Developing Leaders

Lis Van Harten

(First appeared in the January 2009 issue of Ministry Reports to Classes and Councils.)

Fifty-one percent of CRC pastors who recently responded to an SPE survey indicated they see themselves as servant leaders while .4% said they are authoritarian leaders. Other options included pastor-centered, congregational, consensus-building, reflexive, visionary, and adaptive. (The entire survey report can be found by clicking here.)

SPE strongly believes in encouraging, supporting, and developing leaders. Most frequently this occurs in peer learning (PL) groups in which four to eight pastors covenant to gather for a period of one year. The pastors are asked to identify both their personal and groups goals—many of which are directly related to leadership issues.

The Central Plains Peer Learning Group is currently focusing on developing leadership abilities. The seven pastors involved saw a need for leadership training as they face what so many of today’s pastors face – churches transitioning through change. Two Canadian groups, one in BC and the other in ON, have been looking at leading large CRC congregations—which is significantly different than leading smaller churches. In New Jersey, a group of six pastors are exploring the development of effective leaders for mission-focused churches. One of their goals is to challenge each other to grow and develop as pastors.

SPE doesn’t dictate what pastors should spend their time studying. We strongly encourage creativity and give our church leaders the freedom to explore what they’re passionate about. Often that is leadership. So what is the result of PL groups focusing on leadership?  Here’s what one pastor had to say: “The experience I had by being part of this group has utterly transformed how I will lead my congregation through all the challenges we will face. I now feel free to lead as Christ Jesus would want me to lead.”