In the Elemental Leaders book, we identified four crucial elements that were maximized in every healthy and effective church we studied.
They were: Integrity (clear efficient systems, processes, and infrastructure), Passion (an energy and commitment to the mission), Servanthood (a relentless outward-focus), and Imagination (change-capacity and the ability to imagine different futures).
Becoming familiar with the four elements is half the battle. Developing a leadership team that recognizes their importance and becomes adept at discerning when one of them is flagging is critical.
For instance, one church I was familiar with had plateaued in terms of growth, health, and frankly, energy and momentum. This can be a complex problem and good coaches will look at everything like leadership competencies, communication skills, systems, inter-relational issues, facility constraints, team dynamics, environments, and so on. Having skilled outsiders suggest fresh perspectives from time-to-time is vital; it’s too easy for leaders to become myopic.
But after becoming familiar with the four elements, the leadership team realized that the Passion element had long flamed out. It had been years since they launched anything new or fresh and a very long time since they challenged their people in a big way. The church had settled into predictable routines that had caused a subtle organizational boredom and was in dire need of stretching beyond their well-established comfort zones.
This simple discovery also led to a spirited conversation about the Imagination element…and the fact that they really didn’t have anyone in their leadership circle who was entrepreneurial in ministry opportunities. Their senior pastor felt some “leadership discomfort” at this point—obviously, he knew where the buck stopped and felt responsible. But because they had developed a healthy Servanthood culture, he was secure in who he was.
Although the conversation would occasionally wander off on rabbit trails, they eventually identified an Imagination barrier in their leadership and the life of the church they all loved: a fear of change. Because they had settled into a comfortable stability, they somehow missed the voice of the Holy Spirit who draws us into the creative tension between invitation and challenge.
In a subsequent meeting, they developed a simple strategy that included a retreat with guided prayer to help them hear from God, along with spending part of their time with a facilitator with an entrepreneurial background to fire up their neurons. Their senior pastor also realized that the cloistered administrative work of the church had sucked out some of his passion for their original outward-focused mission. His team developed a plan to off-load the majority of that work from his schedule and allow for some imaginative “dream-time” in his week.
Identifying an element that has atrophied, then developing a clear pathway and strategy to resurrect it was revolutionary.
Which element in your church or organization could use some more oxygen?
Dave Workman | The Elemental Group
From the tribe of Issachar, there were two-hundred leaders of the tribe with their relatives. All these men understood the signs of the times and knew the best course for Israel to take.
1 CHRONICLES 12:32
Every healthy organization is marked by four essential traits: Integrity, Passion, Servanthood, and Imagination. With a practitioner perspective, author Dave Workman offers common sense guidance and tools to maximize leadership. Filled with insight, humor, and reflective exercises, this is an indispensable exploration of these four universal values. Check out Elemental Leaders: Four Essentials Every Leader Needs...and Every Church Must Have.
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