Leaders, something to ponder

1gr8bldr

Senior Member
For some reason I was thinking about this last night and thought I would share it. Deacons.... Chairman, specifically. I have been in many meetings during my days in a trinitarian church. And observed two extremes of leadership. I'll let you decide which mode of leadership is best. I should say, both men, I respect, however, in terms of how they lead...... one clearly gets my respect. One used his position as chairman as a neutral party, whom used his position to make sure all 10 deacons had input. And why not, they were voted in by the people to have their voice heard in leadership. He systematically went from one to the next to hear all views. This often leads to surprising results because 10 heads are better than one. At least this way, you weight out the options and are not blindsided with a result not expected. Such as a disgruntled member whom was effected in a negative way. All decisions are not without consequences. The discussion over decisions help to pin point those who might be negatively effected so that their deacon can go to them and explain how the decision was best for the church. etc. The other example of a chairman was a man whom thought he knew better than everyone else, who used his position as chairman to push his agenda. Many men kept silent, not wanting to voice their opinion, not wanting to discuss any opposition to his view and those that did were quickly met with his seemingly campaign that they were wrong. Thus, you can see why in this way, no discussion was fruitful. I always thought why should we even have a deacon body if the chairman was going to run the show. My home church did not have elders. It was a deacon body only, to serve, and handle the business of the church. Both men we respected. The one whom always considered that he knew best, he was a rock of service to the church for his adult life. Always the first to turn on the heat, or deal with mechanical issues, even mowing grass. However, even if he were right or wrong in his directions, his method lost the ability to see things from 10 different views. It lost the ability to spot and identify those whom might be effected, etc. Something to ponder to leaders in the church
 

gordon 2

Senior Member
For some reason I was thinking about this last night and thought I would share it. Deacons.... Chairman, specifically. I have been in many meetings during my days in a trinitarian church. And observed two extremes of leadership. I'll let you decide which mode of leadership is best. I should say, both men, I respect, however, in terms of how they lead...... one clearly gets my respect. One used his position as chairman as a neutral party, whom used his position to make sure all 10 deacons had input. And why not, they were voted in by the people to have their voice heard in leadership. He systematically went from one to the next to hear all views. This often leads to surprising results because 10 heads are better than one. At least this way, you weight out the options and are not blindsided with a result not expected. Such as a disgruntled member whom was effected in a negative way. All decisions are not without consequences. The discussion over decisions help to pin point those who might be negatively effected so that their deacon can go to them and explain how the decision was best for the church. etc. The other example of a chairman was a man whom thought he knew better than everyone else, who used his position as chairman to push his agenda. Many men kept silent, not wanting to voice their opinion, not wanting to discuss any opposition to his view and those that did were quickly met with his seemingly campaign that they were wrong. Thus, you can see why in this way, no discussion was fruitful. I always thought why should we even have a deacon body if the chairman was going to run the show. My home church did not have elders. It was a deacon body only, to serve, and handle the business of the church. Both men we respected. The one whom always considered that he knew best, he was a rock of service to the church for his adult life. Always the first to turn on the heat, or deal with mechanical issues, even mowing grass. However, even if he were right or wrong in his directions, his method lost the ability to see things from 10 different views. It lost the ability to spot and identify those whom might be effected, etc. Something to ponder to leaders in the church

Good point!

I am aware of an evangelical pastor who has made every male member of the congregation a deacon... but I'm not aware of how the shots are called...
 

NE GA Pappy

Mr. Pappy
some people are leaders

Others have positions.

Your first example is a leader. He valued the others opinions, sought a path forward that would include the most members. And all without compromising the message. If he will sell the deacons and members on the mission of the church and continue to involve others, this church could grow to be a real force in a community. This is the type leader who can grow a church to 500 to 700 with the help of the deacons.

Second example is a holder of a position. This church will never grow to be over 120 to 150 people. The position holder will try to do the majority of the work by himself, and others will sit back and let him because he hasn't sold them on the vision of the church. People don't follow a position holder. They follow a vision caster, someone who has drive and determination, and an undying love for the followers
 

SemperFiDawg

Political Forum Arbiter of Truth (And Lies Too)
Our church has a very simple philosophy. It is: a Deacon is simply put, a helper, therefore each person that serves in any capacity whatsoever is a Deacon. We have no formal Deacon positions. It’s worked well. Everyone has equal voice and there are no power struggles because their are no positions to struggle over.
 

1gr8bldr

Senior Member
Our church has a very simple philosophy. It is: a Deacon is simply put, a helper, therefore each person that serves in any capacity whatsoever is a Deacon. We have no formal Deacon positions. It’s worked well. Everyone has equal voice and there are no power struggles because their are no positions to struggle over.
As long as it works, however as a church grows, it needs to attempt to make sure no one gets over looked.
 
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