Clergy as Coach
Most seminaries teach that the minister is a: preacher, pastor, prophet, counselor, and administrator. This article will focus on : Clergy as Administrator. This is the foundational role that makes the other facets of our calling work.
There are many different approaches to handling the roles of administrator (leader) in the church: "cheerleader", " fix it upper", "ye ole buddy", "Holy Joe/Susie", " boss in charge", and maybe "Super salesperson". Let me suggest another ... coach. Let your imagination and intuition help you decide how the others would work. Allow me to explain the possibilities of coaching.
A good coach knows the game, has a creative approach to playing it, is able to recruit players and team leaders, then train them to function as a team. A good coach stays on the sidelines and never competes with his/her own players.
Knowing the Game
For clergy the game rules are in the polity of one's particular denomination. It is essential to know not only what the different committees are, but why they exist, and how they all compliment each other. Committees help the group to: worship, do missions, recruit new members, educate the members concerning the Bible, provide financial support for the church, and take care of the church property .
The power places exist in taking care of church property (trustees), and in financial support (Finance Committee). Usually the strongest members of the church should be placed here ... people with knowledge of property and handling and raising money. Without a financial foundation there will be no building, Church School material, salaries, or church utilities. The church building provides a place to worship, educate, have fellowship, and do the business of the church.
Property is important because it gives the church a place in which to function. The property is also a strong symbolic statement of who and what the church is. Even though the property is important the church has to be more than buildings and and raising money. Every club and human organization possess both of these ingredients. When these two essentials become the primary reason for existence the congregation ceases to be the Church.
The church exists to preach the word, administer the Sacraments, convert the world, and nurture the community of faith.
Worship leaders usually are creative and love the arts. For it is through singing, dancing, reading, prayer, poetry, and fellowship that we worship God. The symbols of the church are like great paintings. One loves them without knowing why. When they are present one feels the presence of God. They are powerful statements of the faith. Without that historical mooring the church is without an identity . Those who would be leaders in worship should be people of strong faith plus the creative people in your congregation, and also be individuals who possess honest and sincere piety.
Recruiting for the Kingdom is the Divine Imperative (evangelism). It is the only way faith babies can be born into the church. A church that is not growing is dying. When the church is dying the civilization is experiencing moral and ethical decay. There can be not separation of state and morality. There can be no separation of church and morality. There can be no separation of state and ethics. There can be no separation of church and ethics. That which is essential to the very being of both cannot be separate from either of them. The state should not be run by the church. The church should not be run by the state. They are different sides of the same sheet of paper. Both are essential to the sheet of paper's existence.
If the church refuses to recruit it ceases to be the church. The practice of hospitality, caring for the souls of humanity, and caring for the society as a whole are essentials to the faith. Those who would lead the church should excel in this area of faith formation. Otherwise, the doors of he church will be closed. They may be proclaimed to be open, but if the church is not intentional in recruiting for the kingdom the doors are closed. Mainline churches in America are closed shop! Therefore, they are dying. They think it is because of outmoded worship forms, polity and theological beliefs. Our worship forms and beliefs support our uniqueness as seeking Christians. Different personalities need different forms in which to express themselves. As long as people are different a variety of church experiences will need to exist. Our problem is indifference to our calling to: "Go Ye into the world and teach them, baptizing them in the name of he Father, Son and Holy Spirit"... And then accepting them into the church as brothers and sisters in the faith.
Education is essential for the growing Christian. The Bible is our text book, and our guide for spiritual formation. Only those steeped in its knowledge and doing their best to practice its teachings will survive very long in this alien world. Christian Education should begin with Bible education. Those who teach should be strong practicing Christians. Having a gift of being able to teach should be secondary to knowing and experiencing the truths of the faith. A good example is far stronger than a temporary acting flair.
Being in mission to the world the church reaches out to the far places. There it takes it message by word and deed. The word given is the Biblical faith. The deed is educating, healing, and helping persons in other cultures to make it in a difficult world. So much for game plans and positions needing players.
RECRUITING PLAYERS
"You have the strongest core of leadership I've ever seen", commented my local District Superintendent. "Have you ever had another church with such a team of leaders?" he asked. Sure I responded. I have had stronger leadership in other churches.
I didn't have the heart to tell him that a pastor who had served this church a few years before had told me that this church had the weakest leadership of any church he had ever served. Only a few could lead here was his opinion.
Building leadership is a never finished process. Good coaches know what type of player each position on the team requires. With this information always present and the needs of his team always in his /her mind, matching these needs with people is a never ending process.
Learning the people pool from which your leadership will be drawn is one of your most difficult tasks as a minister.
"I don't envy you", he said. "1600 members ... you've got to learn all of their names; Oh, it much more than that. Every member is like a book on the shelf in the library. If you are going to be their pastor you've got to take each one off the shelf and read it. You've got to know them. Know their needs. Know their abilities. Then you can be the pastor of this church." He was a wise man. His summation of our task is not far off the mark.
There are few secrets concerning the attributes of good leadership. There are plenty books written on the subject. The church is filled with people of ability. Match them and you will be a good leader.
The good coach does not make great leaders. The good coach gives good players an opportunity to win a position on the team. The foolish coach would give a person a leadership position without them earning it. There are few churches so closed that only certain people can serve on committees in them. Most churches are looking for people to work. Good leadership is developed when people with gifts and graces for leading are given a chance to emerge. Place them in a group that needs his/her leadership. Good coaches will plant several such people in every group in the church. Those who show strong inclination to lead will be encouraged to exert their leadership abilities. Future committee chairpersons are born in heading small projects within the larger committee. Once they succeed at this level they can be recognized for larger responsibility. It takes about two years to build a church's leadership to a level that the church can undertake almost any project and succeed.
The worst thing that can be done to a promising leader is to make them chairperson of an important committee before they have paid their dues to the group. This will alienate the old timers. When you are gone these people will be destroyed. Churches can be most cruel in discarding persons they don't like. Most old timers don't like those folks ... "who are coming in here to take over". If the coach is patient the old timers will adopt the new comer, and find a place for that person equal to the level of trust they are able to earn. Never make leaders! Give people the opportunity to emerge as leaders.
HAVE A GAME PLAN
Goals give the Committees something to do that is essential to the health of the church. The smart coach will let the goals emerge from the group. A retreat is important to establishing goals. Many of the goals will be "housekeeping responsibilities". These are the year in and out responsibilities of the committee. i.e. ... Education: recruiting, training, and providing resources teachers in the church school. Or in the case of the Finance Committee ... a yearly program for receiving pledges for the coming year, collecting the money and paying the bills. Then there are creative new programs for the church to experience. Such programs usually emerge because of something of importance in the secular world which has grabbed the attention of society. If the church has a word to say it can be said in these special programs.
ENJOY
I judge servers in restaurants by the actions of a young Chinese lady who served us years ago. She was new to America ... Dainty in bearing, and pleasing in personality. When she brought our plates she smiled and said clearly ... "enjoy". I had never heard it put that way , but it sounded good! I enjoyed that meal.
Enjoying watching people grow is most important to the success of a good coach.. If you can not enjoy watching others grow you may be in the wrong profession, or at least you can not coach. You will have to develop another style.