Dr. Thom S. Rainer, I Stand With You!

On Building Bridges

Written by Thom S. Rainer

NASHVILLE, Tenn., 2/19/07 — When my three grown sons were small children, we would often play with a wooden train. Because they were so young, the boys would sometimes construct a track that ended up becoming two separate sections. The train could not continue to run because it would fall off the track. It was at that point that one of them would request with excitement: “Daddy, build me a bridge.”

And so I would. The train could then run smoothly.

I am a part of a denomination that has many tracks but few bridges. And if we don’t start building some bridges quickly, God’s hand of blessing may move beyond us.

Let me share with you an example of recent days. I spoke last week at the Baptist Identity Conference at Union University in Jackson, Tenn. From an outsider’s perspective, one might conclude that the crowd was like-minded. After all, it was a gathering of mostly Southern Baptists.

But I knew better. Present were five-point Calvinists and others who would not affirm all five points. Also in attendance were cessationists and non-cessationists, people with differing views of women in ministry, bloggers, and print-media writers. There were some who thought leaving “Baptist” out of a church’s name was wrong; and there were others had already taken the denominational label out of their church’s name. The views on eschatology held by the attendees were many.

It was a diverse group of Southern Baptists indeed.

I spoke to many people before and after my formal presentation. One person commented to me, “Dr. Rainer, I better leave you before people start wondering why we are speaking with each other.” Admittedly, his comment was meant to be humorous. But it did have a sting of truth in it. The labels had already been applied. The sides had been chosen. And you had better be careful about the side you chose or the people with whom you associated.

I reject that line of thinking.

As far as I knew, everyone at that conference was my brother or sister in Christ. As far as I knew, everyone was a Bible believer. I refuse to let labels keep me from building bridges.

My six years as a seminary student were difficult. Though I met many godly men and women and professors, I also witnessed firsthand much aberrant theology. I was and still am a firm supporter of the conservative resurgence. I knew we could not continue down the path we were headed.

But it seems as if we just can’t stop fighting even though the battle for the Bible is over and won.

I understand the risk I am taking by writing these words. But silence is not an option. I must be about building bridges.

Please understand that I have no illusion that my words will start a revolution or that many will listen. But I can only be held accountable before God for my own actions.

I choose to build bridges.

Though I am a fallible and sinful person, I will seek God’s power to stay true to the following:

1. I stand firm on the inerrant Word of God. I support without reservation the Baptist Faith and Message 2000.

2. Though I may disagree with some on secondary and tertiary issues, I will not let those points of disagreement tear down bridges of relationships with brothers and sisters in Christ.

3. I will seek to join with those who will work together on the common causes of missions, evangelism and the health of the local church.

4. I will seek God’s will in prayer before I write or speak a word of disagreement against another brother or sister in Christ or even a non-Christian. I will seek to see the plank in my own eye before pointing out the splinter in another person’s eye. I will follow the truths of Matthew 18 when I feel that I need to confront a brother or sister in Christ.

5. I will spend more time rejoicing in the Lord (Phil 4:4).

6. I will seek God’s power to have a more gentle and Christlike spirit (Phil 4:5).

7. I will pray that the lost and the unchurched world will know me by my Christlike love.

Such is my commitment.

If God so leads, I invite you to join me in building bridges.

Core Conviction of a Leader: God is Holy, I Will Be Holy

Personal holiness is not optionl for a leader.

I Peter 1:14-19
14 As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance, 15 but as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, 16 since it is written, “You shall be holy, for I am holy.” 17 And if you call on him as Father who judges impartially according to each one’s deeds, conduct yourselves with fear throughout the time of your exile, 18 knowing that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, 19 but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot.

We have an integrity crisis in church leadership today.  The temptations are real.  Satan still revels is watching pastors and lay leaders fall to his schemes.  Holiness requries a radical commitment to God and his ways.  We have been ransomed with the blood of Christ!  We have been called by a thrice holy God!  What are we doing to guard our hearts from the lure of money, sex, power, and position.  So many thing can become the driving force in our lives.  The challenge today is allow Christ to reign in our hearts, permitting the holy spirit to have his way with us.

Let us curse the praise of men, the pursuit of position, and the allures of the flesh and let us pursue with passion the God who saves!

Core Convictions of a Leader: There is One True God Who is to be Feared and Adored

I said I wanted to build a theological framwork for leadership in the next several posts on my blog.   This particular framework, I believe, applies to Leadership proper.  In other words, this framework is not providing for a dichotomy between secular vs. sacred. 

The Scripture provides principles for leadership that are transferable to all of life.  Now, I have had a previous discussion with Andy Stanley on this blog concerning the spiritual nature of leadership in the local church.  I agree with him, that Scriptural priniciples apply to leadership in general.  I disagree that all leadership exist in a vacuum.  For example, one may apply this theological framework to work or home or church, but one may not be qualified be Scripture to be an elder in a local church.  Why?  Because local church leadership demands certain qualifications.  Now that I think I cleared that up…or muddied the waters, depending on how you look at it, I will move on to my main point.

Leadership begins with our view of God.  Everything I do as a leader will flow from my view of God, consciously or sub-consciously.  The way I approach the leadership task will be influenced by what I believe about God.  Now, this opens up a large can of theological worms.   All of theology flows from God and impacts leadership.  For instance….A leader who believes that people are created in the image of God will treat people differently than one who believes that we are all cosmic accidents.  A leader that understands that the nature of man is depravity will lead differenty than a person who believes in the basic goodness of human nature.  A leader who is convinced of the authority, sufficiency, clarity, and neccesity of Scripture will lead differently than the leader who relies most heavily on the Harvard Business Review.

So the starting point for leadership is that there is ONE TRUE GOD. 

ESV Deuteronomy 6:1 “Now this is the commandment, the statutes and the rules that the LORD your God commanded me to teach you, that you may do them in the land to which you are going over, to possess it,

2 that you may fear the LORD your God, you and your son and your son’s son, by keeping all his statutes and his commandments, which I command you, all the days of your life, and that your days may be long.

3 Hear therefore, O Israel, and be careful to do them, that it may go well with you, and that you may multiply greatly, as the LORD, the God of your fathers, has promised you, in a land flowing with milk and honey.

4 “Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one.

That is enough for today…I will follow up with the truth that the one true God is to be both Feared and Adored.

King Josiah: The Fire of God

My son, our second child, was born this past September and I fought long and hard to name him after King Josiah.  I had been studying the kings in both Kings and II Chronicles and I could not get this teenage king out of my head.  So this is where I am going to start as we build a theology of leadership together.  This may sound like an odd place to begin…but hey, its my blog.  The life of Josiah has taught me several things that must be done in order to be an effective leader in the church.  His name in the Hebrew sums it up, The Fire of God.  What can we learn from Josiah that will provide an inspirational springboard for developing a theology of leadership?

1)  Josiah began a focused walk with the Lord as a teenager – II Chronicles 34:3
True leadership begins with our walk with God.  Simple ingredient, amazing results.  I fail as a leader when I am not focused on my walk with Christ.  You will fail as a leader if you are neglecting your walk with Christ.  Josiah began his walk with the Lord as a teenager and 34:2 says that he never turned aside to the right or to the left.  Here is Josiah’s first leadership secret, he became extremely focused and disciplined as a young man.  When we lose focus, when we turn from the Lord, we fail.  What is your leadership focus?  Is it programs, connections, seminars, and conferences?  Is it the latest and greatest management fad or is it Jesus?

2)  Josiah had a radical commitment to holiness – II Chronicles 34:5
Josiah began to purge the land of their idols and of their immoral rituals at the age of twenty.  This was not in-line with the latest and greatest opinion polls.  His focus led him to a radical commitment to holiness.  He even exumed the bones of pagan priests and burned their bones in order to eradicate the land from pagan influence.  Do you have a radical commitment to holiness.  Do you look at questionable sites on the internet?  Does your thought life reflect the mind of Christ?  Are you dabbling in a forbidden relationship?  A lack of holiness will cripple your leadership.  A man with the fire of God is not only willing to live holy but also to foster holiness as a key focus of his leadership.

3)  Josiah feared God more than man – II Chronicles 34:21
Judah had drifted so far from God the priests had lost the sacred scrolls.  One day they found the law of God and read the scrolls to Josiah….he wept in fear of the wrath of God.  This is probably the most convicting aspect for me.  It is so easy to fear man more than God.  A true leader will always fear God more than man.

 Well…this is a start…lets have some discussion.

Applying All of Theology to All of Life: Developing a Theology of Leadership

A new year is a great time to renew old commitments and begin new journeys.  I am not much for resolutions…they always fail.  But I am for new challenges.  When a one fails in a challenge there is much to learn and the option to go for it another time.  Blogging is a challenge for me, to find the time and consistency, but I feel it is something I need to do and want to continue doing. 

 To meet this new challenge I have shut down my Total Truth blog and will focus on Total Leadership and a new group blog at www.nwagospeloutpost.wordpress.com  Total Leader will continue to focus on issues and I will tackle my SBC Leadership Issues here as well.  The Gospel Outpost is a strictly a blog designed to apply theology to life.  I guess this is my new life slogan….applying all of theology to all of life. 

There are two inherent dangers addressed in this slogan.  First…to have any theology that is not applied to life is too have a dead theology.  Second….to live life without theology is to drift in the waves of nihilism.  So there it is.  To be a solid leader one must apply all of theology to all of life.  To do this, one must know theology.  You cannot apply what you don’t have.  Second, one must be willing to face the truth and allow the truth to change them.  Isn’t this the hardest thing to do…to change?  As leaders we want everyone else to change…but am I willing to change, are you willing to change?

Where am I going with this?  Well, my goal in 2007 on this blog is to present a theology of leadership.  I pray that many of you will go on this journey with me. 

The Leadership of Jesus: Why did he tell many not to reveal who He was?

I have a great group of guys that I meet with every Wednesday morning.  We are currently walking through the New Testament one book per week, using Mark Dever’s book, The Message of the New Testament, as our guide.  An interesting question was mentioned today – why did Jesus tell some not to reveal His identity, while He told others to go and tell everyone (the possesed man whose demons ran into the pigs was told to tell all his friends)?  This is very interesting to me and I know there are some common answers.  Some say this was his teaching strategy, others say it was to maintain a certain time table heading towards the cross.  Are these sufficient answers?  Is there something too this that we are missing?  I would like to hear if anyone thinks that this was a leadership tactic.

Should Ministry Leaders Blog?

I have heard in several circles lately that blogging is a royal waste of time.  Is this true?  If it is not true, why should we be blogging?  I would love to hear your comments.

Managing Conflict Part IV

Conflict is not a disease to cure, it is an opportunity to learn and grow.  Effective leaders harness the potential transformation latent in most conflict.  The key is to have a conflict management plan.  Jeff Weiss and Jonathan Hughs suggest, “Conflict Management works best when the parties involved in a disagreement are equipped to manage it themselves.  The aim is to get people to resolve issues on their own through a process that improves, or at least, does not damage their relationships” (Weiss and Hughes 2005, 94). 
The first step is to have a conflict management plan.  There should be a clearly outlined process for people to manage conflict within an organization.  For the church, this would include conflict resolution on the staff level, committee level, and congregation level.  The plan should be specific, clear, and achievable.  Organizations that plan for conflict learn from conflict.  Organizations that live in a conflict free, dream world, will learn from conflict, but well after escalation has caused numerous problems in the organization. 
Another employable strategy too avoid unnecessary conflict is to be strategic about leadership placement in the organization.  Marcus Buckingham of the Gallup Organization states, “Great managers know and value the unique abilities and eccentricities of their employees, and they learn how to best integrate them into a coordinated plan of attack” (Buckingham 2005, 72).  When people discover alignment with their passions, abilities, and spiritual giftedness, they are more likely to thrive in a ministry environment.  Just plugging people into ministry positions to fill holes is a breeding ground for conflict.  An effective discovery process for people is a great way to lead through possible conflict.   Sometimes issues or problems become conflicts when drawn out over long periods.  Swanson states that a leader need to find the quickest path from problem to solution. A leader recognizes that a change needs to happen when there are multiple meetings over the same issues.  This will eventually lead to frustration and conflict.  When a leader takes the time to plan and short the process, conflict can turn into productivity (Swanson 2005, 74).

Conflict is inevitable in any organization.  Many times, we like to think that the church is above conflict.  The church is actually more susceptible to conflict due to the intimate nature of church life.  Church is like a family.  Sometimes it is the people who are closest too us that have the potential to hurt us the most.  Leaders need to recognize that conflict will happen and that God can use it for the good and for his glory.
Jesus faced conflict, opposition, and an undeserved death.  As leaders in the church, we find inspiration by his leadership style of service.  If leaders are servants, they will have very little problem dealing with conflict.  The servant leader does not allow pride to override his ability to manage conflict wisely.  Most conflict has the potential for good, if managed appropriately.

Managing Conflict Part III

There are several key sources of conflict in a local church setting.  A leader needs to recognize these issues and head them off during the game and debate stages.  The first key source of conflict is when people disagree about values and beliefs.  This problem is symptomatic of a church where the mission and vision of the church is not clear.  If the people do not know the vision, they will not share the vision.  Value and belief issues are softened when the pastor is equipped to cast vision effectively and achieve shared vision in the body.

A second key issue is a lack of clear organizational structure in the church.  The laity, pastor, and staff should have clear roles, responsibilities, and goals to accomplish.  If the structure is not clear, conflict will eventually happen.

Another common source of conflict is cultural change within the body.  This develops when a church either grows quickly or experiences rapid decline.  These two extremes cause pain because people are used to a certain “feel” to their congregation.  Pastors of growing churches should make much effort to keep people informed and connected while realizing that they will have to adapt their leadership to the changing culture of the congregation.

The fifth source of conflict is the tried and true personality conflict.  This happens when a pastor’s leadership style does not fit in with the congregation.  It is best to attempt to recognize this issue in the pastor selection process.  Both leader and church should make every attempt to recognize these types of differences before the pastor and family get on the field. 
The next source of conflict is when the pastor rushes into change too quickly.  There are a few issues, such as doctrinal problems, that need addressing soon.  Many changes should wait until the pastor has time to build trust and earn leadership points.  A new pastor does not have many chips to spend.
Another source of conflict, especially in larger contexts, is pastor and staff relationships.  Problems in this area inevitably cross over into the broader church population where people tend to choose sides and protect loyalties.  This phenomenon can turn into a large fight very quickly.  Pastors should always be open and honest with the staff, cultivating an environment of approachability.  If staff feel that their livelihood and job security in threatened by the pastor, unhealthy relationships will develop.

The next common source of conflict is simply people problems.  Church members are fallen creatures and are not perfect.  Many times, they do not know how to handle their emotions and lash out at leadership.  When this happens, the great leader has the opportunity to practice mercy, self-control, and forgiveness. Many other issues than written could be addressed as common sources of conflict in the church.  The key is for leaders to look at conflict in a positive light.  Many, if not most leaders, deal with conflict as a threat.  When conflict becomes a threat, the leader maintains a defensive posture.  When a leader approaches conflict as an opportunity, the leader has an opportunity to see transformation and reconciliation take place in the body.

What source of conflict are you dealing with right now in your ministries?  What are you doing to engange and manage this conflict?

Managing Conflict Part II

If a leader is to going to engage conflict, he must understand his leadership style and the leadership styles of others.  Most conflict in the church is leader to leader.  These conflicts can be the result of differing leadership styles coming into conflict.  Leaders who understand their leadership styles will have a better opportunity to compensate for their weaknesses and focus improving their leadership skills.  David Rooke and William R. Torbet discuss this very issue in the Harvard Business Reviewn concerning companies, “Leaders who do undertake the voyage of personal understanding and development can transform not only their own capabilities but also those of their companies” (Rooke and Torbert 2005, 67).  The first leadership style is the “Opportunist.”  This individual focuses on personal victories and sees people as a means to an end.  The Opportunist tends to be manipulative and forceful.  They are typically good sales people, but they perform poorly on teams and do not last long as leaders.  Pastors who are opportunists need to place a focus on improving people skills and collaboration skills.  Staff members of opportunists stay very frustrated because they feel used and do not get to share any credit.  This type of leader is a high-risk for unhealthy conflict.

The second type of leader is the Diplomat.  The Diplomat hates conflict, thus avoiding it at all cost, even when it is necessary.  Diplomats rather exist in a position where they can shift the responsibility and not make critical or controversial decisions.  Diplomats are good workers and people pleasers, but poor leaders.  Leaders have to make critical decisions and many good leaders face opposition and criticism.  Raytheon CEO Bill Swanson writes, “When someone assumes a position of responsibility for the first time, it’s common to avoid decisions, and the risk of criticism.  However, that only creates different risks.  Problems are not like wine and cheese; they don’t get better with age” (Swanson 2005, 73).  Diplomats create new problems because they do not deal with conflict. 

The Expert is the third type of leader.  The Expert tries to control his world by acquiring knowledge.  “Experts tend to view collaboration as a waste of time, and they will frequently treat the opinion of people less expert than themselves with contempt.  “Emotional intelligence is neither desired nor appreciated” (Rooke and Torbert 2005, 70).  Many educated pastors and church leaders fall into this category.  Experts need to learn to listen to the wise council of others in order to by-pass harmful fighting within the church.

The next leader action-orientation is the Achiever.  The Achiever is successful because he focuses on deliverables.  Achievers are people who know how to get things done, can work well with others, creating a team atmosphere.  Achievers are much better at dealing with conflict than the other three categories. “They know that creatively transforming or resolving clashes requires sensitivity to relationships and the ability to influence others in positive ways” (Rooke and Torbert 2005, 70).  Achievers are much more productive than Experts, but have a hard time being innovative or thinking outside the box. 

The Individualists are the next category.  They work well with others, but color outside the lines.  They tend to ignore rules that they deem irrelevant, but are very good at inventing processes and creating avenues to deal with unsolved issues.  They are conflict magnets however, and are better consultants than they are leaders.  They thrive working alone.

The Strategist is able to inspire people across all leadership types to accept a shared vision of the future.  They are key leaders in transformation projects.  Only 4% of leaders fall into this category.  Strategists see the big picture and know how to motivate others to help bring the vision to fruition.  Nehemiah is a biblical example of a leader action-oriented as a strategist. 

The final leadership style is that of the Alchemist.  The Alchemist is the rare individual who has the ability to generate societal transformations.  He can see beyond the organization and into the societal realm.  Martin Luther was an Alchemist and of course, Jesus was this type of leader.  Recognizing ones leadership action-orientation is very crucial in ones approach to conflict management.  A leader must also be proactive in recognizing and inhibiting the common sources of conflict in the church.

If you enjoyed this post read the article – The Seven Ways of Leading.  What is your leadership action orientation?