Personality Driven Churches

Brad Abare and Phil Cooke warn pastors that if any of the following are true of their ministry, they may be at risk for being a personality driven church: 1. Do not take significant vacations 2. People do not show up when they aren't preaching 3. The fear that things would fall apart if they left today. 4. Only one person controls access to the pastor. Each one of these speaks to the different aspects of this pitfall. The first implies that the pastor cannot afford to take time off or else all the spinning plates will fall. What an immense amount of pressure for one person! This doesn't sound like an easy yoke or a light burden. The second points not just to personality, but the depth of involvement that people have in the church. They are consumer driven, and they are only interested in consuming what the "personality" has to offer. The third warning sign signifies, at the very least, the confidence that the pastor has in his or her staff and lay leaders. This lack of confidence surely plays out in a lack of empowerment and an overabundance of micromanagement. At the very most, the pastor truly has surrounded himself with "yes" men and women who could not lead if they were asked to lead. Finally, the last warning speaks to the pastor who has not only bought into the lie that only they can do it, but that because of this they deserve special treatment, rock star treatment. What are other signs?