Leaders and Managers
Healthy Leaders | Issue 44
Welcome to Issue 44 of Healthy Leaders. In this issue, leaders and managers unite!
Hello friends,
Welcome back to our ongoing conversation on healthy Christian leadership and leader development.1
We’re starting a new four-part series on leaders and managers in this issue, in which we’ve included opportunities for you to determine your own orientation as either leader, manager, or a combination of the two.
An understanding of the differences between the two — and the inherent strengths and weaknesses — is extremely helpful for building effective teams and for moving your ministry or organization forward in God’s purposes. We need both leaders and managers as we pursue God’s highest!
Here’s Malcolm to get us started:
In our ministries and churches, it can be easy to get discouraged by what we perceive as either an over-emphasis on one or the other orientation.
Some churches spend all their time pursuing the latest visionary dream of their leaders, without the organization necessary to fully realize those dreams. They flit from one dream to another without ever accomplishing the holistic, sustainable life transformation God has called them to.
Other churches drown themselves in programs and committees, never overcoming their own organizational inertia to pursue God’s highest for their church. These churches fail to move the people to a better place in their personal walks with God, and they fail to pursue God’s vision for their church — mired as they are in the red tape of running the organization.
In either instance, the temptation toward cynicism or disillusionment is real. But what if, no matter what imbalance we encounter in our churches, we devoted ourselves to seeing them flourish? What if we cried out to God for His purposes to be accomplished through them, for lives to be transformed, for the people to be built up in Him? What could God do with a church — leaders and managers and all — that turned to Him in this way?
Our attitude in building our churches, whether we are leaders or managers, should start with repentance and continue forward in humility. A facilitator in one of our Building Healthy Churches trainings in Indonesia expressed it this way:
“I repent for my attitude toward the Church. I used to be skeptical, pessimistic, and critical of the Church. I often unconsciously judged the Church. I only saw the Church’s weaknesses. Through this workshop, I am reminded that Jesus is the one who builds and owns the Church, as Matthew 16:18 said. God has a master plan for His Bride, who is flawless, full of victory and love, who is His dwelling place and will be fulfilled by the fullness of Christ.” (Brother H)
What about you?
We’ve created a tool for you to use to determine your own orientation as leader, manager, or a blend of the two. All three are necessary for healthy growth in your ministry or church.
Take it for a spin, and let us know what you discover in the comments.
Until next time, we’re with you!
— Chris
Recommended Resources
Book: Leaders & Managers
If you want to go deeper in self-evaluation, take our free 5C Checkpoint evaluation.
For more resources, visit our website.
Thanks to our friends at Fifty-Four Collective for putting together a comprehensive set of video courses for growing healthy organizations, starting with this series of courses on leadership by Malcolm. We’ll be using some of their videos and some of our own. Be sure to check out what they’re doing!