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| Volume 2, No. 7
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October 4, 2002
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Dear friends,
The question of Leadership is a hot topic these days in
the Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod. Many of us have been
receiving information about the crisis in leadership in the form of
letters, special mailings, emails and websites. For this past year we
have been in continued discussion about decisions by certain leaders
directly or indirectly related to the events of 9/11.
We at CrossTies are especially focused upon providing
resources for Leaders operating on the congregational level. We
humbly believe that the parishes are on the front lines where the war
against the dark powers is being waged day by day. We are concerned
about providing support and help for those lay and pastoral leaders of
congregations.
That's why this month we're happy to provide a
provocative and informative paper on leadership by Pastor Doyle
Theimer (doyle@christ-the-king.com)
of Christ the King Lutheran Church in Kingwood, Texas (http://www.christ-the-king.com/).
Pastor Theimer is responsible for adult discipleship in this rapidly
growing church north of Houston on Hwy.59. Here are a few quotes from
his paper.
"A
thorough study of leadership in the Bible would attempt to answer the
following questions, among others:
What words and related ideas are used to generally denote
leadership? What
institutions provide specialized terms or examples for leadership?
What metaphors are there for leadership?
What are the specialized positions of leadership in the early
church? What related
ideas need to be taken into consideration?
What assumptions about leadership were carried over from
society to the church? What
aspects of societal leadership were avoided by the church?
What is at stake in leadership of the church?
While these questions inform this inquiry, to answer them in
any detail or completeness is beyond the scope of this paper."
He then states his purpose:
"Herewith,
then begins an attempt to examine leadership in the Bible, using a
more synthetic than analytic approach.
I will not go into detail about the many different words and
metaphors for leadership. This
would become too involved. There
are many, many titles and roles and types of leadership.
But the fundamental reality in the Bible is the relationship of
God to his people, and this reality pervades every human institution
and every sort of human endeavor.
The interplay between the divine and the human is also the
essence of Christology. So
I shall draw from the dogma of Christology as a hermeneutical device
to synthesize Scriptural data on leadership.
"This
effort will work in the gaps, so to speak.
It speaks from the perspective of leadership in a small church
rather than a corporate environment.
It will address certain theological issues that are pertinent
to leadership, and throughout it will attempt to distinguish between
the human and divine elements of the pastoral office.
The study will proceed along the following lines of inquiry:
Some observations on leadership in the Bible; the possibility
of being God's co-worker; the problem with being God's co-worker (Donatism,
sectarianism); an appraisal of Lutheran understanding of the ministry
of Word & Sacrament, the relationship between leadership and the
ministry of Word and Sacrament; observations on leadership, and
questions of practice as we move into the future."
You
will find many other useful articles posted there.
Pastor
Theimer writes:
The essence of the
pastoral office is leadership; therefore, pastors need
to be trained in leadership. The
ongoing school of experience is a fine teacher, provided that there
are sufficient opportunities for reflection and growth in
understanding. This has
implications for seminaries, mentoring programs, and continuing
education.
Especially important to
pastoral leadership is the ability to discern and administer an
authority that is truly divine rather than human, yet
to administer that divine glory in and through human agency.
This requires the leader to continually grow in the grace and
knowledge of God and be filled with the Spirit.
Thus, training for pastors also requires spiritual formation
and equipping for a life-time of self growth.
We need to understand the
ministry of Word and Sacrament more as a relation of leader(s) and
community than a performance of liturgical rites.
The goal is for everyone to grow in likeness to Christ.
Doing the liturgy is certainly a means toward that end, but
not an end in itself.
We
need to better discern the difference between real leadership and
leadership titles.
There are many parishes where the most influential leaders
are significant lay persons who may or may not bear the title elder,
deacon, or congregational president.
A great amount of conflict and confusion in parishes results
from a failure to distinguish between holding titles and exercising
real leadership.
We
need to cultivate a value for longer terms of parish ministry--it
takes several years for a pastor to progress from "parish
chaplain" to "primary leader, or pastor," which is
prerequisite for effective pastoral ministry.
Many pastors leave their calls before they enter into a
position of real leadership.
We
need to understand the dynamic of self-differentiation.
The LCMS is a particularly anxious system.
In general, it discourages self-differentiation in favor of a
consensus approach. The
atmosphere is stifling.
We
need to facilitate the development of local, part-time, ordained
leaders who are able to lead or assist struggling congregations.
These leaders should be rooted in and committed to the local
community.
We
need to expand and broaden the base of leadership, cultivating a
more collegial and collective style of leadership within existing
congregations. Of
course this would imply having more opportunities for women to share
in the leadership. But
this does not necessarily mean a diminution of or infringement upon
the office of the ministry. Pastors
who are effective leaders will feel more secure in sharing
responsibility with other emerging leaders; conversely, pastors who
are effective leaders will be unambiguously identified as the
"head" of the congregation, allowing others the freedom to
function under the "headship" of a clearly recognized
leader.
As
always, we post material that we believe will be both helpful and
rooted in the Scriptures and the Lutheran Confessions. This does not
necessarily mean that CrossTies as an organization is directly
responsible for everything in these papers. We believe there is room
for differences and discussion. We do, in fact, welcome it.
We hope that in the near future we will open up a forum
through our website where we can all carry on a vigorous discussion of
issues related to our lives and work in the local congregations.
Feel free to forward this newsletter to colleagues,
friends and family. Contact me by writing: alandsyl@airmail.net.
Your servant in Christ,
Alvin H. Franzmeier, Dr.Rel., Theological Director
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