TSL and Strategic Decisions Within Church Ministry

Christian organizations relate to Transformational Servant Leadership (TSL) in a unique way. There are many Christian organizations that seek to sell or offer a particular service and that function similar to a business. And although there are many churches that function like a business with goals, results, markers for success and marketing materials, there is a foundational difference between a local church and a business because the church ultimately exists for the benefit of others. There are people who benefit from a career in church ministry – like most of the CM1 group – but I believe there is a fundamental difference in its purpose. In speaking of TSL, Imbenzi, Williaume and Page assert: “The essence of Jesus’ attitude was that his primary focus was on serving others, not self. Jesus was the archetypical servant, and as followers of Jesus Christ, we are admonished to exhibit the same fundamental attitude” (para 10, 2013). Jesus is our example for effective TSL, yet he is also our guide for church ministry. When the focus of a church moves from people to something else, such as maintaining a building or program, then it has missed the mark. In many ways, TSL integrates most seamlessly with a Christian organization, as the basic foundation for TSL and the church are similar. If there were any organization that should place an emphasis on serving, investing and growing with the people involved, I would hope it would be the church.

Churches can often get caught up in things like growth, numbers, budgets and financial goals, all of which are not bad things alone. However, as a Christian organization, there must be a continual realignment to God’s grand mission – a constant refocusing that moves the focal point of an organization from itself and onto others. This inevitably affects the strategic leadership directions an organization will take because success in the church is not always something that can be quantified or measured. Tracking and analyzing numbers can help a local church in a number of ways but numbers alone can not show whether someone is maturing spiritually or growing in their communion with Christ. Likewise, leaders must not only consider what is effective in reaching people outside the church, but they should also consider how to best disciple, grow and develop the people inside the church as this too is part of church ministry. TSL can affect the strategic decisions a church will make because it forces a church to look beyond the organization itself. Though a church may be growing in its numbers it may not be serving its purpose. In some cases, churches may look foolish to others as they cut a program that appears to be thriving, or is bringing in significant revenue, but is not helping lead and grow people into mature disciples of Christ. These are strategic decision churches or Christian organizations may have to may make as they integrate TSL.

Servant Leadership as Central

One of the benefits of keeping servant leadership as a central focus in a Christian ministry is that it involves the people that are already present and encourages a wide range of input. Rather than always looking outward, servant leadership forces an organization to consider, integrate and value the perspective of those within the organization. “Organizations need to create more and better ways to make strategic thinking a collective process that engages diverse perspectives and viewpoints” (Hughes, Beatty & Dinwoodie, 2014, p.56). Servant leadership does this, as it requires leaders to value the input of those around them, which can lead to greater diversity and foster a greater sense of community. “A characteristic of the work of leaders is that it always happens in the presence of other people – leadership by its nature is a team activity” (Ungerer, Ungerer & Herholdt, 2016, p. 11). Servant leadership fosters this value of team.

As TSL model effective servant leadership, a culture of being “other-centered” can be fostered. This is particularly true in a church as Christians are encouraged to grow and lead as they mature in Christ. When Christians see servant leadership being modelled as a follower then it is likely they too will model that when they are given the chance to lead. When an organization holds TSL as a central focus, it helps to inform and build a serving culture, beginning at the top and working its way throughout (Imbenzi, et al., 2013)). This concept of being other-centered could be compared to the concept Jesus speaks of as “dying to self” or self-sacrifice. It leads to a greater development of others while growing people in their own spiritual maturity.

Critical Thinking, Culture and the Mission of the Church

The major principle that stands out from the Critical Thinking activity is the principle of self-reflection and assessment. Leaders must constantly be aware of the assumptions they hold as they make decisions. This requires leaders to step back, view the big picture and reflect on the underlying assumptions and beliefs they hold. This process of self-reflection and assessment is ongoing. Churches must always be asking questions of themselves in order to understand and address complex issues of culture, beliefs and religion. In essence, self-reflection and assessment forces leaders to continue to reframe, rework and reimagine how the church might engage with culture. This process helps inform the strategies a church will take in order to reach the people in their city. Critical thinking is one way leaders can spur on the mission of the church and refine their methods of engagement with culture and their enactment of the Great Commission (Matthew 28).

Resources

Hughes, R. L., Beatty, Collarelli-Beatty, K., & Dinwoodie, D. L. (2014). Becoming a strategic leader: Your role in your organization’s enduring success. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

Imbenzi, G., Williaume, D. & Page, D. (2013). Transformational servant leadership. Unpublished manuscript, Master of Arts in Leadership. Trinity Western University: Langley, Canada.

Jethani, S. (2017). Immeasurable: Reflections on the soul of ministry in the Age of Church, Inc. Chicago: Moody.

Ungerer, M., Ungerer, G., & Herholdt, J. (2016). Navigating strategic possibilities: Strategy formulation and execution practices to flourish.Randburg: KR Publishing

Food for Thought

Thinking and writing about strategic leadership and the church has been a bit tricky. There is a measure of dissonance for me as I consider how the church should operate. In many ways, there is an element of “wastefulness” that Jesus modelled in his ministry that does not seem to fit into a strategic model (Jethani, 2017, p. 31). Jesus did not always invest in people who produced something, or provided any sort of return. As church leaders, we also may end up wasting time, resources or energy on people who do not offer anything in return simply because we believe they are worth it. In essence, this is servant leadership. Yet it is difficult for me to incorporate this into a model of strategic leadership. Can the concept of dying to self and strategic leadership be held together? This little doodle sums up some of the disconnect for me.