Andy Stanley on The Courageous Pastor
- Posted by: Todd
- Posted on: Mon, November 08, 2004
- Viewed 190
- (55) comments so far
The irony is we stand up and talk about Daniel in the lion's den but then we won't even confront elders. All of these bible heroes ? David and Goliath ? and we love to preach those sermons and draw these parallels and then we're scared to confront people. I think that dynamic alone is a big part of why the church is where it is. The leadership ? or lack of leadership ? is just so much fear of people. I don't know where that comes from...
When I see pastors who are scared I want to tell them, 'Just lead.' If they fire you and you don't think God will take care of you, then you have no message for your people anyway, because we get up every Sunday and say God's grace is sufficient. He's going to take care of you, He'll meet your every need and you'll never see the "righteous go hungry." It's what we preach, but if our lack of faith in those practical things causes us to not to be able to lead then what's our message anyway?"
Wow... that gives you something substancial to think about on a Monday morning, doesn't it? I know many who read this are going through great times of conflict during your present ministry. Some probably had a day yesterday where things just blew up (literally). Don't let your 'worry about tommorrow' determine how you react to today's situations. There are also many that are reading this that are flying high in ministry right now. Stay strong. Stay courageous. And love your people.
What do you think? Do you agree with Andy? How have you shown courage in your leadership recently? Or, maybe you can give us an example of a time or two when you were scared and weren't very courageous. I'd love to hear your comments.
Serving on a church staff is not for the faint-hearted. It takes courage and strength to lead in the church. Andy Stanley spoke about pastors and courage in a recent edition of Preaching Magazine. Here’s what Andy wrote: "Speaking from my limited view, I feel like so much of the problem with pastors is they are just scared to death. They’re scared of their people, they’re scared of deacons, they’re scared, they’re scared, they’re scared. You know, if you’re scared of someone you can’t lead them; you can hardly even influence them. Here’s the pastor who’s been hired ? I tell our business guys all the time, "You’d never go to work for an organization where the customers can hire and fire the president of the company they bought products from." But that’s the church world.
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Chad Rowland on Wed, November 10, 2004
God calls His Church a family. God designed it so the husband would lead the family. How is He to lead? With a servant’s heart and willingness to sacrifice His personal goals for those He leads and loves. At times, that means boldly speaking the truth in love. Andy Stanley’s assertion is not that the church is like, or should be like, corporate America. Rather, it is that effective leadership requres courage. This courage will ultimately protect and positively influence those he leads. In the first chapter of the Letter to the Galatians, Paul said his goal was to please God not man. That took courage. What was the result? The end of the chapter say that the people praised God because of Him. When leaders give the people what they need, instead of what they want, the leaders may not be praised, but God will receive glory. Is that not what it is all about? Whether it is the family, a church, or a business, matters not. It all belongs to God and the goal remains the same. Share Jesus with unbelievers and lead believers to grow in their faith.
Anonymous on Mon, November 15, 2004
I was for 6 plus years at a local church and then finally got kicked out by the “old core” because they could not handle any further growth or change they could not control. I have gone on to get my doctorate in organization and leadership and am still licking my emotional wounds. So are my wife and kids. Amazing how evil Christians can be to their pastors. Where is repentance and reconciliation? Christians shoot their pastors and the wounded!
Candidly,there is also alot of pious unthinking mush by large church pastors who actually live by a very Maxwellian and positivistic philosophy of leadership that involves strong manipulation and coercion. The denominations push it hard. They let you know that you are not a worthwhile pastor if there are not lots of people in the pews. Read Maxwell’s book, and you too can make it happen! The truth is that people hire you for all sorts of reasons. The people are often very conflicted, and troubled, and stressed, and then don’t have the stomach or energy to see the vision through that you patiently work with them on. And when you start to push them to follow through on their commitments, they can turn on you. After 16 years of being a pastor, it started taking a toll on my health and family. People and pastors stop calling pretty soon after you have been dumped. Complete social cut off. What does Christian comunity mean then? Not much. There is serious sin and evil running right through the middle of everybody’s heart in American evangelical Christianity. We are more interested in making war in Iraq, killing and wounding thousands of people to defend our consumerism and economic imperialism, offending the world in the process, and telling pastors and God what to do, than caring for the poor, or living a spirit-formed life. So much for Christian witness to the world by Americans.
Is George Bush the right model of Christian leadership? His “no listening, my way or the highway” style is not found in Scripture, except in unvirtuous dominating examples like Ahab. My idealism got me in trouble. I thought being a pastor was a good and spiritual thing, and that God wanted a multi-ethnic, discipleship oreinted, Spirit-filled approach. Then I finally broke down and got angry like Moses when I got relentlessly attacked and realized that the old core people did not want spiritual growth, or numerical growth - just a comfort countryclub lifestyle. And God did not bring aid - just escape and a type of judgement. Some time after I left, a new pastor came to the church with about 150 people from a neighboring church. Got tough, dominating, and Machiavellian with the people. I think that the old core have left for the most part and been replaced by new people. Guess I was used to propheticly challenge them, and they said no. Then God brought another who came to kick the old core out and sweep things clean under a new domination. And the cost of courage was me and my family. I wonder how many pastors have given up on evangelical Christianity because it is too closely tied to Right-wing politics that it forgets the poor and too closely tied to modern domination oriented secular leadership theory that it forgets the Spirit? I am sorely tempted. That’s where courage has led me so far.
Eric Kouns on Mon, November 15, 2004
Andy Stanley’s comments are both naive and wrong-headed. He is apparently naive about the way the corporate world functions, as other comments have noted. He is wrong-headed when he likens the relationship of pastor and people to that of corporate executives and “customers.” Churches don’t “hire” pastors to lead them as much as they call pastors to serve with them in the mutuality of congregational ministry. True, the pastor’s service takes the form of leadership, but it is always to follow the model outlined by Peter: “Shepherd the flock of God among you, exercising oversight not under compulsion, but voluntarily, according to the will of God; and not for sordid gain, but with eagerness; nor yet as lording it over those allotted to your charge, but proving to be examples to the flock.” (I Peter 5:2,3)
The mindset advocated by Andy Stanley will almost certainly lead to confrontation and dissension or to a controlling leadership style which is inconsistent with Peter’s exhortation.
Paul Burrus on Wed, November 17, 2004
Andy Stanley’s use of an analogy is just that: an analogy. I have worked in the business world and presently I pastor and teach at a community college. To me, what makes pastoring a church more challenging is: 1) the volunteer nature of those with whom we work and the exceedingly great sense of entitlement held my many of these volunteers, 2) the lack of healthy communication (Matt.18:15-17)and boundaries in the pastorate, 3) the innumerable unwritten rules & expectations of parishoners, and 4)the fact that pastors have no contract rights whatsoever. We are really at the mercy of those with whom we serve. The secular courts have made it clear that they will not intervene on our behalf. So, any protection we may get comes from our denominational judicatories who in my experience have been more concerned about politically appeasing the old guard because of money than standing up with us on principle. It is unfathomable to me how denominational officials can place us on the front lines and offer no support or protection when we take the stands they command us to take. They’re behind us alright…WAY behind us.
Heaven help us!
Pastor Paul Burrus
Harry Miller on Sun, November 21, 2004
Jesus didn’t seek the praise of man, but the praise that came from God only. For me I bring it to the Lord call upon His Name in faith and Jesus takes care of it.
Ron Mirick on Mon, November 29, 2004
I think that this article hits the nail on the head. So many Pastors that I know are trying to lead people while being politically correct. They are truly scared about their future if they don’t conform to the whims of the church board or elder committee. I have found that a bi-vocational ministry is an awesome combination. I can deliver a clear and direct message the way God intended the message to be delivered. Then if the messenger gets shot, so be it, but God’s word got out.
Their are some issues that face us as Pastors and church leaders that cannot be handled delicately. Our church faced an issue with one of the elders. Their conduct was not becoming of a follower of Christ and it was affecting the church as a whole. After several months (using the example Jesus gave us on church discipline) of trying to help this person find a way to change their behavior, God took them from our church and placed them in another where they are flourishing. But not only that, we have gone from 13 people to over 60 people, and souls are being imprinted with God’s word. We are now reaching those in our community who would never have come and found Jesus in the negative environment that we were providing. God used the courage we showed, of standing up to the power figure in our church, to bless us beyond measure.
The freedom that I have because I am a bi-vocational minister has made ministry fun. Yes it still is a lot of work, but God continually blesses myself and my family with the freedom to express His love to others without fear of reprisal. Hope this helps.
On Eagle’s Wings,
Pastor Ron Mirick
linda on Wed, September 14, 2005
We recently lost our minister due to the deacons asking him to resign. Our pastor is single due to his wife’s death, and he’s dating a separated lady. We are very upset that our pastor has been involved with this woman years before his wife’s passing. We feel his being involved with a separated woman is keeping the separated couple from making amends and getting their marriage back together. He resigned with no apology to the church and of course this has put half our church on his side, and the other half staying at the church and not following the pasor.He called to tell me he has not had relations with this lady. I feel like there’s a death in the church. It will take time to heal and I don’t know if we will ever be a family again.Our deacons have taped the pastor also taking items from the church that didn’t belong to him, and they have pictures of him at her apartment at all hours (so the congregation has been told). Thanks, Linda
linda on Wed, September 14, 2005
We recently lost our minister due to the deacons asking him to resign. Our pastor is single due to his wife’s death, and he’s dating a separated lady. We are very upset that our pastor has been involved with this woman years before his wife’s passing. We feel his being involved with a separated woman is keeping the separated couple from making amends and getting their marriage back together. He resigned with no apology to the church and of course this has put half our church on his side, and the other half staying at the church and not following the pasor.He called to tell me he has not had relations with this lady. I feel like there’s a death in the church. It will take time to heal and I don’t know if we will ever be a family again.Our deacons have taped the pastor also taking items from the church that didn’t belong to him, and they have pictures of him at her apartment at all hours (so the congregation has been told). Thanks, Linda
mardi on Thu, November 10, 2005
I’ve never posted before, but I am going through such a struggle at our church that I don’t know what to do.
The senior pastor approached me last April. I prayed and God confirmed everything to me. In September I became the children’s ministry coordinator at our church. We shook things up a bit to say the least, and now one of the “Founding” Elder’s wives is “beating me down” almost every Sunday. Last Sunday the verbal abuse reached a whole new level when she almost physically attacked me. She was so mad about our new children’s worship service that she actually spit on me. What do you do? I grew up in this church. I got married and moved away for 12 or 13 years. Now my husband and our kids have moved back and I am so excited about what God is doing. But I am so saddened and disheartened about the weekly battles. Sometimes I just get tired. Andy’s words are such an encouragement
(even though I’m not officially a pastor).
Thanks for reminding me that our priority is to what God has called US to, and not what others THINK God has called us to. I’m trying to get brave, but it is so hard.
Ellis on Tue, July 07, 2009
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