As I write this, Jared and I are in the middle of a discussion of denominational leadership in the PC(USA). And I want to invite others to join. Here's where we are:
Bill: I can't get behind the TSP thing, and it'll take a lot to convince me. I think of it as the same argument as Republicans kept throwing at Obama, "executive" experience proves leadership potential. I don't buy it.
Jared: When I think of excellent "executive" leadership in the church, I think of Rick Carus. He's a guy who can inspire, embolden, and empower people to get things done with a purpose. Rick is not Grace Presbytery's youth pastor - he is Grace Presbytery's Youth Executive. If you look at the list of ways that the programs he works on make the world more like God wants it to be, it's a huge list, with lots of impressive stuff on it.
Jared: And the list is much longer than anything Rick Carus himself could accomplish.
Jared: I am very willing to consider that TSP is not a good indicator of denominational leadership performance - you don't need to convince me. But we do need to figure out what might be.
Bill: What makes for good denominational leadership performance? How do we define that?
Jared: That would be controversial. I would say that a good denominational leader is one that can motivate, inspire, enable, and empower the church to make the world more like God wants it to be.
Jared: When I think of excellent "executive" leadership in the church, I think of Rick Carus. He's a guy who can inspire, embolden, and empower people to get things done with a purpose. Rick is not Grace Presbytery's youth pastor - he is Grace Presbytery's Youth Executive. If you look at the list of ways that the programs he works on make the world more like God wants it to be, it's a huge list, with lots of impressive stuff on it.
Jared: And the list is much longer than anything Rick Carus himself could accomplish.
Jared: I am very willing to consider that TSP is not a good indicator of denominational leadership performance - you don't need to convince me. But we do need to figure out what might be.
Bill: What makes for good denominational leadership performance? How do we define that?
Jared: That would be controversial. I would say that a good denominational leader is one that can motivate, inspire, enable, and empower the church to make the world more like God wants it to be.
Choose your own adventure. If you want to help define denominational leadership, click Add Comment. If you want to continue the Beau Weston discussion, go to the previous entry. If you don't want to have anything to do with these church nerds, go read another blog.
Interesting conversation. Here from the link at the ModBlog. I'm 3.5 years into my first call, in a small, rural congregation. I'm also what you might call second-career - with degrees in business, computers, and ministry; and having significant experience in agriculture, transportation, and manufacturing.
When I first read the paper, I thought Weston had some good points. Of interest to me is the idea that we should seek leaders without artificially limiting who we will consider.
While I haven't been around the PCUSA long enough to know if it is a problem here, I definitely saw the impact at UPS and Boeing. There were people, who received promotions to supervisor, who had no experience in the specific processes of that area, and who got the position because they had enough "points" due to receiving a substantial boost in points by being disabled, a veteran, or a minority.
Those promoted weren't the best qualified for the job. Quite often they ended up in meaningless jobs because they were ineffective as supervisors and couldn't be fired without claims of discrimination.
On the other hand, I do see the need to make opportunities for those who wouldn't otherwise have a chance to blossom and excel.
In the PCUSA, I'd like to see folks have an opportunity to lead - in committees first. With our polity, we need people who can encourage others, who can rally people around what is truly important, etc. We don't need someone who would make a good bishop, or a CEO who makes all the decisions, or dictates how decisions will be made - such as MBO (management by objective).
We've a TSC a couple hours away. He quickly has made an impact in the Presbytery by asking questions, by effectively leading a committee, by bringing in speakers and seminars and inviting others of us to participate. He and I don't click, but I find him to be very effective as a leader. He can ask great questions, can motivate, and can step up and lead.
I'm also blessed to know a couple of female pastors in rural congregations who are terrific leaders, who have tremendous passion for the Church, who reach out to those who are hurting. Sometimes I think these are the type of people we need for EP's.
In reference to QB's making the transition... If we are going to use football, I'd rather think of someone like Barry Sanders as the type of leader I would want. When he had the ball, he did his very best. When he didn't have the ball, he did his very best. And he was humble - no showboating after doing what he was paid to do. He gave credit to the offensive line - evening buying them brand new cars one year. He gave to his church. And he quit when it was time to let someone else have the job.
Ultimately the sports metaphors don't work well, as the idea of being our best is at the expense of someone else.
Posted by: DennisS | December 16, 2008 at 05:36 PM