Leadership Journal

Leadership in the emerging church is a paradox. I am someone who fully sees the value of mission statements, organizational charts, and a strategic approach to leading. I read everything John Maxwell and Bill Hybels write, and they fuel my heart and passion for leadership. The irony is that most growing up in our emerging culture are critical of anything that looks like "organized religion." My church doesn't want anything too business oriented or too structured.

Where previous generations related to a more structured culture, many in the emerging church are drawn to a non-hierarchical approach. Much like what is emphasized in the writings of Henri Nouwen.

I've read Nouwen's In the Name of Jesus: Reflections on Christian Leadership a dozen times. It convicts me to the core about motives and the heart of leadership. But Henri was shepherding and loving a relatively few people. Leading a church that is growing, launching new ministries, and building multi-level leadership teams needs Nouwen, but also Maxwell.

So I wrestle. In our church we live in the tension and try to do both. I dive into my Maxwell books and focus on building leadership and setting up structures needed for a healthy Ephesians 4:11-12 type of church. After a season, I need to run back to Nouwen for a season.

To some degree, these two paradigms seem polarized. But I think it is possible to still be "organized" without becoming "organized religion." In the end, it is the Spirit of God who does things through us anyway. But it is definitely a paradox we live in today, with new thoughts and values colliding in the emerging church.

My challenge is to let Henri show me how to reflect Jesus to my organizationally resistant sheep, even when I'm making plans like John.

Dan Kimball
Vintage Faith Church, Santa Cruz, California

Ten years have passed since I founded Mars Hill. The church has grown and we've launched the Acts 29 Church Planting Network.

I'm not just the leader of a church anymore, but a leader of leaders. My advice, my policies, and my example seem even more important when I know others will follow my lead in their own leadership roles.

So I find myself in a place where I give advice, such as, "Accept that your life is abnormal. Nothing about life as a ministry leader—from its emotional toll to relational demands and constant interruptions—is normal. Accepting that you are a freak with a freakish life will help you not to freak out."

But I've also been challenged to examine how I model leadership, especially in the area of my family life.

I've learned, for example, that I can't study effectively at the church and that there are many benefits of maintaining a study at home. I've removed the desk and bookshelves from my church office, setting it up more like a living room—with couches and a fridge, conducive to meetings.

Meanwhile, I've moved the books to my home, where I can study in peace and where my family can see me studying and have access to my library. I've also learned to include, rather than hide, my children in ministry. I try to take them with me whenever possible, such as on hospital visits or missions trips.

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