Church Leadership

I was wandering around the Internet looking for inspiration and ideas about leadership and I came across this outline of leadership in the church:

1) Visionary leaders
• They help us see what those good works may be that God "prepared in advance for us to do."
• They help us see the potential God has for us.
• They help us "press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold" of us and not get stuck where we are or to think that we "have already obtained all this" (Phil. 3:12).
 
2) Administrative leaders
• They help us implement the tasks effectively remembering that we were "created in Christ Jesus to do GOOD works."
• They help us "do it all for the glory of God" (1 Cor. 10:31).
• They help us by designing procedures and coordinating programs that enable us to do those good works.
 
3) Shepherding leaders
• They help us be prepared spiritually to do those good works as "WE are His workmanship."
• They help us by feeding us, protecting us, comforting us, encouraging us, warning us, and guiding us.
• They help us by their example to remember that we must do all we do willingly in and because of love. (1 Pet. 5:2-3; Jn. 21:15-17)
  
We need all three kinds of leaders because . . .
 
1. People matter. – "we are His workmanship" Shepherding leaders tend to be more people-oriented.

2. Task matters. – "created in Christ Jesus to do good works" Administrative leaders tend to be more task-oriented.
 
3. Goals matter. – "which God prepared in advance for us to do" Visionary leaders tend to be more goal-oriented.

I like this outline because it identifies three clear areas of responsibility for leadership without necessarily assuming that a single individual has all three qualities in equal measure. The challenge, in a local church, is to find these three qualities and deploy them across the leadership team.

Maybe this is the role of a small team of elders, or the core of the leadership team. We consistently review our leadership structure, seeking to develop a team model that serves the whole life of the church,  carries and casts the vision, and does not rely on a single person to achieve all of this. This outline may help us better understand the nature of this leadership.

The website where I found this outline is mintools.com.