they first hold a prayer meeting. The team allows 20 to 45 minutes for prayer at the beginning of their meetings. The finding is there is a great difference between praying for God’s guidance in their decisions and making decisions and then asking God to bless them. The second element is fellowship. If elders and staff cannot be friends socially, it is a mistake to believe they can be friends in the decision-making process. It is necessary to create opportunities for fellowship among the leadership team. The third element is compassion. Overseer, one of the words translated as elder, can be defined as looking over with compassion. In developing a caring congregation, it is necessary to have a compassionate leadership. A caring congregation is concerned about evangelism and edification. More importantly, compassionate leading suggests that the leader will be one that desires to lead and not control. The fourth element is vision. Leaders must know where they are going. Too many leadership teams do not know where they are and where the church is positioned in the larger context. They may know the church’s average attendance, but not know how the attendance is distributed among age groups. It hinders them from knowing their ability to provide for future needs or take advantage of present opportunities. Ben Merold is senior minister with Harvester Christian Church in St. Charles, Missouri. www.christianitytoday.com