For the week of January 23, 2006

Take Your Congregation’s Leadership Pulse
By: John Laster
Every congregation has “officially designated leaders.” Often these are individuals for whom the title or merit badge of leadership is important. It is a rare, however, to find the designated men and women providing functional leadership to the gathered community of believers. Robert Hargrove observes, “Leadership is missing when there is a lack of excitement about the future, when people vacillate about a situation rather than take a stand, when people are not taking risks or initiative.”

Evaluate your congregation in light of the three factors Hargrove suggests. Use this as an opportunity for some frank discussions with your leaders about leadership in your context. In what ways could our leadership be contributing to a lack of excitement or an aversion to taking risks? What currently are the specific expectations of this leadership team? In what ways might God be calling us as a team to stretch, grow and alter our collective behavior?