Jesus - The Best Example

November 2009

One of the great temptations facing church leaders today is a desire to exercise absolute control in their church. Many church leaders believe that to be effective, they must micro-manage every aspect of the life of the church. They feel that they must attend every committee meeting, have every decision “cross their desk,” and personally manage all the other leaders in the church.

In the eighteenth chapter of Exodus, Jethro, Moses’ father in law, counseled Moses on the need to divest himself of some of his authority and allow others to carry some of the load. Moses had a control problem. He felt that only he could do the job. Jethro saw that ultimately this would wear Moses down and he would become ineffective as a leader.

I believe that a leader who controls a church in this way is headed for disaster, a heart attack, and/or family problems. It is simply too much for any one person to manage, especially if a church grows and ministries multiply. In fact, this style of leadership will eventually stifle the growth of the church.

There is a more fundamental reason, however, that I reject the marriage of good leadership and absolute control. It is simply not a biblical model. The Bible teaches that church leaders are to equip the saints and free them to move into ministry (Eph 4:11ff.). We lead best in the life of the church when we empower the people of God to do the work of God.

Jesus is the best example of how leadership and control should relate to each other. Jesus was a consummate leader, but He never seemed to feel the need to manage or control His followers. He led by example. He led by empowerment. He led by drawing out the best in those around Him.

If you are in a position of leadership at any level in the life of your church, learn from the master leader, Jesus, and lead, don’t manage. Especially if you are a pastor, give vision; give empowerment; and turn your church loose for ministry.

Send this Column to a Friend






Past Columns

Return to top