Leadership Unleashed
Leadership at its best is a team of people committed to the organization in unity, collaboration, truth, and passion.Regardless of their size or location, schools and congregations need effective team leadership that engages God’s mission among all people. Leadership at its best is a team of people committed to the organization in unity, collaboration, truth, and passion. St. Peter School, in its 151st year, has strived to create teams where this is more true than not. In the process over the last few years, our overall ministry and its leaders have grown, been empowered, and unleashed hidden potential.
A major shift in St. Peter’s ministry structure impacted the leadership in all aspects five years ago when our church voted to implement the Carver Model in organizational structure and operation. With that change, a new structure was established that included a governing board, an executive team, a lead staff, and advisory councils. The governing board is composed of elected congregational members whose task it is to develop and enforce policy.
The executive team consists of the lead pastor, school principal, and our executive director of ministry support. The executive team meets weekly to provide implementation of mission and vision, ensure that the operational structure is meeting needs, and to provide supervisory and managerial oversight.
The lead staff includes all directors in ministry from both the church and school who meet twice a month to review and plan for ministry overall. Each lead staff member has an advisory board made up of members of the church or school who come together to provide insight, ideas, support, and analysis of the specific leader’s area.
While the school principal is involved in each of the organizational components noted above, the school leadership is further supported by an administrative team, a school leadership team, and department coordinators. The administrative team is composed of the school principal and two assistant principals who connect weekly or as needed to support and carry out the needs of the school. The school leadership team is composed of the directors/coordinators within the school—athletic director, admission director, fine arts director, differentiation coordinator, and the student services coordinator. There are department coordinators whose task it is to lead their group of teachers in meetings and provide a direct connection to the school principal.
The organizational structure in place supports and generates effective leadership, which provides the catalyst for the people in the school and church to be mobilized for action in volunteering, carrying out programs, becoming involved, and implementing our mission. There are teams of parents, church members, and staff utilizing their gifts and abilities for the ministry at large.
It is crucial for leadership team members to have a particular mindset that unifies them in their differences.As teams are formed, groups of people are placed together that have different gifts and abilities, different personality types, different backgrounds, and different age groups. The differences create synergy, creative thinking, and problem solving that initiates progress allowing the leader to empower the teams rather than manage its members. It is crucial, though, for leadership team members to have a particular mindset that unifies them in their differences.
Some key ideas we have found that embody the mindset needed for effective teaming include:
- Understanding that our church and school are the body of Christ, where Christ is the Head. Each of us is a member gifted to support and equip the whole (Eph. 4:11–16).
- Valuing the importance of a unified mission and vision that is written, understood, and shared throughout the organization. To be effective, the mission permeates everything throughout the church and school. Everyone knows it, speaks of it, and uses it in their respective ministry areas. The school must flow from the mission of the church and the mission must be used in classrooms, programming, chapel, and school communication.
- Agreeing to act in accordance with a Covenant of Holy Manners. In our covenant, manners such as arriving to meetings on time, allowing others to share differing viewpoints, speaking the truth in love, practicing forgiveness, giving full attention at the meeting, not gossiping about the meeting, and speaking well of one another outside of meeting are all commitments that bind us together as a team.
- Embracing the concept of the disciples as a team where Jesus was their leader. They devoted themselves to God’s Word, were committed to the mission Jesus set before them, and practiced fellowship with each other as well as their community. Just as in the early Christian church, our leadership and teams are challenged to do this each day (Acts 2:42).
- Viewing prayer as a team conduit for strength, trust, dependence, thanks, focus, and joy.
The strength of our leadership teams acknowledges that the devil is constantly at work to break and divide a team. We are impacted by negative people, controlling boards, parking lot gossip, church vs. school and school vs. church mentality, and day-to-day challenges.
We have found the following to be practical ways to fight against that which wants to disable our leadership teams:
- Communicate, communicate, and then communicate more! Do it within the team as well as outside of the team.
- Create yearly goals that provide challenge but are also attainable.
- Allow failure as a way to grow.
- Learn to bend and compromise.
- Stop any church or school area that is an island unto itself; we are all part of the whole and work to collaborate in mission and ministry.
- Protect the trust and bond that develops within the leadership team. Be a catalyst in guarding it.
- As a leader, practice a healthy lifestyle.
- Develop job descriptions for all members that have defined roles and expectations.
- Meet regularly both formally and informally.
- Provide social opportunities for fun, play, and celebration.
- Pray without ceasing.
As we created our leadership teams at St. Peter, we have discovered some important realities that we wrestled and confronted so that effective teams could be assembled and equipped. The first reality was embracing Jim Collin’s challenge to get the right people on the bus. This meant that we had to realign some people, change job descriptions, and hire/call the right people for the needs we had. The second reality was that we had to cultivate the culture that we wanted our teams and people to live and work within. In the school, one of the major components to support that was the development of a five-year strategic plan that addressed staffing, mission, programming, and financial stability. In the church, the development of a new mission and vision statement for our ministry was essential to promote and build the desired culture. The third reality was that we had to train our leaders and the teams they led. The training aligned team members in the mission and vison of the ministry and the values they embodied. Training also developed empowerment, which our lead pastor is fond of saying “unleashes” their power and potential. The training also contributed to the collaborative spirit of our teams, which encouraged them to bring their best talent to create and solve problems. And fourthly, the reality we embraced was that we had to move out of the status quo, think “out of the box,” go forward and do something because God is just waiting to bless it!
Our leadership team and its structure have been in place for a few years and we have discovered a few practices that have proven beneficial in generating effective leadership teaming in our ministry. Some of the practices noted below might be implemented where you currently serve, while others might provide a kick start to a new idea.
Some practical ideas include:
- The lead pastor was strategically invited to participate in certain school-wide events and promotion and vice versa for school leadership in church events/programs.
- At congregational meetings the executive team – pastor, principal, and executive director of ministry support are all present, united, and affirmed by one another.
- Church staff is invited to attend and participate in school chapel.
- School is visible in weekend worship opportunities via excerpts from student led chapels, singing, and video clips.
- All-staff meetings are held once a month for all members of our staff to attend from teachers to secretaries, to custodians and administrators.
- Lead staff has a yearly calendar planning meeting to vision and collaborate.
- Social events are held regularly for all staff including celebrations for weddings, births, and service anniversaries
- An all-staff retreat is held yearly to build relationships and unity.
- A unified theme is carried out between the church and school that allows for collaboration and interaction.
- We read a ministry-wide book, such as Joining Jesus on His Mission by Greg Finke, which impacts our weekend worship, all staff meetings, and classroom focus.
- Lead staff reads leadership books for discussion and leadership development.
- We intentionally serve together within our ministry and also in the community.
- Provision is made for the leaders within the ministry to have visibility and recognition such as reading a Bible lesson at weekend service, providing communion assistance, leading the children’s sermon, and greeting at major events.
- Lead staff members share the teaching of the new member class.
If you feel challenged because there is a lack of leadership and teaming in your ministry, be assured and encouraged that you are not alone.If you feel challenged because there is a lack of leadership and teaming in your ministry, be assured and encouraged that you are not alone. We, at St Peter, have not always been the best example of what is currently practiced, but we know that in seeking God’s direction, being intentional, and having the willingness to change there can be a shift in your ministry also.
Consider trying any or all of the following in your efforts to shift your leadership and teaming:
- Pray for wisdom and discernment.
- Adjust what you are currently doing by looking for small steps to take, such as using the mission statement of the church in the school, designating a small group to meet with you regularly, setting two goals for yourself and your organization, establishing a regular time to meet with your pastor, or having the school specifically engage in a church activity. The guiding question is, “What do I need to change to make a shift in teaming leadership?”
- Be bold and confront the lack of teaming that is evident with the leadership in ministry, and ask what can be done differently to strengthen it. In this effort, be one that questions rather than challenges or is judgmental.
- Affirm what is positive in ministry often, and as you do, you will allow hope to reenter in the people you lead.
- Challenge yourself and others to team in what matters to God. God is interested in the same things you are—students, outreach, caring support, relationships, teaming together in His mission. Do something!
- Allow others to lead; effective leadership is shared.
- Look to the higher calling of need in your teaming. Too often we can get bogged down with the details, the challenges, the excuses, and the people, so that our eyes are downward instead of upward with possibility.
- Breathe grace on the people you lead . . . your parents, your students, your ministry leaders. The undeserved love that we know and speak of needs practice daily in the flesh. What a difference you will find it makes in you and the others with whom you share it! It allows a fresh start just when you are tempted to think that it is all over and nothing more can be done.
Allow time to become aware of your dreams, desires, talents, and treasures.In all efforts, consider what Jesus’ Feeding of the 5,000 (Mark 6:30–44) and the Parable of the Talents (Matt. 25:14–30) have in common for you in teaming. It is, at the least, the knowledge and proof that out of little much can be blessed. Allow time to become aware of your dreams, desires, talents, and treasures. Invest in them, multiply them, allow them to surface and be used for God’s work in developing and equipping you in leadership, so that you can effectively lead your teams in the place that God has placed you.
Creating and maintaining effective leadership teams is an on-going process. That is St. Peter’s testimony—we are constantly evolving and initiating team “tune-ups” where needed. To God be the glory for what He has done and what He will do! May that be your testimony too, by God’s grace.
Bruce Rudi has been in education as a teacher, district curriculum/teacher specialist, adjunct college faculty member, and administrator for over 40 years. He has served schools in Michigan, Texas, and currently Arlington Heights, Ill.
God has blessed our awesome school ministry team: Micah Greiner, Lead Pastor; Brian Booth, Executive Director of Ministry Support; Julie Klopke, Assistant Principal/Early Childhood; and Lisa Smith, Assistant Principal/ Middle School.
