The surprising reason the Church needs fewer leaders

If you spend any amount of time in church, it won’t be long before you hear someone talking about leadership. You might be invited to join a leadership programme, or know of an intern scheme that trains up young leaders. You may have bought tickets to a conference on leadership. And there might even be leaders in your church who train other leaders in how to develop leaders… that’s a lot of leadership. So why the obsession?

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I was pondering this as I began a three-day Christian leadership course back in March. I have found myself in leadership roles more than once; variously asked to lead, promoted, or having found myself leading by default. I’ve been left holding the proverbial baby in a moment of crisis, and needing to ‘act up’ during a vacancy. Not equipped exactly, but fulfilling the role to the best of my abilities. It’s not something I’ve necessarily enjoyed; leadership can be a thankless task. It can also feel exposing, lonely, highly pressurised and very stressful. I wouldn’t recommend it! But it can be joyful too, though it’s rarely easy.

For me, the real joy is not found in leading itself, but in the process of collaboration

For me, the real joy is not found in leading itself, but in the process of collaboration; co-creating with people and God to bring something good and valuable into the world. Together creating beauty, solving problems or making change happen. And I wouldn’t be able to do any of those things if I didn’t know how to follow. As a recent Harvard Business Review article puts it: “The best leaders are great followers”.

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But I’ve heard very little about how to be a great follower - I have heard phrases like “everyone’s a leader” or “influence is leadership” plenty of times. I often wonder if these concepts are universally true, or just aspirational catch-alls for something that needs better defining. Because while the idea of becoming a ‘leader’ is admirable, it can also appeal to our egos, making us feel vital and important. It fits with the self-actualisation our culture promotes, moving up the hierarchy - if not actual, then of value and desire. And it certainly has a better ring to it than the downwardly mobile ‘servant’ or ‘follower’, or even ‘disciple’. But that our Christian lives would be defined by being a leader is to miss the point, surely?

The term is increasingly loaded too, particularly when high-profile leaders are prone to misusing their influence and power. So there is a valid argument for learning how to lead well. I was recently reminded of one of the best bits of advice I’ve ever received, which is to always try to work yourself out of a job, especially in a leadership role. This was at the heart of Jesus’s approach. Not only did he delegate his authority, he divested himself of his power, which is now democratised and distributed through the Holy Spirit. The early church’s gatherings exemplified this through the basic assumption that every person has something to offer. 1 Corinthians 14:6 says: “When you come together, each of you has a hymn, or a word of instruction, a revelation, a tongue or an interpretation. Everything must be done so that the church may be built up.”

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The Church is not built up through everyone being a ‘leader’.

The Church is not built up through everyone being a ‘leader’. Despite arguments for this being a biblical concept, it intrinsically connotes a sense of hierarchy which is out of place. Rather, the Church is built up through everyone’s full participation in an egalitarian system - the body of believers, which is characterised and sustained by the activity of the Holy Spirit. It’s a different emphasis, where following - not leading - is the foundation. And while good leadership is definitely about taking responsibility and ownership, these are not traits exclusive to leaders. They are, however, intrinsic to spiritual and emotional maturity, which affects our actions, our thoughts, and enables us to live with self-awareness and awareness of others. To me, that sounds a lot like following the way of Jesus, and with far less of the pressure that comes with being a leader.

Put another way, we are like members of an orchestra. We all have something essential and valuable to contribute, for which we need to fully participate and ultimately follow. The sound of the collective whole is made more beautiful and complete when we all play our part; it requires it - like musicians sensing the flow of music, listening to each other, judging the moment to come in or drop down, following the conductor’s cues as we each show up in our God-given uniqueness.