ASK RON

RESPONSIVE LEADERSHIP

Q: Much is said about accountability of the congregation to one another and to leadership. However, it has been my experience that the authority of church leaders is not open to review the way the authority of other leaders would be. Furthermore, few members would be willing to question leadership for fear of being considered unspiritual. The leaders at Harvest Bible seem to be very humble men and women who have listening ears and a responsive heart. How have you cultivated this attitude and how do you safeguard it?

A: As for your question regarding unresponsiveness of leadership to constructive criticism, the simple answer is leadership needs to be in touch with the body, accessible to the body and responsive to the body. The issue you are addressing is in the availability and openness of the leadership to address concerns in a way that allows people to be heard.

I am praying that as our church continues to grow and the years mount up that we would remain humble, accessible and responsive to our people

After starting a church with a handful of people to ministering now each week to over 1200 we have learned much on this topic. Let me share some of the things we do to stay in touch with people to hear from them and receive guidance. Our elders and deacons serve in a variety of capacities that involve working directly with people. This includes leading small groups or service teams, counseling, all with the desire to get input from people and keep our ears to the ground to be aware of needs and concerns. Elder and deacon meetings are not just business meetings with people who are out of touch with the life of the church but people who are on the front lines hearing from people and bringing forward their concerns and ideas.

Our elders and other leaders are accessible at the end of each service demonstrating a willingness to hear from the body and handle difficult questions or concerns. This is done to promote opportunities to interact with people in the body to learn things and follow-up.
We run what we call elder inserts in the bulletin regularly to provide people with another avenue of communication to our elders. We each read these individually and follow-up with a personal note or phone call if offering opportunity to meet and discuss if necessary.
Our leadership community is an open forum for me to share my heart and speak on behalf of the elders to our leadership and those interested in leadership about changes in ministry and new direction.
I, as the senor pastor, am very accessible to our body, meeting weekly with people and responding personally to emails. I am learning that I can’t handle every issue myself and need to trust in the leaders God has put around me to help carry the burden of this ministry. However, I am made aware of major concerns to provide input and direction.
Changes in pastoral staffing are announced to appropriate leadership teams in the related ministry so that they are aware firsthand and have an opportunity to voice any concerns or provide input. After this group is made aware of the changes then announcements are made to the people in the ministry and lastly to the church family so that there is no communication gap. We have had our share of staff changes and praise God we have not suffered any major problems as a result. People are not surprised and those who are more directly related to the change have had an opportunity to provide input.
Family Chats occur on Sunday mornings to keep the body informed of where the Lord is leading us as a church family. I do these as often as needed. We stop from the normal Sunday message flow to do a devotional and share major announcements so that everyone is aware of what is happening at the church. I am the primary voice and people are in the know.
We bring people into leadership positions of elder, deacon, pastor who walk with a limp. I believe this is the most important thing. If you want the flock to trust their leaders you better have leaders who are trustworthy. These are people who minister out of their brokenness thus remaining humble and teachable.

All these things are done to hear from people and gain input. Obviously we can’t implement every person's individual ideas about ministry but we error on the side of communicating, meeting to address concerns and provide direction. What we have learned in six years is that God has started many things we would not have envisioned right away or even planned on by putting gifted leaders in our body who have voiced their hearts desire and we have responded. This includes women’s ministry, retirement community outreach, many compassion events, and the Russian translation and other ministries to this group. We have also learned to examine every criticism for the seed of truth that God may want us to hear. It all boils down to whether or not you trust the leadership. I am praying that as our church continues to grow and the years mount up that we would remain humble, accessible and responsive to our people. Methods will change but they will all reflect a willingness to listen and learn.

Yours Truly,

Ron Zappia