What are the questions that the lay leadership should be exploring with the people they have called to be spiritual leaders for their congregation? The governing body of my local church is a session. You can translate that into your language for the council that meets with the pastor(s) of your local church.
If we are to encourage leaders rather then managers, we need to develop the capacity to converse around areas of discomfort. I recently asked a pastor what was one significant area that he wished his congregation would move forward on in response to God’s calling. He thought a moment and then said, “I wish they would sense God’s calling them to be truly open to diversity as a congregation. They dabble in it but they are not willing to face the chaos of discomfort that would lead them to fully embrace the vision of a Body of Christ which welcomes all of God’s people. They are open to diverse people joining if they will then adapt to become just like them.”
I wonder how often a session ever raises such questions for a pastor. How often do we challenge a pastor to be a leader. Leaders are not always right in their visions. They need to have a reality check of trying to interpret their vision among a supportive group of believers. What they don’t need is to be afraid to try to have that conversation.
As a congregational leader, I am challenged and supported by having people take me seriously enough to ask such questions. I once had an elder who liked to sing Christmas carols during Advent ask to have a discussion about that. I was impressed when he began the discussion by saying, “Before I tell you how I feel, I want to understand what you think are the issues behind your decisions.”
If some members of a congregation get upset by something the pastor is doing, what would it mean for the governing board to say, “We know some people are upset, therefore we want to hear from you what the faith issues are that we have to face with respect to our actions. Why do you think that being faithful to God leads us in this direction.”
Such questions and discussion might move our meetings from being just a set of votes to a journey in deepening all of our faiths. It might also help us develop a better understanding of what it means to be the Body of Christ.
