Leadership Tasks in the Life Cycle

Source: George Bullard

Remember

The goal is not to create great leaders, but great congregations!

Leadership is a means to an end, not an end in itself.

Basic Growth Principle

Moving from “fix”-based to “solutions”-based approach

The first and principal leadership task is to replace what was lost last in the congregation

Vision, Inclusion, Program, Management

Leadership Task on “Growth” Side

On the “growing” side of the curve, church growth happens through emphasizing the characteristics of the next stage

– i.e. teach infants to act like children, children to act like adolescents, teens to act like adults

Sidebar

During the birth-infancy stages (first 5-6 years), the master story of the congregation is formed

A major leadership task on the “growth” side is to help shape and consolidate this story– At adulthood, multiple visions surface, and

leadership is a matter of developing consensus in the master story

Leadership Task at “Maturity”

“Revision” process

Deal with what you lost latest: “vision”– From vIPM to VIPM– Sometimes a simple change of pastors works here (though not

at other places!)

Takes 6-18 months to redevelop at this stage

Continuous (not radical) change works best

Leadership Task at “Empty Nest”

“Revitalization” process

Deal with what you lost latest: “P”

– Program vitality– Move from vIpM vIPm

Takes 18-36 months

Leadership at “Empty Nest”

Stages: – Nostalgia– Disappointment– “Try harder”– Anger

If caught at “nostalgia,” can do incremental change

If at “disappointment, anger, or beyond,” must lead via introducing discontinuous or radical change

Leadership Task at “Retirement”

“Renewal” process

From viPM vIPM– Inclusion first, then vision– Must create lots of new ways for people to be

reached and included in the life of the church

Takes 3-5 years

Leadership of “Retirement” Church

This is no place to use continuous change strategies

If it is 1st or 2nd leap at trying to redevelop, leadership can use discontinuous change

If 3rd -4th time, leadership must use radical change to leap forward to new adolescence

Leadership task at “Old Age”

“Reinvent” process

From vipM Vipm

Very difficult to initiate without a third party– consultant or intentional interim type

Takes 18-36 months (shorter time frame)

Leadership at Old Age

Only style of leadership that works at old age is radical change

And it must happen within 18-36 months

“Let’s turn the page, begin with a blank, start from ground up”– Reinventing, not revising

Leadership Task at “Death”

“Resurrection” process

From “m” Vipm– First V, then I

18-36 month time frame

Redeveloping Forward

You don’t go “back” to an earlier stage! Maturity: redevelops toward adulthood Empty nest adulthood or adolescence Retirement new adolescence or new

childhood Old age new infancy or new childhood

Redeveloping Forward

Any redevelopment lasts 7-9 years until maturity– A “solutions-based” approach revises every decade

After 10-12 years, it’s time for another redevelopment – Rather than riding the same redevelopment horse– Because after 10-12 years, no matter how good a horse, it’s a

dead horse– Any congregation can be a decade from death!

Re-dreaming the Dream

You don’t have to have the same dream as before; what matters that the current congregation owns the vision passionately

Alongside this, at every point of leadership on the “maturity” side of things, a goal is to diminish the controlling aspects of management– Reducing management increases energy for ministry

Leadership Tasks in the Life Cycle

Copyright John P. Chandler, 2000