Leadership is important in the church. No one argues this and often when a church has struggles the finger is pointed at the pastor and the talk is about his leadership skills. Sometimes the conversation moves from the pastor to the other staff leaders in a church. Maybe it's the deacon or director of a ministry. This is usually where the conversation ends and we often overlook the importance of 2 other kinds of church leaders. Let's talk about the other leaders.

The Lay Leader

In the church lay people are those who aren't the pastor or part of the staff. They make up the congregation and are the overwhelming bulk of the church. In this group there need to be a lot of leaders. These leaders include choir leaders, small group leaders, mens ministry leaders, womens ministry leaders, leaders of youth groups, Sunday school teachers, outreach ministry leaders, and so many others. You get the point.

The larger the church the more this type of leader is important. We can't and shouldn't rely on the staff leadership for everything. The church isn't a club we pay dues to and have the staff do things for us. It's a community and they are just one element.

So, we need lay leaders to organize people to do Gods work. We need lay leaders to reach out to others and build them up with their God given talents and gifts. And most of all, we need lay leaders for the church to move in doing Gods work rather than just listen to the message.

The Motivator

Have you ever met someone who was exited about something and along with that excitement got others involved. When I was in high school there was a group of guys who were excited about basketball (Big surprise, right). When the cheerleaders couldn't be at the game to cheer these guys would take over. They would get as many people as they could to go to the game and then they would get the crowd cheering and involved. The game wasn't about them and they weren't leading what was going on that night. But, they did lead people to be involved and passionately loving it.

The church needs the same thing. There can be all the organization of people in the world but there also needs to be those who get involved, have a love and passion, and help ignite that in others.

Have you ever been to a church service where it seems the people are just going through the motions? Where there are a lot of people who aren't even singing the songs? I know I have. Half the time we could argue that people are bored and that's a totally separate issue. But, I submit that half the time the issue is fear. No one wants to be one of the first to step up and really sing that song. They fear putting themselves out there with a passionate fervor. They have a little fear of what people will say. This is where that motivator can come into play. They joy and motivation they bring can bring people past that fear.

Or, maybe it's a church group going to go feed the homeless. If you have leaders like this they will help others to do it with a passion. They will call up people and get their friends involved.

One Question

The leaves me with just one question. What kind of leader are you?