Elephant in the Boardroom:  Transition, Jesus Style (Part 2)

Orginally published on Tuesday, February 22, 2005 at 8:28 AM
by Todd Rhoades

Last Tuesday, we looked at the first three principles of pastoral transitions, Jesus style. We’ve be using the new book titled "The Elephant in the Boardroom—Speaking the Unspoken about Pastoral Transitions" by Carolyn Weese and J. Russell Crabtree. Today, we’ll continue with the last three principles for Godly transitions outlined in the book. Carolyn and Russ write…

Jesus managed two major leadership transitions in His life. He managed His succession of His predecessor; and He managed His own departure. Today's leader has to manage these same transitions as well.

Principle Four: Envision Abundance
Jesus refuses to envision scarcity upon His departure. He refuses to envision stagnation in the future of His disciples: "I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father" (John 14:12 NIV). The task of forming and articulating a positive vision for the future does not end with a pension for the leader. A leader following Jesus is called to articulate a vision for how the Body can thrive in and through a leadership transition. Anything less is a failure of discipleship.

The closer Jesus moved to His transition out of leadership, the more detailed He became about what would happen next. He gave clear direction... A leader who envisions abundance for the future had better have a specific plan in mind for how the vision will be realized. Every strategic plan should have a strategic target that lays out a transition strategy. The transition plan should have a clear set of actions, with accountability, time lines, and a budget. Envision abundance.

Principle Five: Create Capacity
When a leader moves on, a hole is left in the operation. The hole has two components. The first consists of those irreplaceable qualities that are unique to the leader and impossible to replicate. The second consists of transferable skills that were not transferred. Jesus as Messiah, was unique and irreplaceable. Jesus as mentor, teacher, preacher, and healer was replicable. The process of moving expertise from leader to people is called creating capacity, or reproducible ministry.

A congregation planning for transition needs to build capacity at the leadership level. It needs strategic thinkers and planners. It needs marketing and communication experts. It needs people with skills in personnel recruitment, management, and coaching. It needs people who understand fundraising and financial management. It needs psychologists and counselors who can help high-level people work together in periods of stress without getting entangled in personal issues and baggage. It needs professional artists who can paint and sculpt and sing people into new places. All these people need to be spiritually grounded.

Unfortunately, these are often the most underused people in the church. If they were honest, many leaders would admit being afraid to let people with these gifts too close to the reins of power, because they are threatened by such competence. At the same time, some of the most highly skilled laypeople in the workplace become less than adequate in the church because they have not been empowered to use their gifts to the maximum. As a result, a church that is rich in operational capacity has almost no bench strength at the leadership level. When a key leader departs, the church can't field a team. It is important at every level, but especially at the leadership level. Build capacity.

Principle Six: Fight the Demons
By "fighting the demons," we are not speaking about exorcism. We are speaking about managing the shadow side of our lives, which tends to emerge with particular strength during times of transition. All in all, we do not see many struggles in the life of Jesus, except around His transitions in and out of leadership. At the beginning, the transition from being a carpenter to an itinerate preacher and healer drives Him into the wilderness. At the end, the transition out of leadership and to the cross drives Him to Gethsemane. There are demons appearing at these points of transition that threaten to scuttle the future.

It is not necessary to go into a lengthy analysis of the spiritual struggles that emerge during a time of significant change. The issues tend to focus on matters of personal identity, worth, and place. Others have dealt with these issues in depth; you should make use of the fine resources readily available.

However, it is important to make the point that struggle around leader transition is almost all emotional and/or spiritual. We are afraid of the topic and therefore do not talk about it. We do not talk about it, and therefore we are afraid of it. The fact that we avoid such issues, make discussion of them taboo, reward silence, punish honesty, and put systems in place that perpetuate dysfunction is a spiritual issue.

Leaders on both sides of the board table must face the unhealthy part of themselves that threatens a successful pastoral transition.

Also, I would highly recommend that you consider using this book for a study for your group of board members, personnel committee members or elder group. It will make a huge difference in the future of your ministry. You can order your copies here.

FOR DISCUSSION:  What are your thoughts on these six principles?  Do they make sense?  Are they doable in your present situation?  What part of these principles is the hardest to understand or to implement?

This post has been viewed 274 times so far.



 TRACKBACKS: (0) There are 8 Comments:

I'm a chronic workaholic, love to connect leaders with other leaders, and would consider myself somewhat of a 'maven'. Hopefully you'll find something here at MMI you'll like and will return often. If you want, you can find out more about me or follow my every step.

MondayMorningInsight.com | PO Box 446 | Bryan, OH 43506 |