Yesterday I received an e-mail from my home church with a shortlist of names that will be voted on in two weeks for our church leadership board. We call them
deacons but other churches might call them elders, leadership team members, governing board members, or something else. Our church constitution calls for a two-week notice to the membership before a vote will be taken.
I know that communication is hindered because of the covid-19 restrictions for physical meetings, but still, there's got to be a better way of selecting the leaders of the church. Let's think together about this possible better way.
First, would it be better to have a clear pathway of church leadership development in place long before any nominations are made?
A leadership pathway for the church would include a thorough biblical study of leadership qualifications with an assessment of selected candidates by the pastor(s) and other current church leaders. Potential candidates might also assess themselves and discuss their results with the lead pastor.
Candidates for church leadership on the highest level should be able to demonstrate healthy leadership experience with a small or medium-size group in a local church or ministry. They should also be proven disciple-makers.
Potential church leaders could also read and do individual and group study of the qualifications and roles of leaders of the church. Helpful books might include such titles as the following:
Sticky Teams by Larry Osborne
Being Leaders by Aubrey Malphurs
The Measure of a Man by Gene Getz
Church Elders by Jeramie Rinne
Biblical Eldership by Alexander Strauch
Candidates for church spiritual leadership could also be given the opportunity to be observers in leadership team meetings for 3 to 6 months before they are given approval for nomination.
Zoom or in-person meetings could be held to allow for the opportunity for members to hear from the candidates and be interviewed by the membership.
Instead of only posting the names of candidates for leadership in an e-mail or bulletin, postings should include a picture and a brief description including testimony of salvation. These could also be posted on the church website.
These may seem like a lot to ask, but there is a lot of eternal consequence at stake in the selection process for new leadership for your church.
What would you suggest for training and selecting the top-level leadership in your church?
Photo by Jehyun Sung on Unsplash