The Bravest Thing a Church Leader Could Ask Right Now

The kinds of leaders the church really needs

The church-planting world is weird.

The church-planting world is even weirder, as seen through the eyes of an innovative Latina who serves alongside unchurched, de-churched, and church-traumatized individuals.

Because I am pretty sure they know—the networks, the organizers, the funders, the mentors, even the planters themselves—they know what we have been doing isn’t working. They know the systems and structures of the institutional church are burning out and overwhelming pastors faster than they are bringing in anyone under 40. They know the cultural climate has been shifting, people’s perception of the church is deteriorating, and a faith-based community’s needs and wants are rapidly changing. And yet, they persist.

They persist in their old tried-and-true models, in the ways of their mentors and their mentors before them. They persist in their preconceived notions of church, discipleship, worship, preaching, and outreach, ignoring that such notions don’t seem to result in much spiritual formation or heart change for anyone. Most frustratingly, they persist in their dated perceptions and assumed leadership qualifications fit for a time we are no longer in, a context we no longer occupy.

My mind wanders toward a moment in my not-too-distant past when I found myself surrounded by a majority of male pastors and leaders. We were each sharing a bit of our coming to faith and finding our way into full-time ministry. And without exception, each of these men had a moment, “a call,” for some of them during their literal childhood, where someone of prominence or authority identified them as fit for a lifetime of ministry and pastoring. One was asked to lead a small group a mere 2 months after being saved. Another was invited to preach to his youth group at the ripe age of 12 and simply never looked back. Finally, one more, a bit older when he received his call, was welcomed in by a megachurch pastor who wanted to steward his clear and present “leadership capabilities.”

Now, I want to be careful here. After all, who am I to doubt God's faithfulness, affirmation, and providence in the midst of these or any man’s ministry? Then again, I am me, and I wouldn’t be me if I didn’t also point out that there are many experiences and influential moments throughout a man’s ministry career that he may attribute to God that are actually just privilege.

This is not to say God hasn't been faithful, affirming, or providential in their ministry. But so has the power of them simply being a man in a profoundly patriarchal religion. A religion that praises charisma and charm, that centers good speakers and proficient communicators, and believes funding expertise, business management skills, and “knowing how to play the game” are non-negotiable leadership requirements. By some church's standards, Elon Musk would make a better leader of their church than our most faithful and Christ-like abuelitas. These are the types of “leaders” often being identified at 21, 16, and even 12 years old. And they are identified as such not based on character, faithfulness, proven integrity, or community trust (because hi, they are BABIES), but based on a long list of random criteria that looks a lot more like Google’s hiring page than it does the Sermon on the Mount.

And while such leadership may have been what we believed we needed for a time—a time of building and maximizing church efficiency, of maximizing attendance and streamlining worship production, of managing 50+ staffers, and mitigating¹ internal conflict—I pray we are not so sincerely ignorant as not to recognize that that time is officially over.

The honest, heartbreaking, and hard-to-hear truth is that there are and will continue to be a great many men, and even women, who have been assured, guaranteed, and in some sense “called” into a type of church leadership that is no longer needed. They have been promised a series of open doors that now lead nowhere. They have been praised, edified, and applauded down a path that now looms empty and deserted, no longer producing fruit for those who need it most.

So, the absolute bravest thing I believe a church leader could do amid today’s rapidly changing and overwhelming culture, is to ask themselves honestly and sincerely, “Am I really the type of leader the Body of Christ needs right now?”

The Type of Leaders the Church Needs Right Now

The Church needs leaders who can speak truth to power, who are brave, resilient, and courageous. And I don’t mean the kind of “courage” that says, “I am willing to move my family halfway across the country on a single salary for my dreams.” No, I mean the far more costly, dangerous, and sacrificial kind of courage that says, “I am willing to miss out on my dreams in order to stand up and fight for the vulnerable in my midst.”

The Church needs leaders who are emotionally healthy and relationally wise. They must be able to detach their ego and sense of pride from the well-warranted complaints and frustrations of those they serve. They must be able to withstand and communicate well through conflict. They must know what boundaries are and not think it a cute little quirk to be constantly burned out and isolated. They must believe and practice that they, too, are worthy of health, friendship, joy, and flourishing.

The Church needs leaders who can develop other leaders. And no, I don’t mean developing Ricky, the charismatic 20-year-old whose barely legal wife would make a great young girl’s minister so they can “serve the youth together” even though only Ricky is gonna get paid. I mean a leader who develops the passions, the talents, the giftings, and the uniqueness of every single one of the people they serve. Who can invite them into creative forms of autonomy and the sharing of power. Who can catalyze them to do far more and far greater than any one pastor ever could.

The Church needs leaders who see people and know people. A leader who knows how Tom is doing in AA, why Kelly was quiet during last night’s discussion, and that Jaime would be a great person for Thomas to talk to about his ongoing issues with his boss. A leader who is so deeply present in the lives of her people, that their lives become the very things that shape, change, and motivate the work and heart of the church.

The Church needs leaders who can form and shape communities. Leaders who can foster healthy relationships outside of their personal involvement. Who can encourage hard conversations, make space for difficult differences of opinion, and motivate shared responsibility and trust. We need leaders who care more about the community’s goals and vision than their own and who know how to bring out a community’s goals and vision by building up their autonomy, independence, and freedom.

The Church needs long-suffering leaders. Leaders who do not consider their timetables disrupted by the chronic illness or disability in their midst. Leaders who do not believe their “mission” is hindered because of another’s relapse or recently uncovered triggers. We need leaders willing to love well and love long, who allow others to grow and heal at their own pace, and who genuinely believe that the messiness, complexity, and hardships of others that seem to keep them “inefficient” are the very things that make the Church most faithful and whole.

The Church needs leaders who love nuance and can sit in tension. The days of assumed doctrinal unity and signed statements of belief are dying. And on the rise is an urgent need for thriving communities that do not always agree, aren’t always best friends, and yet are bonded by a common cause and purpose. A leader of such a community must not only be able to sit with but should also be able to find enjoyment in such complexity.

The Church needs leaders who do not need the institutional church to minister. Leaders who are not waiting on an ordination to offer compassion and companionship to the least of these in their midst. Leaders whose wisdom expands beyond Sunday morning and whose community service is not a monthly scheduled event. The Church needs leaders who are creative and innovative, willing to explore new forms of organizing and gathering. Who are willing and eager to break free of molds and who probably never fit very well within them anyway.

The Church is changing friends. Shouldn’t our standards for church leadership change too?

1. *cough* burrying *cough**cough*