A Ministry of the School of Theology and Christian Ministry—Olivet Nazarene University

Congregational Leadership

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Ministry Essentials

Lawrence A. Lacher   4/01/13

 

Traditionally, the most commonly used paradigm for understanding the job description of the pastor has been “shepherd.”  That paradigm rises from the similarity of the word “pastor” used in Ephesians 4 to the Greek word for “shepherd.”  This model has led to a picture of the pastor as the person who is responsible to tend the flock and all that task may entail—feeding, nurturing, caring for, seeking, birthing, and a dozen other tasks.   Fulfilling all of these tasks is a more-than-full-time job that has many pastors on the run day and night in order to tend to all the flock.

Church size analysis suggests that there are alternate models that describe the role of the pastor based on the specific size of the church: chaplain, gardener, rancher, CEO, etc.  These models are based upon the particular needs that are exhibited by churches of various sizes and an analysis of what kind of leader is most effective in churches of those sizes.  Looking at the pastorate in this way seeks a leadership model that responds most effectively to the organizational behavior of a particular size of a group.

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Recent Articles

The Good Churchman

Jason Robertson   2/01/13

Several weeks ago I was at lunch with some colleagues who were sharing memories from their years in ministry. For those in ministry the fondest memories revolve around the people to whom they get to minister. One story was shared about a gentleman and the mere mention of his name brought a smile to everyone’s face. Though I was unfamiliar with this particular man it was clear that he had a profound impact on several at the table. One said of this man, “He was a good churchman.” Everyone nodded in agreement.

To be honest, I have only become familiar with the term “churchman” in the last few years and I have only heard it used a handful of times. I’m intrigued by it. It’s a word that carried meaning for all at the table that day and they seemed to understand all that it signified. It’s clearly a term of endearment, one that says a lot about a person. The others were a little surprised at my confession that I wasn’t sure what it meant. From my perspective, wouldn’t it be assumed that a committed Christian would also be a good churchman or churchwoman?

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Tags: Cultural Change, Family, Leadership, Missional
 

Awe, Wonder, and Praise

Larry Murphy   11/15/12

 

Awe, Wonder, and Praise

My grandmother used to say, “Life is good, if you don’t weaken.”  (An aside:  Her sister had memorable sayings as well – for example, “Beauty fades, but ugly holds its own.”)

While my grandmother had a good life, she faced numerous challenges.  One of her two daughters, my mother, contracted polio as a very young child and had to be sent away to Children’s Hospital in Columbus, Ohio.  Later in life, she and my mother would spend years of suffering with debilitating rheumatoid arthritis. Her other daughter would die at a fairly young age with hepatitis.  My grandmother’s story is not one which is strange to us.  At times, we too may affirm “Life is good, if you do not weaken.”

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Tags: Faith, Heaven
 

The Power of Policy

Jason Robertson   9/01/12

I remember in college being asked to cite a movie that illustrated an effective model for ministry. It didn’t take long for me to blurt out, “Patch Adams!” I waited for my professor to congratulate me for my depth of insight, but instead he responded with a puzzled look and a swift response, “Never heard of it.”

Patch Adams is a movie based on the true story of Hunter Doherty “Patch” Adams, founder of the Gesundheit! Institute. The movie details his journey from being a manic-depressive in a mental hospital to his days in medical school where he learned that to do medicine well one must treat the whole person and not just the symptoms. Sounds simple enough, but his approach caused constant friction between himself and the hospital administrators because most of what Patch wanted to do went against hospital policy. Patch witnessed several occasions where hospital policy actually prevented people from getting medical care. The angst this created for him ended up giving him the drive to found his own hospital where people could receive medial care regardless of their situation. The movie may not be fair to the sheer complexity of the medical care system, but it does illustrate well just how policies can take on a life of their own and can mysteriously depart from the values that created them in the first place.

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Tags: Policy
 

Leadership is Spiritual Direction (I think)

Casey Tygrett   5/01/12

In Christianity today, a trend is emerging toward the practice and participation in spiritual direction. The next question is typically "What in the world do you mean by spiritual direction?" Very simply, spiritual direction is the relationship between two people knowing the Holy Spirit is in their midst and helping each other listen to the Spirit's leadership and guidance in their lives.

It's a beautiful and holy thing to be a director to someone in a director-directee relationship where one person is named as the "spiritual director" and the other is the directee looking for guidance as to where God is leading them. It's beautiful to help someone hear God speaking where otherwise they wouldn't be capable of hearing Him clearly.

However, not everyone is up for this. Some people think it's too "fluffy," while others just aren't that mystical. I have been practicing spiritual direction for nearly a year now, and in that time I have seen people transformed by God in unbelievable ways but I would in no way say it is mandatory for everyone. It has to be a relationship and experience that one is open to exploring comfortably.

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Tags: Leadership
 

Leading From Within or Without?

Jason Robertson & Danny Goddard   1/05/12

Ten years ago my wife and I made it a priority to travel to different parts of the country to experience the different subcultures of the US. This, of course, was when we had two incomes and no kids. Times have changed. But I still reminisce through our many pictures of the rich experiences we had together.

One of my favorite trips was to the Northeast. We traveled around Maine and then made our way down the coast landing in Boston. I had a very specific mission while in Boston: find a particular park bench in the Boston Public Garden. It was this same bench that made an appearance in a movie I saw in college, Good Will Hunting. In one of the more moving scenes in the film, Sean (Robin Williams), a psychologist and college professor, is sitting on the park bench talking to Will (Matt Damon), a troubled orphan from South Boston. Will is an interesting character. He lived a troubled childhood in the slums and fighting was his favorite recreational activity. But Will is also a genius. Whether it’s history, art, or mathematics, his knowledge seems to know no bounds.

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Tags: Leadership