The Essential Need for the Change in Leadership Nominations

In this four-part series on shifts for nomination committees, we are now ready for the third shift. This shift is reframing our approach to both equipping leaders and leadership alignment. The UMC church most often considers the administrative committee positions (pastor-parish relations, finance, trustees) as “specialists” positions. That is, the nominations process (not the Book of Discipline requirement) has historically looked for church members who perform this type of work as a profession in the secular world. While this approach is understandable, it does not always provide the needed leadership at the appropriate tables. Instead, this outdated approach provides people proficient in a specialty area, but not necessarily missionally-focused disciples for these key positions. 

We must shift from our focus on secular experience and skill expectations to having spiritually mature leaders in key leadership roles. Too often we have chosen professionals with human resource, construction, and finance experience and not paid attention to spiritual maturity or even examining members who are living out their membership vows. When the nominations committee is solely focused on leaders with professional experience, we often have seated secular leaders who lead without a spiritual focus or missional priority. With secular rather than a discipleship focus, it is no wonder churches are struggling with leadership!

Shifting away from recruiting people who possess skills in specialty areas is a huge step for many churches. This has been the traditional approach of  naming members of the administrative committees (finance, pastor-parish relations, trustees) for decades. First and foremost, leaders of the administrative committees need to be mature disciples and servant leaders. Their area of expertise in real estate, banking, plumbing, construction, etc. is a bonus - not the primary driver for membership.  

Without first being a mature disciple, leaders in these positions can easily make decisions without the missional focus of making disciples as their primary filter. People with expertise can always be called in to confer and consult with the spiritual leaders (this is recommended) in administrative positions as needed. Leaders first and foremost need to model well-developed spiritual leadership. If your leadership board does not model spiritual leadership, who does?

"The single biggest way to impact an organization

 is to focus on leadership development. 

There is almost no limit to the potential of an organization that recruits 

good people, raises them up as leaders and continually develops them."

-John Maxwell

Remember, the committee responsible for nominations is called the Committee on Nominations and Leadership Development. These shifts in reconsidering the ideas surrounding church leadership, start with leadership development. What is your church’s leadership development process? How well is your current leadership development process identifying, recruiting, equipping, and deploying leaders? If your nominating committee is looking for a leadership development resource, check out the Launching Leaders book, on-demand webinar, the book and webinar combo, and small group study.