Transforming Church

Over sixty leaders gathered in Columbus to review a list of one hundred transformational characteristics the seminary had gleaned. There was consensus at that time that each statement in the list contributed something to the leadership definition they were seeking, though not all of them equally so.

Since that event the changing world has moved more than another half-decade. Trends have advanced, fads have begun to fade and technology has moved us in multiple directions at the same time.

While transformational defines what has been happening in perhaps 15-20 percent of the congregations in any denomination, most of the Church persists in determining what happens by a majority or consensus of the members. Most of it ends up being personal interest and desire. Those congregations grow nominally by adding a few members or continue to decline in number. Without proponents even realizing it, Constitutions and Robert's Rules Of Order frustrate and compromise the work of the Spirit.

Where transformation is able to occur, the addition of a few members is replaced by the multiplication of disciples for Christ. What happens is determined by focusing on the mission Christ has given the congregation and the vision the Holy Spirit gives to it.

Compromised focus means is that there is still something every elusive for most about being able to pin down or nail down what transformational leadership is. What is at the heart of a transformational leader? What would be considered necessary or expected of a leader who is identified as transformational?

In the spirit of the work that was done a number of years ago by Trinity Seminary under Dr. Sager’s leadership, what is being offered here are 14 primary current characteristics of transformational leaders, followed by 11 secondary ones. There has been no attempt to list either the 14 or the 11 in any particular order.

PRIMARY CHARACTERISTICS
1. Transformational leaders have a passion for the unchurched.
2. Transformational leadership is more an attitude than it is a leadership style.
3. The mission of transformational leaders is to turn church members into disciples of Jesus, who make other disciples of Jesus … to move from being a caretaker parish to being a mission outpost.
4. Transformational leaders desire more than they can accomplish, insisting that some things have to be believed to be seen. They maintain that vision is the art of seeing things invisible and that vision is ongoing, not something that can be completed in a lifetime.
5. Knowing that DNA defines an organism and is in every cell, transformational leaders are not content until the church’s DNA becomes unambiguously missional.
6. Transformational leaders are about building trust and giving permission.
7. Transformational leaders are self-differentiated. They are not afraid to say, "I am your servant for Jesus’ sake, but you are not my master."
8. Transformational leaders manifest a genuine and persistent compassion for those who don’t know the peace and joy of life with God. Outreach with that embracive goal reflects great diversity.
9. Transformational leaders decentralize decision-making so that those closest to a particular ministry are the ones empowered to make decisions that fit intrinsically into the congregation’s mission and vision.
10. Transformational leaders, like Jesus, spend a lot of time with a core group who are ready and willing to go and make disciples who make disciples.
11. Transformational leaders repeatedly cast vision for work to build a healthy church that almost inevitably becomes a growing church. Approximately 80% of a pastor's time should be spent casting vision as they go about their ministry..
12. A large majority of transformational leaders act as player coaches. They do not pretend to be a coach that sits on the sidelines and sends in the plays and players.
13. Effective transformational leaders align everything and everyone with the vision and the leverage point.
14. Leaders who anticipate the Holy Spirit’s transformation realize that all such growth starts with them. They either become a catalyst for change or grow to be content with the status quo. Upwards to 85% of ELCA parish clergy unfortunately seem to settle for the latter.

SECONDARY CHARACTERISTICS
1. Transformational leaders do not settle for survival goals. Instead they recognize that the key to survival issues in the parish is an ability to foster and build positive, affirming interpersonal relationships.
2. Transformational leaders are committed to proactive ministry that focuses on opportunities rather than responding to problems.
3. Transformational leaders are opportunists who recognize when the “kairos” time has come for select actions.
4. Transformational leaders know that another of the worst obstacles to growth is present satisfaction with the way things are. A complacent church is generally farther from being an agent for transformation than one with a sense of desperation or in an acknowledged crisis.
5. Transformational leaders believe that the fewer people we can have making guidance decisions the better. Congregations governed by consensus don’t grow. In any effective team, but surely in the best leadership teams, a leader among leaders emerges. That person becomes the primary visionary for that team. The pastor becomes the keeper of the vision for the congregation.
6. In every effective, growing missional congregation, the transformational pastor, as chief spiritual leader, has to be the keeper of the vision. She/he bears the deepest responsibility to discern the direction of the Holy Spirit.
7. Transformational leaders sense that starting another worship service targeted to the unchurched may be the most important decision a church can make to grow. Such a service will feature music that is indigenous and easy to sing, visuals, drama, and other engaging communications. Music is clearly the global language in today’s American mission field. To be appreciated today is that the fad of contemporary praise services is starting to fade out. Next to finding the right transformational pastor, finding the right chief musician is the most important staffing decision.
8. Transformational leaders love the Church! Such love may or may not include the denomination.
9. Neither Ordination nor Installation create a transformational leader. The making, calling, and empowering of transformational leadership is the work of the Holy Spirit. One's calling is anchored in their baptism.
10. Transformational leaders know that transformed adults of any age, not youth, are the future of their congregation. Adults who are changed, gifted, called, and equipped will take care of everything else. Trained youth do, of course, help lead the church.
11. Transformational leaders know that congregational insiders are often least likely to discern vision. People on the fringe of church life are typically better able to identify what is needed. Transformational leaders consult with them regularly.

Transformational leaders expect to learn much from other vibrantly healthy, growing congregations, but realize that cloning them is neither an option nor desirable. Often defined as "out-of-the-box," transformational leaders summon the church to move from the existing "establishment church" paradigm back to the original first century "missional church" paradigm. They understand that biblical images of the church in mission are crucial to understanding what Jesus has called the Church to be.