Musings on Spiritual Matters

The way you deal with the eldership within your ministry will bring blessings or cursing on the church.  The most important relationship that a minister will have will be with the elders.  If the relationship goes sour, there will be a split or you will be fired.  But whatever happens, typically it will not be a blessing.  So what to do:

As a minister, your role within the eldership and within a congregation will be different from church to church.  Usually, it is almost impossible to change the role of the minister that an eldership has of his work.  There are typically four roles that a minister will play within an eldership (I am not making Biblical roles here, but noting cultural roles).

1. Hired Hand.  In this approach, the eldership mostly keeps the minister outside the loop in meetings and in the flow of information.  The minister is not allowed into the meetings of the eldership, but must be invited in or must request a hearing.  Rarely does an eldership ask for the input of the minister.  Though, the minister is expected to perform, with little empower to do much.
2. Trusted Advisor.  The minister is invited into the majority of the meetings among the eldership.  He is not given a “vote” or has a definitive say, but is trusted to provide feedback on congregational situations, and is allowed to know confidential information.  He is seen as a partner in the work, but there is a clear hierarchy in decision power.  He is not empowered to make changes without the approval of the eldership.
3. CEO.  The minister runs the church.  He is directly responsible for the health and success of the congregation.  He is given a high level of empowerment, and can make small changes to “day to day” functioning, but must seek approval from the eldership for larger changes.  The eldership will submit to his lead, because he is seen as the most trained and experienced within the leadership team.
4. President. The eldership works for the minister.  Rarely does this level exist in the church, but in cases in which the minister has been a long term servant, or the minister planted a church, the eldership’s role is one given to shepherding solely without empowerment to make changes without the approval of the minister.  The eldership’s role is to support the vision and direction of the lead minister.

Typically the minister functions between the “hired hand” and “trusted advisor” roles.  In this position the minister must balance leadership with submission.  An eldership will be insecure with a minister that seems to seek too much empowerment.  So what can a minister do to guard against gaining control, but still influencing the congregation for good?  Here are four tactics:

1. Be a Pulse Taker.  You are in the know on congregational thoughts and feelings.  You are to communicate this information to the eldership.
2. Be a Vision Amplifier.  You are mostly the mouth for the eldership.  If there is a direction the eldership wants to lead the congregation, you voice this as much as possible.  You are to support the vision with sermons and conversations.
3. Be a Leader Multiplier.  You are spending time with people a lot, so look to recruit people to the mission that the eldership has set forth for the church.  Bring people to the work, to support the work of the eldership.
4. Be a Gap Filler.  There are going to be times in which you must function as the leader in a certain charge or role.  Step up when it is appropriate.  Help bridge the gap between the elder’s desires and the congregation’s perceptions.

There is always discussion over the role of the minister within an eldership.  Trusted partners, same empowerment, just different roles, employee, lead minister, pulpit minister with long term tenure, whatever the role or the debate, often the minister must function with a paradigm of subordination.  Ultimately, the eldership is going to direct the congregation according to how they feel the church should go.  Therefore, being a minister within the churches of Christ means you are subordinate to the eldership.  There is an art in being in this role, here is how:

1. Never Publicly Disagree with the Eldership.  Yes, you will believe they are wrong on various occasions, but if it is not a spiritual matter, submit and advocate for the eldership.  You will create division faster than oil and water in not practicing this rule.
2. Develop Friendships of conversation, and partnerships of trust.  Develop a true friendship with all of your individual elders, and disagree in those times over coffee and food, but prove yourself trustworthy that at the end of the day, you will support them no matter what.  An elder that can see that you disagree but can still encourage one of their ideas will stay receptive to your thoughts for long-term.
3. Praise Them From the Pulpit.  Your feelings about the eldership will spread throughout the church.  If the church hates the eldership, take some responsibility.  Your hidden feelings will resonant with or without you.

The best way to maintain a positive working relationship with the eldership is to maintain a positive friendship.  The most important relationships you will have in the church are with the elders.  If you neglect this, you are neglecting the future of the church you are serving with.  Here is how to do this:

1. Call. Never allow all of your communication with an elder be in meetings.  In meetings there are group dynamics taking place, and the true self will not always be exposed, so make calls to your elders to connect with them.
2. Invite into the Home.  On a yearly basis, you should have a meal for all of your elders.  Make sure each elder is in your home once a year at a minimum.
3. Show some Appreciation.  It is a thankless job being an elder, so give them gifts, write them notes, do something to show that you care.

Finally, it would not be a proper lesson for the minister from me without a reading list:

1. How to Make Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie.
2. Leading from the Second Chair by Mike Bonem and Roger Patterson.
3. The Work of the Preacher is Working by Tom Holland.
4. All in the Family: An Elder and His Preacher Sons on Elder/Minister Relationships by Gene Newton, Glenn Newton, and Mark Newton.

Related posts:

1. Preacher-Elder Relationships
2. The Four Emotional Reactions to Church–Church is Pointless
3. The Four Emotional Reactions to Church–Church is Perfect
4. Four Emotional Reactions to Church-Church is Purposeful
5. Four Emotional Reactions to Church-Church is Problematic

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This entry was posted by Matthew on Monday, January 16th, 2012 at 1:05 pm and is filed under Church News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.