A different kind of church leadership

I need to read this every once in a while because I forget. It's from Jim Kallam's Risking Church:

We want ministry to be explained in terms that allow us to function as technicians, managers, or building contractors. We want a blueprint to build from and a list to check off as we accomplish each item.

I want something different.

I want the leadership of our church to be about creating an atmosphere, an environment where people can fall in love with Jesus. I don’t want technicians who can run a program. I want agents of love who will spread the life of the Spirit through the church.

This desire drives my engineers and accountants nuts! They want plans; I want an atmosphere, an environment, a community where people can live a new way. Fish can’t swim in the desert of programs. I want living water to create an ocean where beauty thrives.

Comments

[David Wilson]

Thanks for that Darryl. It is good to be reminded.

[Jacob]

Yes, but doesn't the Bible prescribe a general "blueprint" for running a church? Certainly there is some flexibility in approach and philosophy but there's also rules and guidelines which need to be adhered to as well.?

[Darryl]

Hi Jacob, For sure, there's lots in Scripture on church. I don't think Kallam wants us to pay less attention to Scripture. I think he's reminding us not to lose our focus on loving God and people as we're busy running programs and looking after the other business of the church, as important as those may be.

[Ken]

This is a good quote. It is a good principle. Perhaps mnay good pastors could be less stressed about their lack of administrative abilities if they came to realize that those good gifts are not near the top of the list of what God has called them to do. My leaders are not driven nuts by this. They want me to be and do what the Scriptures say I should. They are eager and willing to do the other stuff so that I can do my stuff and I am thankful for them.

[Paul Johnston]

In the end, if we aren't offering a place where people can encounter and embrace the Holy Spirit of our Lord Jesus Christ, what, if any value, does a church have? Simply showcasing what human expressions of holiness could look like, might be the most dangerous form of church imaginable; illusory human interpretations of what God is, as opposed to the real presence and power of God himself.