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44 Lessons On Church Leadership From Lyle Schaller: A Compilation (3 of 4)

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23. The best place to begin when re-defining a congregation’s role relative to the community is, “Who are the people who are largely overlooked or ignored y the other churches in this community whom God is calling us to reach with the good news?” Activating The Passive Church, p. 95.

24. New members are perceived as threats by existing long-term members; perceived as irresponsible; tend to be disproportionately represented in large numbers in ministries; are “assimilated by works”; are less tied to the past; generally more creative and enthusiastic about the congregation and its projects; are often the best evangelists; most aware of the needs the church’s ministry meets; tend to be the best source of leaders for new small face-to-face groups; should be most disproportionately represented on the pastoral support committee since they are most supportive of the pastor. Activating The Passive Church, p. 130

25. “In general, every pastor should view that group of new members as (a) persons with spiritual and personal needs that must be identified, surfaced, and met, (b) creative allies in combating passivity, and (c) potential members of a support group for the minister.” Activating The Passive Church, p. 130.

26. “Since the first year of a new pastorate is the critical period in combating passivity in a congregation….the evidence strongly suggests that in the majority of cases the newly arrived ministry should accept a more active leadership role…..The most common exception is the severely divided congregation [or the sudden termination of the predecessor].” Activating The Passive Church, pp. 132-134.

27. An intentional strategy for the first year of ministry in a passive congregation emphasizes 1) discipleship intentionality; 2) that leaders, including the pastor, lead, 3) the initial months of ministry set expectations of what members can expect over the tenure of the pastor; 4) the pastor is not one who has brought a program with him and will implement it (by himself) for the passive congregation; and 5) that the pastor’s role is to cause things to happen not “doing it.” Activating The Passive Church, pp. 135-136.

28. The results of pastors who successfully concentrate on the weakness of a congregation include: 1) congregational admiration of the members for the pastor’s work; 2) blaming the predecessor for congregational short-comings; 3) increased congregational flattery for the pastor given in direct proportion to the increased congregational passivity; 4) increased aging and alienation of leaders; 5) burnt-out pastors who, each year, must exceed the previous year’s accomplishments; 6) increasing members’ conviction that getting the “right minister” is the secret to building a strong church; and 7) placing a heavy burden on the next minister who will be expected to top that act. Activating The Passive Church, pp. 137-138.

29. “The best strategy for the new ministry facing a passive congregation is to identify, affirm, and build on the complementary strengths of both the pastor and the congregation.” Activating The Passive Church, p. 139.

30. “The longer the median tenure of the members, (a) the more difficult it is for a recently arrived minister to win the allegiance of the members, (b) the easier it is to launch a movement to seek the pastor’s resignation, (c) the higher the level of financial support by the members, especially in emergencies, (d) the greater the probability that the membership roster includes the names of several alienated and angry older ex-leaders who are dissatisfied with today’s state of affairs, (e) the stronger the resistance to change, (f) the less likely that the congregation will be able to reach, attract and assimilate new members, (g) the stronger the attachment to that meeting place; and (h) the more likely the congregation will display several of the characteristics of passivity….” Activating The Passive Church, p. 28.

31. “One of the most effective means of undermining the trust level within a congregation, of lowering morale, of increasing passivity, and of creating disharmony is to create a situation that causes members to believe they cannot trust the financial accountability system of that parish….Once something has happened to create this distrust, the best response is full disclosure.” Activating The Passive Church, p. 111.

32. First-born children tend to be conscientious, task-oriented, persisted, serious, high achievers and are drawn to senior pastorates in statistically disproportionately large numbers. Middle-born children tend to be more person-centered, relaxed, and diplomatic. Last-borns tend to be relaxed, casual in dress and appearance, light-hearted, able to concentrate on those , which concern them, willing to accept a sub-ordinate position, and often express great interest in change. The Multiple Staff and the Larger Church, p. 101.

33. “The clearer the expectation [for ministry staff] of this distinction between ‘doing it’ and ‘causing it to happen,’ the better the quality of staff morale and relationships.” The Multiple Staff and the Larger Church, p. 101.

34. A key difference between senior pastors and associate pastors is that, among other things, an associate pastor must often be burdened with the sense that he must be perceived as “good enough” to get promoted to the senior pastorate. The weight of tenure, the impact of titles and rank, age, varying degrees of experience, lay expectations, the origins of the associate pastor position in that congregation all play a major role in shaping the associate pastor position. The Multiple Staff and the Larger Church, pp. 126ff.

44 Lessons On Church Leadership From Lyle Schaller: A Compilation (2 of 4)

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12. Guilt can be induced in congregations by “unlimited tenure systems;” urging people to accept job they do not enjoy and do not want; motivating contributions, attendance and service by Law rather than Gospel; articulating vague goals, i.e. without stating who is responsible and the projected timetable for attainment of the goal; and using the phrase, “We ought to do more….” Effective Church Planning, pp. 150-1.

13. The fruits of motivating by pushing the ‘guilt’ button are deep and lasting hostility. Efforts to implement a legalistic approach to motivation appear to produce divisive and destructive conflict. By contrast, efforts to motivate people through an emphasis on a neighbor-centered, loving [Gospel-oriented] approach produces healthy fruits. Effective Church Planning, p. 160.

14. “As pastors move away from the old pattern of trying to live up to some idealized model of ministry…and begin to identify, affirm, and build on their own strengths, they tend to develop a leadership style that not only is compatible with a potentialities-based planning model, but they also begin to develop an aptitude for identifying, affirming, and building on the strengths and potentialities of individual members of the congregation.” Effective Church Planning, p. 170.

15. Numerical growth in small churches happens 1) rarely; 2) reluctantly; 3) only by accepting significant changes; 4) when several members committing themselves to an ‘adopt-a-member’ strategy; 5) when smaller churches find themselves surrounded by a flood of newcomers…who ‘take over’ control of the church and change the style of congregational life; 6) by attracting a disproportionately large number of that three percent of the church population who move into a community and immediately become hard, faithful, and self-starting workers in the church; 7) by committing themselves to a serious study of the Bible with an emphasis on evangelism and discipleship; 8) when the church implements a multi-year ministry growth program which requires that the pastor’s tenure last at least five or six years to finish completely. Growing Plans, pp. 16-17.

16. “The greater the lay control in any size congregation, the less likely it is that the congregation will begin and maintain significant numerical growth.” Growing Plans, p. 18.

17. “I have found no evident to suggest that the commitment to Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior is any less among the members of the small-membership churches than it is among the members of rapidly growing churches. They may be some difference in how members of different churches express their Christian commitment, but that is a different subject from the depth of commitment.” Growing Plans, p. 21.

18. “From the days of the New Testament churches to today, orthodox Christianity has experienced great difficulty in reaching and including in worshiping congregations people who have no hope for tomorrow.” It’s a Different World, p. 39.

19. “Professionals in the church tend to think in terms of functional categories, while the laity often conceptualize reality in terms of relationships.” Activating The Passive Church, p. 20.

20. When a congregation’s governing body drifts into a permission-withholding stance when new ideas, ministries and programs are proposed, this tends to inhibit the creativity of the members, halt the flow of creative ideas, and encourage passivity. Activating The Passive Church, p. 48.

21. “Looking backward and second-guessing the past…tends to be one of the most fertile sources of passivity.” Activating The Passive Church, p. 49.

22. “Polity and size are the two most influential factors in shaping the role of the pastor and the relationship between the minister and the lay leaders.” Activating The Passive Church, p. 32.