The Power and Peril of Church Leadership Teams

Leadership teams have more ways to succeed (than individuals) through the power of combining spiritual gifts, the creative force of diverse perspectives, the collective energy and thought power, and the larger capacity to carry the load. On the other hand, because they have many parts with complex organizational and relational dynamics, teams also have more ways to break and fail. Here are some common scenarios that can lead to stuck teams and stuck churches.

1. Unfit or Unwell Members

Spirituality is a must for anyone serving in a decision-making role in the church. Anyone serving in a Board or Administration role should also be spiritually strong, a member in good standing, and well connected relationally. Too often roles of leadership are given to those who may be gifted but are not spiritually or relationally fit. Even one spiritually unfit or unwell member can derail a leadership team, and a church.

2. Role and Goal Confusion (Who, What & How)

Leading with a team requires a clear definition of WHO (roles & responsibilities), WHAT (goals) and HOW (processes). When roles & responsibilities are not well defined, teams tend to spend too much time in long meetings and never-ending conversations trying to solve even simple questions. When goals are not set, teams tend to become managers of the status quo and lack the vision and capacity needed to move the church forward. When processes and procedures are not clear, even teams with great faith can fail because they simply do not know how to function.

3. Relationship Issues

Strong teams are built on strong relationships. If there are unresolved issues between team members, it can make it difficult if not impossible to work together in a productive way. Teams can spend weeks, months and even years debating issues related to church matters and not realize the real issues are relational.

4. Unresolved History

When we don’t process and resolve difficult experiences (whether inside or outside the church), they tend to stick to us and create a fear/reaction response when facing issues. We may resist leadership because of a bad experience with a leader in the past. We may resist an idea because it feels like something that failed in the past. We avoid certain people because they remind us of people who hurt us. Unresolved history can prevent leadership teams from being faithful, forward-looking and effective.

5. Negativity or Just Familiarity

Jesus could not do miracles in his hometown. To the people there he was just too familiar. Leaders and teams also can become too familiar—with each other, with the church, with situations. Stagnation and negativity can set it and slowly dull the spirit of the team as it loses faith and vision in what God can do. Without someone inside or outside to call it out, these churches become a smaller version of what God created them to be. “Where there is no vision, the people perish.” (Proverbs 29:18).

Combining gifted, diverse people into a coherent, high-functioning leadership team is hard. Like any system, the team relies on the good work of each part, a strong connection among the parts, and a coherent operating system. A breakdown in any of these, left unchecked, can stall the whole thing. The payoff of getting it right, however—the elevated leadership that a good team can provide—makes is worth the effort.