What kind of leader?
I enjoy reading Brant Hansen’s blog “Letters from Kamp Krusty“, primarily because I love satire. His latest post, “LeaderMan vs. Servant Leader“, is an excellent comparison of different types of leaders.
In his post, Brant compares “LeaderMan” to a “Servant Leader”. “LeaderMan” represents the person who leads from position. “Servant Leader” represents the person who leads from relationship. Here are some of the ways that Brant compares and contrasts these two leaders:
LeaderMan: You almost feel you know his family, because he’s your Leader
Servant Leader: You allow him to influence you, because you know his family
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LeaderMan: Loves the idea of the Gospel, and the idea of The Church
Servant Leader: Loves God and the actual individual people God brings across his path
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LeaderMan: A great speaker, but self-described as, “Not really a people person.”
Servant Leader: Makes himself a people person
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LeaderMan: Helps you find where God is leading you in his organization
Servant Leader: Helps you find where God is leading you
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LeaderMan: Gets together with you to talk about his vision
Servant Leader: Just gets together with you
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LeaderMan: A visionary who knows what the future looks like
Servant Leader: Knows what your kitchen looks like
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LeaderMan: Resents “sheep stealing”
Servant Leader: Doesn’t get the “stealing” part, since he doesn’t own anyone to begin with
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LeaderMan: Invests time in you, if you are “key people”
Servant Leader: Wastes time with you
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LeaderMan: Leads because of official position
Servant Leader: Leads in spite of position
These are just a few of Brant’s comparisons and contrasts. Certainly, there is nothing wrong with the term “leader”; it is not a pejorative term in Scripture. Similarly, in Scripture, the terms “servant” and “leader” are intricately woven together. Scripture does not know of a leader who is not a servant.
Also, no one falls into one extreme or the other. But, I think lists like these are beneficial in helping us determine how we generally lead people.
Alan – I’m not sure I follow. If what you’re saying is true, then in order to be an effecitve leader I have to become the servant of all. Sounds a little like something Jesus said, doesn’t it?
In all seriousness, great post. One question, though. Is it wrong to spend more time with ‘key people’? Not key as in ‘loads-of-money-they-can-pledge-for-the-next-building-project-people’ but key as in able to help disciple others.
Ben,
You said, “[I]n order to be an effecitve leader I have to become the servant of all”. Yep. That’s it. 🙂
-Alan
Emphasis on all.
I don’t know whether we should name names, but I was a founding member of this author’s church. He was the “lead “pastor. He is now a seminary professor at Liberty University. This same person recommends the Mars hill church web site. This is famous for it’s cussing pastor. I have a lot more to say, but I won’t. Most of the Leaders I have met will always say it is God’s vision not theirs.Even though it is a weak supposition they feel that because it is God’s vision for them, that their means justify it(the end results). He was definitely a Leaderman in every sense of the word.
This is an article he wrote on church planting. Notice he does what can help his cause, not for any relationships for God’s kingdom.Can you say manipulate?
First: Influence the Influencers(key people)
Until the most influential people in your church have bought into the vision, any plan
to launch new churches is unlikely to lift off the ground. There are five primary
keys/steps to influencing influencers. All five are necessary before going to the rest of the congregation about the details of the plan to plant a daughter church.
1. Identify the top ten influencers in your church.
These persons are the E.F. Huttons of your church. When they talk, people listen.
In a meeting, they are the ones everyone looks to for answers. On Sundays, they are
the ones people gather around in the lobby. They may have a title, but not always.
They also are likely to have standing in the community, but again, not always. Your top
ten members (or “Big Ten”) could include staff members, church officers, Sunday school
teachers, small group leaders, worship team members, former pastors or the head of the
ladies Bible study. List your “Big Ten” below.
2. Invest in the influencers.
People typically buy into the leader before they buy into their vision. You should directly invest in people. If they are the same gender as you, start spending more time with them. If they are the opposite sex, you and your wife should do things with them as
couples. You may have several of these types of couples join you in a variety of occasions: to your house for dinnerĂŤÂľ to your house to watch a big game on televisionĂŤÂľ to
attend a concert.
You can also invest in them by ministering to the people they care about the most.
This may involve ministering to the couple’s teenaged son, visiting their mother in the
hospital, or winning their neighbor the Christ. List each of your top ten and one specific
way you can invest in them.
3. Individually communicate the vision of church planting according to
influencers’ passions and experiences.
After you have won over the influencers in your church, begin to talk them about
church planting. Individually begin to communicate the vision of becoming a mother
church. If one of these individuals loves kids, talk about how the new church will reach
more young people. If one of them grew up on the other side of town, share how you hope to plant a new church in that area. If one of them loves evangelism, talk about how many more souls will potentially get saved by launching a new church.
List each of your “Big Ten” and their “hot button” issues.
4. Involve the “Big Ten” in the process.
If you leave your “Big Ten” out of the process, church planting will die because it is
simply your idea. But if you involve them in the process, they can carry the ball because
church planting has also become their idea. Influencers won’t own a vision until they
participate in carrying it out. Get them involved in the planting of a new church
according to their strengths and interests. This may involve asking some of them to
study the financial needs of a new church. Others can be asked to prepare Bible studies
on church planting, while some can do demographic studies of prime areas. Some
members may lead pray meetings specifically aimed at church planting, while some may
plan evangelistic efforts. All of your “Big Ten” can help you consider how to sell the
vision to the congregation.
List each influencer and how they may participate in the process of planting a new church.
5. Ignite the “Big Ten” to persuade others.
Motivate your influencers to be contagious about church planting. Encourage them
to invite other couples to their homes for dinner or other gatherings so that they can
specifically talk about how they too can help in a churchplanting
effort.
Al,
Seems to be alot of manipulation of people through “influencers”. I think that if we have to manipulate people, its because the vision is ours and not God’s.
-Alan