Leadership problems in the Church:
> 22.8% of pastors (1 in 4) have been terminated from a Church;1
> 1,500 pastors leave the ministry each month due to moral failure, spiritual burnout, or contention in their churches;1
> 80% of pastors and 84% of their spouses feel unqualified and discouraged in their role as pastors;1
> 50% of church staff have said they would leave the ministry if they could, but have no other way of making a living;1
> 80% of seminary and Bible school graduates who enter the ministry will leave the ministry within the first five years;1
> 90% of pastors said their seminary or Bible school training did only a fair to poor job preparing them for ministry;1
> 80% of pastors believe their ministry negatively affects their families1
Leadership shortage problem.
Most of us have heard the saying, "80% of the work is done by 20% of the people.2" It always seems like there are just a handful of people that carry most of the load in the church. But that can greatly hinder leadership development. So why does this happen?
Let’s say you’re a senior pastor at a medium size church and you need someone to oversee the children’s ministry. Most people look for a person with a heart for kids AND some leadership skills. You also want to start a men’s ministry, so you look for a man that again, has a heart for men’s ministry and leadership skills. And then the small groups director steps down, and you need to fill her spot with someone who has a heart for discipleship and, of course, leadership skills. You eventually find a few people who want to do the jobs, but you question whether or not they have the necessary leadership skills. What is a senior leader to do? Because you have used all the leaders up in other ministries, you have to either give the job to someone who is already leading (80/20) or settle for someone who doesn’t completely fit.
The Current leadership model.
Often times, when someone expresses the desire to grow as a leader, they are given a book. Or some feel called into ministry, so they go off to Bible school. Others want to be challenged to grow, so they go to a leadership conference. So after they read their book or graduate from school or come back from the conference, they magically become a great leader, right? Of course not. That doesn’t make sense.
So why do we continue to reinforce this model of leadership development? Think about it. When someone says they are being called into ministry, one of the first questions is, “Where are you going to Bible college?” They’re basically saying going to Bible college will make them a great pastor. Or when someone expresses that they are struggling with a leadership issue, we whip out all the best books to read, as if reading a bestseller is going to solve all their problems. We can’t tell you how many times we have heard people coming back from a conference with a “great idea” only to find out it is disastrous for their church. Now Bible colleges, leadership books, and conferences aren’t bad.
The problem is the way we THINK about leadership.
It's time to start thinking differently >>>
Sources: 1.) Leadership Journal, Leadership Resources, Changing Church, 2.) 80/20 rule