Is Ministry Leadership Different? Andy Stanley and Jim Collins in an unexpected point-counterpoint

How is ministry leadership different from other kinds of leadership? In the next exciting issue of Leadership, Pastor Andy Stanley and business expert and author Jim Collins (Built to Last, Good to Great) offered answers that left me scratching my head. Can they both be right? Read some excerpts below.

"What is distinctly spiritual about the kind of leadership you do?" I asked Andy Stanley. Nothing, he said. "There's nothing distinctly spiritual. I think a big problem in the church has been the dichotomy between spirituality and leadership."

His answer surprised me.

As pastor of a thriving megachurch north of Atlanta, with an additional ten satellite locations fed his sermons by video, Stanley is becoming the model for the next generation of large church pastors.

Younger by about a decade than Bill Hybels and Rick Warren, Andy really seems to connect with younger leaders. We noticed it among the attenders at the annual Catalyst conferences. Organized jointly, at first, by Stanley's North Point ...

Subscriber access only You have reached the end of this Article Preview

To continue reading, subscribe to Christianity Today magazine. Subscribers have full digital access to CT Pastors articles.

Homepage Subscription Panel

Read These Next

Related
Prayer: From Seeker to Sought
Prayer: From Seeker to Sought
This month, let's consider the spiritual practice of prayer. Prayer not as ritual but as a means to relationship; as conversation initiated by the Holy Spirit, in which our primary role is to listen.
From the Magazine
Christians Invented Health Insurance. Can They Make Something Better?
Christians Invented Health Insurance. Can They Make Something Better?
How to heal a medical system that abandons the vulnerable.
Editor's Pick
How Codependency Hampered My Pastoral Ministry
How Codependency Hampered My Pastoral Ministry
Part of the emotional drain I felt during the pandemic came from trying to manage my members’ feelings.
close