Leading, Equipping And Discipling in mission for the reign of God
Ertell Whigham, Nueva Vida Norristown New Life
Often, organizations and organisms (as in the case of the church) are considered to directly reflect the health and vitality of their leadership. While we understand that the body of Christ is not just about leadership but also follower-ship, in order for our conference to realize God’s vision to increase and strengthen the number of healthy and growing leaders, disciples, churches and connections we must be intentional about how we equip and support leaders for congregational vision and mission.For the past several years all of conference has worked together to better define and understand the true meaning of leadership support, mission and oversight for our congregations and ministries. While our work continues to evolve, several years ago we together as a community affirmed that God’s mission for Franconia Conference was a call to “Equip Leaders to Empower Others to Embrace God’s Mission” ( E3). In this article I am setting out to offer a brief context and the emerging definition as to how we’ll continue to work to fulfill this call.As Franconia Conference moves forward with the vision to “Equip Leaders to Empower Others to Embrace God’s Mission,” the question of what is appropriate oversight and support for congregations emerges. LEAD, Leading, Equipping And Discipling in mission for the reign of God, is a response to both Franconia Conference’s vision and ongoing conference-wide conversations about leadership and authority.LEAD is a team oversight direction and platform intended to cultivate healthy and growing Anabaptist congregations by equipping leaders to empower others to embrace God’s mission.The LEAD platform embeds the work of the conference Faith and Life Advisory Council and the mandate in Franconia Conference’s Vision and Financial Plan (VFP) to equip leaders in order to cultivate healthy and growing disciples, leaders, churches and connections because of God’s love for the world.
The LEAD model of “team oversight” was introduced to Franconia Conference through our intentional interim pastor relationships and their experience providing oversight to congregations. Through a four-month pilot study seven pastors, along with Conference leaders, contextualized and shaped the LEAD model to be a direction and platform for oversight.As this work has continued to take shape, new learnings continue to emerge. One example is the importance of having the chair or team leader of the congregation’s governing body present in a more intentional way to ensure clarity of alignment with the congregation’s vision and mission.Why oversight by teams? For several reasons:
- 1) Teams were the practice of the early Church: Paul and Silas; Priscilla and Aquila; Paul and Barnabas; Paul, Andronicus and Junias 2) Teams reflect the Anabaptist value of discerning God’s will with others3) Teams build on the next generation’s passion to work more collaboratively4) Teams afford broader representation of the leadership gifts described in Ephesians 45) Teams have been experienced by several LEAD participants who testify of a rich benefit to those on the oversight team, congregational leaders and the congregation itself
Each congregation’s Oversight Team will consist of one Franconia Conference staff person who will be known as the congregations’ LEADership Minister (who will be in regular contact with the lead or senior pastor); the lead or senior pastor of the congregation; at least one other leader from beyond the congregation, who will be known as the LEAD Advisor; and the congregational chairperson, where appropriate.For the role of LEAD Advisor, congregations will select and call trusted Anabaptist leaders from beyond their congregation. These persons might include other pastors, business leaders, educational leaders, retired conference leaders, etc. It is expected that LEAD Advisors will connect with congregational leaders and governing bodies at least twice annually or as needed. One connection point would be annual meetings where church leaders will work with the oversight team.
LEADership ministers and advisors will resource congregational leaders during the annual reflection and contextualized training and connect them to conference and church-wide resources to promote and enhance personal and congregational growth and development. Among other ways, this will strengthen relationships, build trust and offer oversight teams better insight and understanding of the pastor and her/his context.During times of conflict or disagreement, the LEADership minister and advisor will “speak the truth in love,” offering congregational leaders the needed counsel to work at accountability, conflict resolution and healthy relational patterns.Franconia Conference will approve and equip those willing to serve in an oversight role as LEAD advisors.It is important to keep in mind that while the LEAD oversight and equipping model has some flexibility and can be adapted according to context, the following are four congregational principles that will be the focus and goal of the work regardless of the setting:
- Principle One: Mission that is current, relevant, and a vehicle for transformationPrinciple Two: Clarity for congregational leadership to……understand and promote the congregational mission…exhibit a clear understanding of power and authority…establish and follow clear processes for accountability, decision-making, and conflict management…be equipped, trained and empowered to lead…equip, train and empower others to ministerfor the sake of those who have not yet encountered Jesus ChristPrinciple Three: Clarity for pastoral leadership to……minister with clearly defined expectations as outlined in the congregation’s job description…posses a clear sense of personal mission and calling that is nurtured by spiritual practices and aligns with the congregation’s mission…exhibit self-awareness that improves performance and enhances self-management of pastoral relationships…learn continually, through ongoing reflection and review and implementation of new discoveriesPrinciple Four: Leadership by an Oversight Team who will……function through teams of people who are in agreement with Anabaptist/Mennonite faith values and Franconia Conference’s vision and mission…maintain regular contact between LEADership ministers, LEAD advisors and lead/senior pastors…include congregational leadership chairpersons when appropriate; facilitate and encourage pastor’s personal, leadership, and spiritual growth…offer and encourage ongoing reflection and accountability for practices…equip and connect (annually or) as needed, meeting with a congregation’s leaders to support, teach, and facilitate self and congregational review and reflection…be available upon request of congregational leaders to offer discernment and counsel
You may ask yourselves how is this different than Conference Ministry Team oversight. The following graph demonstrates some of the differences:
I opened this article by stating that an organization or organism is a direct reflection of its leadership. While we indeed have a great number of leadership gifts throughout our conference and beyond, as the body of Christ, we must first depend on the leadership and guidance of the Holy Spirit. It is my prayer that our organism will continue to reflect that spiritual leadership that God so graciously provides everywhere and all over the place. Let us continue to pray for one another as we continue to lead, equip and disciple in mission for the reign of God.