Transforming Church

As a layperson, the Jesus I have heard described is too often characterized by meekness and turning the other cheek. As I study the scripture, the picture I get of Jesus is quite different. I never see Jesus turn back from confronting wrong thinking or action. I never see him value harmony over truth telling. I never see him worry about losing support of long-time church leaders because he takes a stand.

Just the opposite, Jesus continually raises the bar on the expectations of his followers. He leads in ways that shatter the status quo wherever he goes. He made very clear the cost of discipleship, and saw many turn away when they understood the commitment required. Jesus was very explicit in his call that we be disciples, make disciples and feed the sheep. Why is discipleship not at the core of the culture of our churches? Why do we continue to count as members anyone who has contributed or communed in two years? Why do we prize harmony and not making waves?

Transformation will happen in our churches when a core group of leaders make a personal commitment to living as disciples and modeling the servant leadership style taught to us by Jesus. Ken Blanchard gives a great description of this style in his book, The Servant Leader. Unfortunately, leadership is not the gift of many of our pastors. Our seminaries neither select for leadership traits nor do they focus on leadership development.

Pastors, can you find one leader in your church who is hearing the call of the Holy Spirit to a deeper spiritual walk? Invest time and energy mentoring that person into a deeper walk, and you will see results multiply. John Kotter, in his book Leading Change, lays out the ten steps to effectively managing change in organizations. First, you build a sense of urgency. Second, you create a guiding coalition. Third, you develop a vision and strategy.

To build a sense of urgency, one must paint a clear picture of reality, and how far we have strayed from our Biblical roots. Mike Foss does a great job of this in his book, Power Surge. Be the prophet in your midst. Hold up a mirror and show the people of God how far our membership model has strayed from 1st century discipleship.

To create a guiding coalition, you must find those people who share two traits: they are leaders, people whose opinion matters to your flock, and they are hearing the call of the Spirit to grow in their relationship to Christ. Most likely, this leadership group is not your Church Council. Gather those leaders who are hearing the call into regular fellowship and study in a small group setting. Work with them to discern their gifts, and learn from them the skills of leadership if that is not your strong suit.

As you develop this guiding coalition, plant the vision of discipleship. Work to create within this team a true expression of the Body of Christ in your midst (See The Body of Christ as Ministry Team). With that team, you can create a vision and strategy that will transform your church. Without a core group of leaders who buy into the vision of discipleship, it just wonÂ’t happen. So, what are you doing to develop leaders in your church? How much do you budget for leadership development?

So, as Bill Easum says, the place to start with transformation is Spiritual Leadership. Starting anywhere else will not produce the results you desire. ItÂ’s all about leadership.