By Kathy Smith
(Article first appeared in the September 2003 issue of The Banner.)
When it comes to change, too many of us in the church are pessimists.
Instead of looking forward to new things with excitement and interest,
we dread them and say, "Change and decay in all around I see."
In some places we welcome change-like the doctor's office.
We want our physician to be up on the latest diagnoses and treatments.
But in the church we often fear change.
Why is that? Is it because we face change in so much of
life that we at least want the comfort of sameness in church?
Is it because in most areas of life we have to accept and adapt
to changes beyond our choosing, but in church we feel we can control
some of it? Is it because matters of faith are tied so closely
to what we do in church that changing seems like questioning our
beliefs? Is that why we often would rather abide with the
"God who changes not" and transfer that concept to his
church as well?
All Churches Change
Of course, the reality is that things do change-even in the church-whether
we like it or not. And they must! The church is a living
organism-the living body of Christ-and living things are constantly
growing, changing, and adapting to new realities. Just as
our physical bodies change, so does the body of Christ. People
are born, grow up and die. Each new generation of young people
experiences church differently, and this brings changes in attitudes
and values. Some churches also face changes in their environment,
such as influxes of immigrants, developing or deteriorating neighborhoods,
businesses encroaching on church property, or changes within the
church, such as building or staff additions.
The important thing to realize is that all churches go through
changes. We all can identify small or large changes in our
churches in the past 5 years. And changes, whether viewed
positively or negatively, will bring some resistance, a normal and
natural reaction to change. Wise church leaders know this,
expect it, and think carefully about how to learn from it and work
through it.
Using Adaptive Leadership
Wise church leaders guide their congregations through the process
of change using a model of leadership some call adaptive leadership.
The key to understanding and implementing this style of leadership
is in understanding what is meant by adaptive. It
does not mean the congregation must automatically adapt to the changing
circumstances it faces. It also does not mean that the leader
must adapt to whatever the congregation wants, or at least what
its loudest voices want. It means that the leader must help
the congregation to see the disconnect between what it is and what
it ought to be, and then learn and adapt accordingly, in ways that
honor its values and history. For example, a congregation
that understands God's call to be a caring, accepting fellowship
but is dominated by cliques faces an adaptive challenge-adapting
from what we are to what we say we want to be.
I can't think of a better way to express this than to quote from
Rev. Rick Williams' lecture at Calvin Theological Seminary on April
11, 2002, entitled "A Glimpse of Pastoral Leadership in a Multi-Racial
Church." When asked about leadership style, Rick answered,
"I know of a number of pastors who articulate for the congregation
where the church ought to be going, and their challenge is to
bring them along. I'm not that kind of a leader. My
strength is to bring people together and say 'OK, this is what
I think we should be thinking about; and now let's talk about
it and pray about it.' I'm always amazed by two things that
happen then-how much better the ideas are that they come up with
together and how much more responsibility they take for advancing
it. I see my responsibility as being a catalyst and making
sure we are asking the right questions and facilitating the discussion."
One could easily misunderstand this approach to leadership as being
too weak, little more than a congregational opinion poll taker.
But such is not the case. Being committed to good congregational
process doesn't mean that leaders don't have strong convictions.
Effective leaders have biblically shaped convictions regarding the
church Christ is building, a church that is called to be engaging
in its worship, faithful in its teaching, strong and deep in its
fellowship, and self-sacrificial in its outreach and service.
These biblical convictions rightly propel leaders and the community
they lead in a certain direction. Notice, Rick sees his job
as "asking the right questions."
Helping Congregations Clarify Values and Vision
This requires strong leadership, but not the kind of strength
that decides for the congregation and says "Follow me; I have
all the answers." Rather, the strength of this leadership
model is helping the congregation address important issues itself.
Adaptive leaders don't first of all cast their own visions; they
help congregations to develop their vision and values. They
lead not first of all by saying, "Follow me!" but by asking,
"Who are we?" For instance, instead of saying, "We
need to be a more outreaching church," the adaptive leader
asks, "What do we believe about being an outreaching church-from
Scripture, and from our confessions? Now, how do we measure
up with what we believe? And what are we going to do about it?"
The adaptive leader helps people clarify the conflict between their
own values and current reality and creates the conditions for the
congregation to work through a process of adaptation.
We are at a time in the CRC when many churches suffer from one
of two extremes-the heroic leader who thinks the leader's vision
is everything, and the passive pastor who merely seeks to keep everyone
happy. The adaptive leadership model offers a way of leading
that both meaningfully engages the congregation in developing its
values and vision and keeps the leader responsible to give strong
direction in the process. The goal of good Christian leadership
is to be faithful to biblical principles and discern what is best
for a congregation as it sorts out God's will in this place and
time. CRC pastors and church leaders are encouraged to use
adaptive leadership as they lead their congregations, following
the God who certainly does abide with us, and who always our "guide
and strength can be."
Rev. Kathy Smith is the Director of Continuing Education for
the Calvin Institute of Christian Worship and Calvin Theological
Seminary. She is a member of two denominational groups that
support this model of leadership: an interagency Leadership Development
Team and the Implementation Team of the Sustaining Pastoral Excellence
project begun by the CRC through a grant from the Lilly Endowment,
Inc. She is a member of First CRC in Grand Rapids, Michigan.
Recommended Resources on Leadership
The books by Ronald Heifetz and Gilbert Rendle especially
deal with the adaptive leadership model.
Joseph L. Badaracco, Jr., Leading Quietly: An Unorthodox Guide
to Doing the Right Thing, (Harvard Business School Press, 2002)
Ronald Heifetz, Leadership Without Easy Answers, (Belknap Press
of Harvard University Press, 1994)
Ronald Heifetz and Marty Linsky, Leadership on the Line: Staying
Alive Through the Dangers of Leading, (Harvard Business School Press,
2002)
Gilbert Rendle, Leading Change in the Congregation: Spiritual
and Organizational Tools for Leaders, (Alban Institute, 1998)
Gilbert Rendle, The Multigenerational Congregation: Meeting the
Leadership Challenge, (Alban Institute, 2002)
Peter Steinke, Healthy Congregations: A Systems Approach, (Alban
Institute, 1996)
Peter Steinke, How Your Church Family Works: Understanding Congregations
as Emotional Systems, (Alban Institute, 1993)
R. Paul Stevens and Phil Collins, The Equipping Pastor: A Systems
Approach to Congregational Leadership, (Alban Institute, 1993)
William H. Willimon, Pastor: The Theology and Practice of Ordained
Ministry, (Abingdon Press, 2002) Especially Chapter 11: "The
Pastor as Leader: The Peculiarity of Christian Leadership"
