Summary
Aiming to guide current and emerging church leaders within the rapidly changing post-modern context, LeadershipNext: Changing Leaders in a Changing Culture is an insightful resource that maps out how Christian leadership must adapt to the new cultural realities of the twenty-first century. Written by Eddie Gibbs, Senior Professor of Church Growth at Fuller Theological Seminary, the book not only identifies the immense changes occurring in society and calls the church to transformation, but also provides practical instruction for meaningful and authentic ministry within the present generation.
Arguing that traditional leadership styles must change or risk becoming irrelevant to the culture, Gibbs exhorts church leaders to interpret the times and be willing to redefine leadership towards a missional and kingdom-embracing theology. He opens the book by identifying trends that are leading to the demise of the traditional church, such as the decline in the church going population (including the alarming rate of under thirty-five year olds that no longer attend church), the weakening of denominational structures, and the inadequate number of seminary-trained leaders to replace aging clergy. In response to these trends and the immense changes occurring in society, chapter one identifies successful church leaders as those who are able to discern the times and respond in prompt and appropriate ways. Chapter two argues that, despite the ambiguity and unpredictability of the current age, the realignment of ecclesiastical leadership roles and styles is necessary to engage the broader culture. Embracing a “retro-future” methodology, that is, looking at future trends and also at the paradigm of the early church, chapter three examines the mandate of the Great Commission and its indivisible relationship to the missional understanding of the church. Turning his attention to leadership structures, chapters four and five discuss how the hierarchy of the traditional church must give way to a more decentralized leadership style that functions more as a team that includes both paid staff and volunteer leaders. Chapters six through eight concentrate on the leadership qualities that are being modelled by the emerging generation of church leaders that have embraced the team oriented approach to ministry. Unwilling to sidestep the challenges of team ministry in the post-modern context, chapter nine candidly addresses some of the personal costs associated with the risk of presenting the gospel message in a style unfamiliar to the traditional paradigm. In the final chapter, Gibbs calls for change in the way new leaders are identified and equipped and suggests a new educational model that combines theological training with practical ministry in a context that enables and empowers emerging leaders for meaningful, long-term ministry that embraces a holistic and missional ecclesiology.
Analysis
Consistently weaved throughout the book, Gibbs addresses the concept of discipleship in contemporary Western Christianity. Arguing that the church has a misguided understanding of the biblical concept of discipleship, Gibbs explains how people are brought to a point of decision for Christ but are often neglected in their emerging journey of faith and are subsequently stunted in their spiritual growth following their salvation. He writes, “Western churches suffer from a chronic problem of undiscipled church members, an environment that serves as the perfect breeding ground for nominal Christianity” (79). Examining the early church, he notes that in the first three centuries, the emphasis was not on going to church, but on being the church, being the “called out ones” (79). Opposed to a building or an institution, the original intention of the church is to be a body where one belongs, is built up in the faith, and equipped for ministry (80).
Gibbs asserts that the discipleship-making process has been neglected because of a flawed interpretation of the biblical mandate of the church (70). He argues that the church has somehow embraced the notion that there are two distinct mandates for the church: the “cultural” mandate to love neighbours and the “evangelistic” mandate to preach the gospel. This distinction between biblical directives has created a dysfunctional ministry practice that has deceived people into thinking that their Christological mission is to merely love one another and witness to the lost, altogether abandoning the call of discipleship that is so clearly demonstrated throughout Matthew’s Gospel (80). The church has failed to turn decisions for Christ into disciples of Christ and, in doing so, has fashioned a gospel of convenience and entertainment that does little to produce Christ-likeness, life transformation, and Spirit-empowerment. According to the Gospel of Matthew, Gibbs stresses that the Great Commission is not merely about presenting the gospel to bring people to a point of decision, but is also about journeying together along the path of discipleship. When the church re-establishes the priority of discipleship and begins to develop people who are wholly committed to following Christ in every area of life and are actively engaged in the local and global vision of Christ’s reign, the mission of the church will be repositioned to penetrate the culture with the love of Christ (89).
Convinced that the renewal of discipleship is a significant component of the future growth and health of the church, Gibbs candidly discusses the costs that emerging leaders will encounter if they embrace the leadership model of discipleship in their own ministry contexts. Since the kingdom of God is not based on a hierarchical structure that functions from a position of authority, but rather on servant leadership exemplified in Christ, church leaders who follow the example of Christ will discover that leadership is “more about scars than stars” (180). If emerging leaders are willing to follow Christ and not be bound by the conservative voices within the traditional church, they will need to take risks when starting new faith communities or leading new movements. If leading traditional churches, the temptation to maintain the status quo or “ghetto mindset” must be resisted in favour of stepping out into uncharted territory for the sake of the kingdom of God. The challenges can be overwhelming and can include: opposition to change and new ideas, criticism, enduring loneliness, competing priorities, setbacks, decision-making pressures, limited resources, high leadership turnover, physical and emotional weariness, and the fear of personal or shared failure (194). The costs of following Christ can be high, but wise leaders can find success by keeping their focus on the vision of the kingdom of God.
Having spent five years of ministry leading a traditional congregation in need of revitalization and renewal, I find Gibbs’ evaluation of the costs associated with risk-taking leadership accurate. Within my previous context, despite the awareness among congregants that the church was disconnected from the surrounding culture and required substantial transformation, implementing change was a painful process that required patience and perseverance. Developing a mission and vision, reorienting the budget and finances towards missional objectives, modernizing and streamlining infrastructure, renewing the worship experience, and launching and completing a comprehensive building program were all components that contributed to the necessary changes, but it came at a significant personal cost. Despite the sacrifices and challenges however, the congregation tangibly experienced the faithfulness of God on numerous occasions and were eventually better positioned to reconnect with their community with the message of the gospel. Unquestionably, there are costs to fulfilling the mandate of the call of God and the results are never guaranteed; Gibbs’ honest assessment of the costs of risk-taking leadership is a valuable contribution to the study of ministry in the post-modern context and can assist emerging leaders in preparing for the challenges associated with leading a kingdom-embracing movement of transformation.
Quotable Quote
When a community or movement is more than ten years old, new pastors should expect to pay a price in terms of resistance or intransigence because in that amount of time institutional norms become increasingly entrenched. It is sobering to reflect that the most conservative institutions in the church today began as radical movements in their inception. Yesterday’s radical leaders become today’s conservatives who are seldom prepared to pay the high price of innovation a second time around (184).
Bibliography
Gibbs, Eddie. LeadershipNext: Changing Leaders in a Changing Culture. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2005.
