By Amy Butler
Opportunities for debate and discussion have skyrocketed in the wake of this week’s news reports of the death of Osama bin Laden. Right after the news broke, it seemed to me that everyone on Facebook had a comment; political pundits alighted on the subject with glee; even a stroll around that block took me past several folks engaged in sidewalk debates on the unfolding news story. The tenor of most of the conversations I heard was political; a few folks had a moral perspective on matters. Many pastoral colleagues, including myself, chimed in with theological opinions.
In the days since the announcement, however, I have been thinking that those of us interested in the subject of leadership might have some interesting things to consider in light of these current events.
For example, what makes an effective leader? To what degree does the success of a movement or organization depend on the presence and person of its leader? Do leaders really have the power of life and death for the organizations they lead?
If so, I’ve been on the wrong track all these years, because all this time I’ve been working with a completely different premise. I am not currently leading an underground opposition movement (though some in Baptist life might disagree); my perspective is the perspective of pastoral leadership. And when it comes to pastoral leadership, I’ve always had the conviction that the best pastoral leaders work themselves out of a job.
That is, the most effective church leaders help form congregations that know the mission and vision to which they have been called. Their congregations feel empowered and prepared to explore and create expressions of that vision. And they support the development of church members who go out from their communities with the conviction, courage and capability to not just perpetuate the mission, but express and recreate it in diverse situations under ever-changing circumstances.
It’s true that charismatic personalities can often generate excitement and make dramatic accomplishments as leaders in the short-term. But the best leaders know that their ultimate job is to disengage the mission of the organization they lead from the power of their personalities. These leaders will always keep an eye on a seat in the back of the room and steadily move in the direction of that backseat as they empower their people to move toward the front.
It is my observation that there are many pastoral leaders who do not subscribe to this leadership methodology. This is understandable, as the attention that comes with being the leader can be pretty intoxicating sometimes — one would not be human without thinking twice about surrendering potential public acclaim. And, congregations are often unfamiliar with the model of a leader who takes a back seat and strategically hands-off leadership to others in an effort to flesh out the mission.
But I maintain: good leaders should always be working themselves out of a job. It’s the only way to trade the cult of personality for lasting, world-changing gospel community, the dream that all we felt (remember?) when God first tugged at our hearts with the call to pastoral ministry.
I don’t know nearly enough about international relations, the Middle East, terrorist cells, or Osama bin Laden to know what kind of leader he was. But, in lieu of solving this conundrum of international politics, I’ll just keep thinking about leadership.
There’s a lot to consider as we watch international events unfold. Here’s hoping we’re watching, all the while moving toward the backseat.