Pastors Should Not Be Leaders
Eugene Peterson (best known for “The Message”) in his book titled “Letters to a Young Pastor,” a compilation of letters from him to his son about pastoring, writes that the modern emphasis on leadership in the pastorate is a damaging trend. There are several reasons he believes this is true, chiefly that leadership is mostly about charisma, skills, and techniques. Leadership is about doing and doesn’t naturally flow from being. With politicians, the question is asked what does their personal life have anything to do with qualifying or disqualifying them from leadership? If they can get their job done, that’s all that matters.
Here is a true-life example, in my current search for a new place of ministry, I have had interviews with three churches. A mix of pastors and board members have asked me about my skills and training, my philosophies, my vision and dreams (aka my leadership), but I have not gotten even a single question about my spiritual life with God, not one. And this reveals the danger: When Pastor is synonymous with leader, it is all too easy for Pastor to become leader first and Christian second, where Christian becomes the servant of leader.
This should not be. Yet I am guilty. In the books I read (how to lead, influence, structure, package, market, attract). The podcasts I listen to (leadership this, leadership that). The conferences I attend (how to grow your church, or have better systems). My pastoral and church goals (more effective programs, more growth, more volunteers, more, more, more). The language I use (like referring to people as resources or calling everything systems). It is not pretty, but it is true, and I am trying to change.
So if pastor isn’t simply a specific form of leadership, then what is a pastor? That is a loaded, multi-faceted question, but one response Eugene Peterson gave is profound.
The Pastor is the lead follower.
This means that by definition, pastoring flows from who I am, my being. Follower is emphasized over lead. Follower is the person; lead is simply a function. Lead now becomes the servant of follower. Lead is peripheral.
Leading simply means: I am an example as you watch me follow Jesus, and I am intentionally talking about the process and inviting you deeper and deeper into both your own and our corporate followership.
This causes me to ask much different questions. Am I a good follower (in contrast to am I a good leader)? What does it mean to be a good follower? What are my goals as a follower? How can I learn and grow as a follower? If the people in my congregation knew everything about me, would they even want me to follow my example? How can I authentically model my followership for the congregation?
The implications are far-reaching and profound, affecting preaching, worship, congregational systems, and outreach, to name a few.
And the invitation is this: are you open to allowing the Holy Spirit to speak to you about leadership versus lead followership in the coming days?
EDITOR’S NOTE: The author of this article, Brandon Horst, and his wife, Hannah, are the blessed parents of 4 beautiful children. They currently reside in Fairfax, VA where Brandon is concluding his MDiv with an emphasis on Spiritual Formation through friendship and the blending of historical and pentecostal traditions in church worship. He and his wife are seeking their next steps in ministry and hope to become the lead followers of a congregation.
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