So you think you’re superhuman?

In this concluding Out front in a series responding to the Canadian MB Conference’s pastoral trends survey, allow me to address several critical findings.

Expectations

The expectations leaders have of themselves and their churches (or organizations) can spell success or disaster. Findings from the survey indicate that both pastors and congregations need to be much clearer about work expectations. According to researcher Dieter Schönwetter, “pastors fall prey to their own unrealistic expectations that they are capable of doing more than is humanly possible.”

A survey conducted with church planters across North America revealed that church planters who had realistic expectations regarding their church planting efforts increased their long-term success by 400 percent. If their expectations were unrealistic, discouragement set in and often led to their demise.

As a pastor and church planting director, I easily relate to the gap between expectations and reality. Once, when I was a pastor in Nova Scotia, we sent 1,700 invitation letters announcing our fall kickoff to people who had responded favourably to a previous phone call introducing our church. We expected about 170 visitors. Only 11 people showed up! The experience caused our congregation to regroup and rethink our approach for reaching the community.

Here are some questions that have helped me deal with confusing expectations: What does God want to do? Who am I and how am I gifted? What am I called to do? What is our congregation called to do? Who will do it with me? How will we do it? How will we evaluate our progress? The real benefit takes place when these questions are dealt with not alone, but together with a leadership team.

Teamwork

In reviewing the survey results, I was surprised at what appears to be a growing professionalization of the clergy. This is dangerous for the health of both the pastoral staff and church. The solo or professional pastor function that Mennonite Brethren have adopted over the last half-century often leads to the unrealistic pressures pastors feel.

A fresh look at Ephesians 4:11ff would help move the church forward in understanding the role of leadership: to equip people for the work of ministry. The growing trend of calling people from within the congregation to greater involvement in the church, often hiring them as staff to equip people, is a step in the right direction.

Pastors must work hard at building relationships with all the leaders in the church, seeing each other as friends and comrades for the cause, rather than competitors or people they need to outsmart in order to move things forward their way. This plurality of leaders reflects the biblical model of leadership much more accurately.

Security

Essential to teamwork is a healthy self-concept. I work best when I’m secure in myself and in my role. Ultimately this comes from being secure in my calling in Christ. A good leader is one who learns to follow. If I’m secure in my relationship with God, I can be secure in my relationship with others. This security also allows me to hold my ideas loosely, so that my identity isn’t tied up in them.

A divine mentor

For many years I was irregular in my personal Bible reading and study. That’s changed. In addition, I’ve developed the practice of daily life-journalling. I now find it hard to imagine being a devoted follower of Jesus and not regularly filling my heart with the life lessons of the many God-fearing people in the Bible and with the teachings of the Master himself. Through Scripture reading and journal writing, God has sent his Spirit to be my divine mentor.

Jesus said, “For out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks” (Matthew 12:34). Will it be good or evil? How will my heart respond to the challenges I face personally, in my family, and as a leader? Through my daily meeting with God, he has the opportunity to shape that.

I can’t imagine leading the church and not filling up on a daily feeding of the Word. The strength, wisdom, courage, and self-awareness gained are invaluable.

Ewald Unruh is director of leadership development and Evangelism Canada for the Canadian MB Conference, and helped initiate the pastoral trends survey. He hopes these Out front articles, as well as other resources being produced (such as the pastoral trends DVD that will soon be available to churches), will get us talking about leadership health and vitality.