Transcript Levels of Leadership in the Local Church by Steve Dillman

Levels of Leadership in the
Local Church
2008 SDMI ToolTime
Dr. Stephen Dillman
What Kind of Church?
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Cat
Collie
Garden
House
Mansion
Ranch
State
Less than 35
30-75
65-100
75-250
200-400
300-1500
Over 1000
Family Driven
Pastor Driven
Board Driven
Pastor/Board Driven
Committees/Leader Driven
Committees/Leader Directed
Multiple Boards/Leader Directed
*Church Size Designations adapted from Looking in the Mirror: Self-Appraisal in the Local
Church by Lyle E. Schaller
CAT Church
• Character of the church: resemble overgrown
small groups.
• Character of the people: survivors.
• Led by: one family or extended family.
• Pastor’s role: may care for, feed, and love the
congregation, but it’s not his church.
• Board meetings: informal.
• Policies: unwritten, but understood by all.
• Change: slow, forced by circumstances
COLLIE Church
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Character of the church: friendly.
Character of the people: love to be loved.
Led by: pastor who initiates.
Pastor’s role: benevolent father, key member.
Board meetings: semi-formal; holds pastor
accountable; decisions by consensus.
• Policies: unwritten or buried in board minutes
but known and quoted when necessary.
• Change: peripheral change is enjoyed;
fundamental change is harder.
GARDEN Church
• Character of the church: variety within the
congregation and the ministries offered.
• Character of the people: some get by with little
care while others are high maintenance.
• Led by: church board who oversees.
• Pastor’s role: respond to needs.
• Board meetings: formal and informal.
• Policies: mostly written and in detail.
• Change: part of a larger vision.
HOUSE Church
• Character of the church: in-between; too large for one
pastor-too small for staff; too large not to be “full
service”-too small to do “full service well.
• Character of the people: a “family” that is inclusive but
may feel exclusive to outsiders.
• Led by: pastor and board, cooperatively.
• Pastor’s role: managing; focusing on strengths and
gifts.
• Board meetings: formal agenda; informal conversation;
reports from specialized areas.
• Policies: written, but more general.
• Change: strategic and missional.
MANSION Church
• Character of the church: BIG. Includes some cats,
dogs, and gardens. Everything is an event.
• Character of the people: comfortable in small groups;
miss the intimacy of the whole; love the quality.
• Led by: Committees with a leader who gives prime
leadership.
• Pastor’s role: public face of the church; professional;
leads through others.
• Board meetings: very formal; detailed agenda; mostly
advisory with decisions made at lower levels of org.
• Policies: few written; handbook.
• Change: strategic, missional, sometimes unexpected.
RANCH Church
• Character of the church: multi-venue; small groups
resemble smaller churches.
• Character of the people: focus on their own small
group; build intimacy there.
• Led by: structured committees directed by a leader.
Ministry is increasingly led by paid staff.
• Pastor’s role: leader of leaders; chief vision-caster and
interpreter of mission.
• Board meetings: executive board chaired by pastor.
• Policies: few; decisions made at ministry level.
• Change: similar to Mansion church.
STATE Church
• Character of the church: connected but autonomous.
• Character of the people: extremely diverse; expect high
level of quality and service.
• Led by: multiple boards reporting to executive board; not
always chaired by pastor.
• Pastor’s role: communicates vision; specializes as
preacher.
• Board meetings: receive reports from other boards; set
policy.
• Policies: legal; crisis-management.
• Change: strategic, imposed; few surprises.
Next Steps:
• Know your church and your leadership
style.
• Change your leadership style to match
your church size or the next highest one.
• Become familiar with the next leadership
level and start educating the congregation
about the next level before you get there.
• As church grows, move the leadership
style toward the next highest level.
Sources
Church size designations adapted from:
Schaller, Lyle E., Looking in the Mirror: Self-Appraisal in the
Local Church, (Nashville: Abingdon Press), 1984.
All other material:
Dillman, Stephen W., Levels of Leadership in the Local
Church, unpublished article, 2008.