Are you Leading or Managing Your Church?

There’s a lot out there on church leadership and management. There’s a difference. Managers have one eye on yesterday, leaders have one eye on tomorrow, together they have two eyes on today. They balance energy and efficiency. In the dance of day to day decisions, Leaders take initiative and guide the steps. Leaders move and managers make them look good.

A church with a strong management team and no leadership coasts on stale vision. A church with no leaders fades into irrelevance. A church with a strong leadership team and no management expertise generates excitement and accelerates people into ministry… but if no one manages the change, the organization can burn out. Leaders move hard and fast, but they wear out because they aren’t doing things efficiently

Managers make things better. If there’s a faster way to input data, they find it. If there’s a better time for a group to meet, they find it. They make things safer and more efficient. Managers celebrate victories and build routines and rituals that give people security and confidence.

Leaders create new things. They see beyond the next sunrise and sense the direction the Spirit leads. They see the missing pieces. Leaders face challenges head on and are not afraid to take risks.

14 traits of leaders and managers

Manager: Managers excel at implementation.
Leader: Leaders excel at inspiration.
Manager: Managers find ways to make today better than yesterday.
Leader: Leaders find ways to make tomorrow better than today.
Manager: How do you track and communicate with visitors?
Leader: Why are you tracking visitors and what are you communicating to them?
Manager: How are you spending your funds?
Leader: Why are you spending your funds?
Manager: How does your congregation get information about upcoming events?
Leader: What events are you promoting and why are you hosting them?
Manager: How are you discipling your people?
Leader: What values are you instilling in your people?
Manager: Who is responsible for task completion?
Leader: What tasks should be completed?