The focus of my presentation is on church leadership collaboration. All stakeholders in church leadership should pay attention to his presentation. The principles of leadership collaboration that will be shared in this presentation are also applicable to Associations, Conferences, Conventions and other religious organisations.
The foregoing is a clear indication that church administration must give attention to the diversity in the church. There is diversity in age, sex, maturity, level of understanding and status. This calls for cohesion and harmony to keep the church healthy. It is in this context of diversity within the church that we urge stakeholders to collaborate in the leadership of the church.
1. Areas of collaboration in church leadership
By nature, the totality of church affairs calls for leadership collaboration, but practically, I wish to point out specific areas:
Church administrative structure
The pastor is the chief administrator of a local church. By Baptist polity, the pastor collaborates with other pastors (in a multi-staff pastoral setting). Within the administrative structure, we have the Deacons’ Fellowship, the secretariat, the Finance Department, the departmental leaders such as the Men’s Missionary Union, Women’s Missionary Union, the Youth Fellowship and various committees. Therefore, there must be collaboration within the administration structure.
Collaboration in planning
For maximum participation of all members of the church, there is a need for collaboration among various leaders at the point of planning. When there is an event in the church, departmental leaders should be involved in the event and mobilise their departments for maximum cooperation.
Collaboration through proper communication
Good communication is key to leadership collaboration. It is not enough for the visionary to talk, but he/she must communicate. Through proper communication, the vision is sold to stakeholders, and once they buy into it, they can run with it. (Nehemiah 2: 17-18)
Collaboration in funding
Great visions fail due to lack of funds. Biblical examples abound of success stories of collaboration in kingdom project funding. Every segment of the church needs to collaborate when it comes to funding church projects.
Collaboration in events and collaborations
These are different events that call for celebration in the church. There are departmental events, local church events, denominational events and seasonal events. These events have a way of promoting unity and commitment among church members. If the culture of collaboration is established in the church.
Collaboration in peace-building
Another area where collaboration is needed in the church is peacebuilding. This includes the management of gossip, complaints, grievances and conflicts. This must be the concern of all church members. It should be intentionally inculcated into church members to be agents of peacebuilding in the church.
2. Things to avoid in leadership collaboration
Leadership collaboration can be jeopardized by certain actions of stakeholders, which include the following:
Turning a unit of the church into an independent group
There must be interconnection among the units of the church. Any attempt by departmental leaders to serve their units from the parent body will truncate leadership collaboration.
Disregard for church leadership
The church pastor is the arrowhead who gives direction to the church. When unit leaders show disregard for the church leadership, there will be tension. In the same vein, if the pastor proves difficult unnecessarily, unit leaders may be frustrated, and this can also lead to tension.
Power Tussle
Leadership collaboration is difficult in an atmosphere of power tussle. Usually, when there is a power tussle in the issue, there is division, as members start pitching their tents with different camps. This should be avoided in the church of God.
Holding on to an office perpetually
Some church members see leadership positions as their birthright. Any attempt to appoint new officers is restricted. This can lead to a loss of trust, which weakens leadership collaboration.
Gossip
Leadership collaboration can also be truncated by gossip. For example, if some members of the church council engage in gossip about the church’s decisions and events, the minds of members may be polluted, and this can hinder maximum cooperation.
3. The goals of leadership: Collaboration
In every church, Association, Conference, Convention and institution, all members should give serious attention to the goals of leadership collaboration, which include the following:
Winning or succeeding together
When it comes to cooperate affairs, success is not for any particular individual. All stakeholders should focus on what they can contribute to corporate success, as a church or institution.
God’s kingdom impact, as a goal
Every opportunity we have as Christians is to impact God’s kingdom. No matter the attitude of man towards us as we engage in our work, we must understand that ultimately, our service is unto God, and He is not a debtor to anyone.
Faith Christian stewardship
As a little boy in the church, we usually sang, “What do you like to be, a faithful servant to the Lord?” A disciple of Jesus Christ must be a faithful steward. We are stewards of who we are and what we have. God expects that we are found faithful in our stewardship.
Eternity with God
Our Christian journey is a journey from God to God. He is our origin, our dwelling and our destination. Therefore, whatever we are required to do in His name, we must do it faithfully. In the context of leadership collaboration, we should have at the back of our minds that there is eternity with God as we collaborate in God’s kingdom service. You can read a similar post on our church ministry page of the site.
4. Conclusion
The issue of leadership collaboration is very important for us as a denomination. Now, we shall focus on love and unity. It is time for us to work more closely for the progress of the church. I conclude by urging you to reflect on the following:
- The church is the body of Christ; therefore, we should ensure that the church is Christ-centred in all we do.
- By nature, the church is not a place for a one-man show, there must be collaboration.
- People are endowed differently in the church. All of God’s endowments in members’ lives are to be deployed for service collaboratively.
- In leadership collaboration, the team leader should be given his/her rightful place.
- All stakeholders should be committed to creating the right atmosphere for everyone to function maximally.
- More than before, let us labour together, excel together, succeed together, celebrate together and impact God’s kingdom together.
- We must shun greed, selfishness, rancour, unforgiveness, gossip and hatred.
- Let us embrace righteousness, peace, faithfulness, godliness and commitment in our engagement in kingdom business.
