From The Pastor - June Spire

"An Invitation"

Dr. Norman Shawchuck, a recognized authority and prolific writer of over 15 books in the area of church management, wrote a book called How To Be A More Effective Church Leader, which is a wonderful guide for pastors and church leaders. One section of the book contains a questionnaire that helps us understand our own leadership styles.

Whether we recognize it or not, each of us has a preferred and a secondary leadership style. If our preferred style does not work, we quickly switch modes. Our personality, including whether we are task- or people-oriented, as well as our comfort level with ambivalence and conflict, factor into our leadership style. Very briefly, here are Shawchuck's six leadership styles:

•    Passive Involvement with the message, "I know you can do that without me."
•    Person Oriented with the message, "I think you can do that on your own, but if not, I’ll be there to support you."
•    Total Involvement with the message, “We all have something to add in deciding what we’re going to do and how we will do it."
•    Task Oriented with the message, "I will show you what to do and how to do it."
•    Martyr with the message, "You can't do anything without me, and I’m already doing it."
•    Slave with the message, "Don’t worry about it, I’ll get it done."

I recently retook "the test" to see if what I perceive as my leadership style is in fact accurate. My answers confirmed that I use one of two styles, depending upon the situation: either "Total Involvement" or "Person Oriented". Of course in taking the survey I answered the questions thinking about what I would like to do, which as we all know is not what we always wind up doing. My experience tells me that no one thinks he or she is a martyr or slave even when such behavior is apparent to others.

As I thought about all of this and the way we do ministry, I began to think not only about my style, but also the styles of those in leadership positions within our congregation. I also began to wonder about how the various leadership styles impact the way we function as an organization and as a Church. I am curious about what you think. As our program year winds down and we enter the summer months, I invite you to take some time to reflect on this and to share your thoughts and observations with any of the following people:

•    The members of the SPRC; Sean Fulton as the Chairperson of this Committee can provide you with the names; or
•    Eric Dannemann, the Chair of our Church Council; or
•    Carol Bauer, our Lay Leader.

I believe such thought and reflection will be valuable as we begin to talk about ways we can grow our church, both numerically and spiritually. In short, we need to find ways to take the energy and good spirit of Sunday morning and make it more a part of our church’s "persona," for lack of a better term.

I also invite you to reflect on your role in the life of our church, in terms of both involvement and leadership style. I deeply believe that we are “in this together” and that your involvement matters to our overall health and vitality as a community of faith. I invite you to do this, not because there is something wrong, but because I believe such reflection will enrich the life of our congregation and enhance our efforts to include every member of the congregation in the ministry, each in his or her own way. In this spirit I await your reflections and hope they will allow us to continue to celebrate and affirm God’s presence as together we seek to share God’s hope and love with the world.

Peace,
Eric