From Bil serving in MD
QUESTION:Lead the leader?
How does one gracefully "lead the leader"? I have tried to impress upon my pastor the importance of planning ahead (at least more than 72 hours to no avail. In my mind, worship team planning needs to be done at least a few weeks ahead. I still try to incorporate music, drama, PowerPoint and video based on the weekly lesson but sometimes it's a shot-in-the-dark trying to match the message theme. When I suggest an idea to my pastor (who really is a cool guy), I always preface my statements by saying I do NOT profess to know how to preach and am just making suggestions. I am about to give up trying. What can I do?
RICK MUCHOW:
I know your situation very well. Working with my pastor, I rely heavily on our relationship based over many years, and my ability to anticipate his direction based on a set of clues I’m able to find. Sometimes I have a lot of information to work with and others I have very little. I like the challenge. I’m a good fit for my pastor because I enjoy spontaneity, risk and pressure. That fits my gifting and personality.
I probably have a different perspective on this than most. Through 18 years with my pastor, I have chosen not to live my life in frustration while many of my peers in similar situations have left the ministry to go into other professions. It can be difficult, but I’m generally not swimming against the current of my pastor and therefore not worn out or losing my energy.
To put this simply, our job is not to lead the leader. Our job is to serve the leader.
If you need to plan further ahead than your pastor, you may need to find a different pastor to serve. If you are called and want to lead, then you might need to become a senior pastor yourself and start a church. Personally, I have never had the calling to be the senior pastor. The relationship with your pastor is not a marriage. You don’t have to make it work. We are commanded to love our brothers not to be employed by them.
I offer suggestions to my pastor and have felt strongly about my opinions, but have never felt that I have to have it my way in order to serve. I do appreciate being heard and knowing that my thoughts are valued, but I feel strongly that my role is to serve my pastor. I have had to accept my pastor’s style and gifting. Actually, I appreciate the way God has made him.
It’s not our job to change the pastor. Obviously it’s always wrong to criticize, complain and condemn. It’s obvious you understand and agree with this. If your pastor doesn’t practice long range planning, then you can either accept and adapt to his style or find a pastor who does things differently. It comes down to personality type. God loves variety! He’s created these leaders differently for a reason. The lack of planning is not a character flaw. It’s a style, and a popular one.
Some of the survival techniques that have helped me include having a lot of resources at my finger tips, the knowledge of many songs, a team of people who can help produce things quickly, and certainly prayer and reliance on the work of the Holy Spirit.
Most importantly, I work hard to maintain a healthy spiritual life. I cannot fake worship. My role is to keep it real. I must have a vibrant relationship with God. The more hectic the schedule gets, the more time I try to set aside to be still and know that God is God.
I completely relate to your desire to have more locked down and to plan ahead. The music presentation can be so much better, not to mention the impact of less pressure on the volunteers and the staff. The bottom line: Could I do a “better” job if we were able to plan further ahead? I really don’t know. I can imagine that might be true, but after working for 18 years with a pastor who creates at the speed of thought, and who does not hesitate to make changes at the last minute, I can’t help but look at God in awe and wonder at how He’s blessed the work of our hands.
