The Bible teaches that authority has its place in the church. It shows, however, that leaders should accomplish their goals through persuasion, not power; through support, not control; through open-mindedness, not closed-mindedness.
Servant leadership is God’s appointed method for managing the church. Unfortunately, most people who are thrust into leadership positions in the church have not been trained in biblical leadership skills. Many think that their position of leadership makes them the “boss” who hands down dictates. Others, who may realize how carnal that is, abdicate all leadership, and their group suffers from a lack of direction and discipline.
Neither kind of leadership pleases the Lord. God fully supports authority in the church. It is not a society of indistinguishable equals. Some people are to lead, others are to follow. But the tools of leadership are the issue. In this entry, we will look at some of the tools the Bible offers to help you fulfill your leadership role without violating your servant role.
The Person of the Leader. Jesus compared leadership to leaven in a loaf of bread. Yeast works quietly, in the background, without a lot of “hoopla.” It’s really a kind of infection, moving from cell to cell. But it takes good yeast to make good bread.
Similarly, if you are to infect your team with the right qualities, you must do it yourself. What you are will always have more influence than what you say and do. Therefore, your own character development must become the root out of which your leadership skills grow, lest you bear bad fruit.
Persuasion versus Power. One of the most important differences between carnal and biblical leading has to do with the overuse of power. Carnal leaders put far too much stock in their position. They think that their title, or even their obvious qualifications, should cause people to do as they are told.
That might work with immature Christians, but as they mature, people will begin to challenge that kind of leadership style. One of the most significant problems with the overuse of position, title, or power is that it fails to address the heart of the followers—the center of motivation and willing allegiance.
There is a proper use for authority and power, and we will deal with that later. But when leaders too often convey the attitude, “Do it because I said so,” they will not capture the hearts of their followers. They will repel the strong and make hypocrites of the weak. This is why persuasion is the chief tool of the godly leader.
For instance, Paul writes to Timothy regarding the teaching role of the pastor. He says that pastors are to patiently instruct those who oppose them, so that God may give them repentance leading to a knowledge of the truth (2 Tim. 2:25).
Top-Down Support versus Control. Another important aspect of biblical leadership is that it provides more support than it does control. Many leaders are driven by a desire to control others. They go far beyond training and try to determine all the details for their subordinates’ work. Their subordinates have very little autonomy, and their ideas are generally rejected. But godly leadership equips people to develop their own gifts and their own creative ways of dealing with problems and opportunities. Godly leaders invest their own time to find other resources to help their subordinates succeed.
Maintain Open Leadership. Leaders do not have to have all the answers. God has all the answers. Yet leaders are often defensive about ideas and suggestions offered by those who work with or under them. Instead, all people ought to feel their leaders value their input and in fact seek it out. Leaders need to discern God’s voice speaking through anyone he chooses. This calls for humility.
The main difference between valuable advice and criticism is timing. If you seek suggestions before you do something, it is valuable advice. If the suggestions come to you after you have done something, it is criticism. Choose to get valuable advice.
Deal with Issues Properly. Problems will arise in every group, no matter how saintly the people are. There will be difficulties from the outside as well as from within. At this point, how you handle the problem will determine whether or not you are a team-builder.
Team-builders develop the ability to put problems “outside” the group. In other words, they approach every difficulty with the attitude, we have a problem.
For instance, suppose your piano player is unable to attend your practices on Thursday evenings. If you are a team-builder, you will not consider it the pianist’s problem but something that your group needs to address and attempt to resolve. The piano player needs to feel that his or her schedule is important enough to the group that they will seek a way around it. Even if they fail, the piano player will not feel rejected.
You can always tell team-builders by their language. They use phrases such as “We have a problem,” “What can we do?” “What do you think?” “Do you have any ideas about worship this Sunday?” “Can we ____________?” “What if we ____________?”
Recruiting Team Players, not Soloists. Add new people to your group who will work well in teams. You need to be careful that you do not consider only their musical skills, anointing, or even their theological expertise. One can have all of those characteristics and still not make a good team player. If you inherit an egocentric “superstar,” have a loving but frank conversation with him or her. Invite him to join the team indeed, or to resign and do occasional solos.
Apprenticing. One of the most successful worship leaders I know relies heavily on apprenticing. When people desire to join his worship team, they are invited to attend the practice sessions and just observe for several weeks. Then they are allowed to join in the practice. Finally, if they have been sufficiently integrated into the group, they are allowed to participate in leading worship on Sunday morning.
Consider the benefits that come from this approach: The worship team has the opportunity to get to know candidates and candidates get to know the heart of the worship team before they even have to think about playing their instrument or singing before them. They can see teamwork in action and can observe the values of the group. In addition, the lengthy trial period tends to wear out glory-seekers. It establishes the role of the worship leader as the one in charge. It also helps candidates to recognize the importance of their role. In the long-range it increases the honor of the worship team in the eyes of the congregation by establishing a professional level of commitment. Finally, it tests the consistency of faithfulness of candidates before they are assigned to the team.
You should welcome any and all qualified candidates, but making it easy to join your team devalues the group and makes it less popular and less effective! Prayerfully consider developing an apprentice approach to your team-building.
Disciplining for Group Health. Before you even consider discipline, you must establish two things: (1) clearly defined limits (i.e., what is allowed and what is not); and (2) an atmosphere of love. With those things in place, you can exercise discipline when there are infractions.
First, there must be standards of performance. The group must have a clearly established commitment about such things as practice times, absences, tardiness, missing prayer times before services, and anything else that is important to the anointed functioning of the group. Then, if someone violates one of those standards, the leader should waste no time in properly reprimanding the offender.
If you allow the standards to be violated with impunity, the most committed members of the group will become demoralized. You will lose your best people and be left with the ones who have no standards at all, and they will reproduce after their own kind!
There are some simple steps to doing a proper reprimand: First, describe your perception of the problem without accusing. Your perception may be wrong, or there may be real extenuating circumstances. (Example: “John, it seems to me you have been thirty-five minutes late to the prayer time three Sundays in a row. Is that correct? Is something wrong?”) If your perception was correct, and there were no serious, extenuating circumstances, describe how the behavior violates your team’s standards. You don’t need to act out anger; just be matter-of-fact. (Example: “John, you know that being late without good reason is contrary to your commitment to our team.”)
Then explain the consequences. (Example: “It hurts us when you’re late. Our prayer time is lacking your presence. It isn’t fair to those who are on time. Frankly, I feel hurt and angry.”) Explain that it is up to John to be a team player and to support the group’s standards. (Example: “John, it’s up to you to decide whether or not you are going to be part of the team and really participate. No one can make you do that but you.”)
Finally, explain what you will do if the improper behavior takes place again. It is helpful if such actions are established as a matter of policy. (Example: “If this happens again, I will recommend that you be placed on probation, which means you won’t be able to participate in Sunday worship for six weeks.”) End on a positive note. (Example: “But I really don’t expect it to happen again. I know you love us and love the Lord. You are a tremendous asset to us with your skills on the synthesizer and your strengths in the Word.”)
Conclusion. God has honored you highly by giving you the authority to lead. Learn to do it well! Grow in your leadership skills day after day, and you will build a temple he will gladly inhabit.