How Do We Empower the Next Generation of Leaders?
by David K. Bernard
Podcast recording (no venue stated in the delivered transcript)
Kind: teaching

Source: https://acts238.life/repository/sermons/david-k-bernard--how-do-we-empower-the-next-generation-of-leaders
Published by Acts 2:38 Life from the sermon transcript on that page.
Free to copy and share with attribution.

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that's an important question and I think perhaps even asking the question discussing it is a big part of what we're talking about we're trying to create a culture of team leadership and uh transfer of leadership so when you're developing a team then it's easier to think of a successor if you're a solo leader then it's hard to think of one person replacing you or when you want that to happen and more broadly my book's spiritual leadership in the 21st century talks about leadership and principles of leadership it talks about how you should develop a team how you should be a servant leader how you should develop a culture of sharing Authority and responsibility or delegating the goal of the leader is not to do everything but to develop a team that together they can do what's needed so once you start thinking in those terms then it becomes a little easier to think about a successor because just a natural outgrowth of what you're doing now and by the way Gary Tracy one of our senior ministers has an excellent book on planning for a successor that I highly recommend and he does the same thing I'm doing here not only does he talk specifically about how to make a transition which he did with Aaron Bachelor here in the St Louis area but he talks about the principles of leadership because really you can't just separate this discussion from the overall concept of being a servant leader a team leader a leader who delegates a leader who shares then it flows naturally and if you don't have that style of leadership it becomes very difficult so I would say first of all for a senior leader even long before you're planning a specific transition you should develop this style of leadership where you delegate where you share where you Mentor where in in my when my wife and I started the church in Austin we had to start just about every department and Lead it to begin with but from the beginning our goal was to work ourselves out of a job so that we could do something else so we were constantly she my wife was the first music director the first ladies leader I was the first Outreach director but I was the first men's leader so to speak such as it was but in each case we weren't trying to hold on to that position we were trying to develop someone else to give that position to so we could focus on more directly our task or so that we could start the next Ministry and so we're in a constant growth mode or transition mode so long before you're actually needing a successor you start developing leaders under you a constant culture of discipleship in the church followed by a constant culture of leadership trying to elevate leaders and so you use assistance even when you don't need them even when you can do everything yourself you divide up your job and say okay what can and only I do right now and I must focus on that but if it's something that someone else can do I need to share it and even if they can't do it as well as I can if they can do it 75 or 80 or I could train them to the point they can probably that's good enough so for example maybe I'm the best Bible study teacher but I can't teach 20 Bible studies so if I have to be the only Bible study to try I'm going to limit myself but if I can train others then there's no limit to how many Bible studies our church can teach oh maybe I'm the best preacher but if I have to be the only preacher then there are only so many nursing home services and jail services and youth services and Etc that I can preach but if I develop a team there's no limit to how many services we can conduct so when you're thinking like that you're you you have people who assist you and you have an assistant and you may not even necessarily designate them as your successor and you may not tell them that they might be your successor but the very fact that they're assisting you and shattering you and sharing in you and what I try to do with assistance is not just have them fulfill my commands but I I shared what I was trying to do I shared the philosophy the concept I gave them authority to do things their way but I wanted them to understand what I was doing and why I was doing it so they could take initiative one day they're their own leader they might wouldn't do things exactly like I would but at least they would know what I did and why I did it they would have something to gauge or judge by and so if you as a senior leader if you can develop several assistants either simultaneously or over time then that becomes a pool of future leadership so when it when it comes more closely to make a transition you've already got options and uh it's not necessary to every case that you would designate your successor for example I'm general superintendent but I don't necessarily intend to try to figure out who my successor should be but I hope to involve other leaders around me who are already serving in high capacities on a district or general level and work closely with them give them opportunities give them exposure Share My Philosophy give them jobs to do in hopes that that will give people experience training exposure and the fellowship will have well first of all there will be a pool of leaders who are capable and also that the fellowship the constituency will have some options that are visible to them well any even a local church you can do that although at some point you may identify and narrow it down to a successor but you could have a pool of people who have assisted you pool of guest ministers who have come frequently who have been a in Sign partner with you in growing the church and inspiring the church so that if something happened unexpectedly or prematurely even if you didn't have a designated successor you would have several qualified people associated with the church whom the constituency could think about and then as you become close to the end of your tenure very possibly you would want to identify a successor and have a plan and then there should be a transition plan and I recommend on both sides that it should be in writing uh and that there should be a timeline and that it should not be too long of a timeline because what I've found is that people may develop a plan and talk about it and they trust one another but they don't put it in writing and then a year later they have different Recollections or opinions or circumstances have changed and one person is mentally adjusted but the other person hasn't or what sometimes happened a senior Minister recognizes I don't have the stamina or the health or I'm nearing the end of my time I want some time to do other things maybe I still want to be active in Ministry but I don't want to be tied down to daily responsibilities of counseling and decision making and so I need a younger person to come and I'll I'll uh promise them that they can be my successor in a couple years well then the younger person comes with fresh Vision excitement strength hard work and the church starts exploding numerically or spiritually or both and then the senior guy thinks we you know why was I thinking this was so hard well how was I thinking that I'm finished well I could keep going like this for 10 years but the guy who's come on isn't thinking waiting 10 years so that's why I believe you need to have a plan in writing um and in the context of a local church I recommend sharing with the church board getting buy-in because I do believe the people should have a share it should be shared governance so the people should be part of the process it shouldn't be a unilateral process but the people uh should have a say in who their Pastor will be and who the successor Pastor would be so it should be a joint effort of pastor church board congregation should be a defined plan and for someone who's on the receiving end I would advise that you have a definite plan but you come to honor to respect not to challenge uh not to force and even when the leadership has turned to you you still honor respect don't make sudden rapid change especially of the kind that would cast dispersions on previous leadership you're always going to do some things different but doesn't mean it has to be better or worse it's just different so you don't have to disparage another leader to to establish your own leadership Don't force people to choose loyalty to your predecessor versus loyalty to you you allow them to do both and you build through through relationship through influence through service through love people naturally shift their primary loyalties to you without you having to enforce it and so it can become a natural process ideally when both leaders are working together there will be inevitable differences or hitches or certain people who object but if the two work together they can overcome the obstacles and make a smooth transition it has to become where we lessen our ego and we have our confidence in what we've done for God and who we are in God and not in our particular role we need to have the attitude when the time comes as John the Baptist said of Jesus he must increase but I must decrease so I recognize transition is coming I prepare for it I facilitate it I get myself out of the position so the next person can really fulfill the mission that God has given him