Mark Dawes, Staff Reporter

Are you the pastor that your congregation needs for the next stage of its lifespan? Or have you become stale in ministry?

That is the concern of ministry coach, Angie Ward, in an article entitled 'Leader's Insight: Ministry Gone Stale' and published online at www.christianitytoday.com/leaders.

The writer challenges the pervasive notion in churches that a pastor should commit to shepherding his/her congregation "till death they do part".

She argued that the modern church requires varying brands of leadership as it matures. She wrote, "The office of pastor requires not just shepherding and preaching skills, but also leadership skills. The church of today, no matter its size, is a complex organisation. As it matures, it will require different kinds of leadership. Some leaders do well at adapting to and enjoying each stage, but others are best suited and gifted for a more time-limited role."

Peter Principle

A time-limited role? How many church leaders are prepared for that? Ward argues that it is possible for pastors to experience something akin to the Peter Principle - which says that after a person has been doing well at a lower level, and miserably fails to perform at the higher level, then such a person has been promoted to his or her level of incompetence.

In her words, "There are scores of pastors who are uniquely suited for leading churches of a particular size or from one level to the next or maybe two levels, but not beyond. For example, they may be able to help a church grow from 100 to 400 people, but may not be skilled at the complexities or specialisation necessary to lead a church over 1,000.

Some can do it, but many can't.

She made the point that past performance is no guarantee of future results for pastors and others in church leadership. It is therefore important, she said, that pastors have a good sense of the expiry date for their brand of leadership.

She continued: "Having a shelf life is not the same as bailing out every time ministry gets tough. Quite the opposite, leaders who know their shelf life may often relish the challenges that come with a particular stage of ministry."

What then are the signs to alert pastors that it is time to move on to something else? Ward offers the following clues: "The more obvious signs are passion and energy, which are tied to your individual strengths. If you find yourself dreading the majority of your job, you may have drifted too far from your leadership sweet spot.

"You can also look at your ministry history. Do you see any patterns in your leadership effectiveness? But you also need to ask yourself hard questions about your current situation. If your church's effectiveness has plateaued, you must be willing to consider whether your leadership ability, or lack thereof, is one of the reasons."

Lifelong learning

To stay fresh and relevant in ministry, a pastor must be committed to lifelong learning. But sometimes, she said, a pastor just might need to move to a different shelf. On the flip side, churches must be prepared to release pastors, those pastors whose sell-by dates have expired - but to do so with charity and preserving the dignity of such servants of God, she said.

The temptation pastors face is to think that a bigger congregation is a better congregation. This temptation, the writer said, can be eliminated by the extent to which a pastor is confident in his own unique gifts and calling as a leader. Furthermore, she added that it is "just as bad to stay beyond your shelf life because it's comfortable for you, even while it's detrimental to your church".

Recognising one's shelf life, she said, is one way for a pastor to elongate the lifespan of effective leadership.

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