Is "Top-Down" Leadership What God Intended for the Church.

[Lynn S. Nored]

In many congregations members elderships and staff are viewed as the "decision-makers".  If something is done in a congregation--in worship, use of the building, ministry tasks, etc--it must first be "approved" by the elders before anything can be done.  In other cases, members look to the senior minister to initiate all programs and activities. In essence, this is "top-down" management.  

But, is this what God intended for congregations?  Certainly, from one standpoint it is God who is in control "from the top."  This, however, does not mean that congregations are to be controlled by a single person or even a group of elders.  The control pyramid is overturned with the example of Jesus washing the disciples feet---even the apostles were to be servants.  Elders are to serve as examples to the flock.  This means doing,  not "controlling.  

Where did we get the idea that elderships should make all decisions?  Why do many get the reputation that they act as a "board of directors?"  This is most certainly a result of the top-down "Theory X" business model.  Employees ( read members of the congregation) are not to be trusted. It invests power in the hands of people with "titles" and assumes only they have the "right" answer. But a reading of Eph. 4 would indicate something entirely different.  

"So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, 12 to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up." There are several points to observe from this passage. 

1) Those in leadership are not to "control" but to "enable" or "equip"

2) This admonition was not given exclusively to an "eldership" or to a "senior minister" or staff

3) The end is to enable the congregation to do "works of service". 

4) It is these "works of service" that "builds the body of Christ up".  It is not the words of the minister or elders who feed the flock that within themselves that builds up the body.  Rather it is the equipping that results "in works of service".   

5) It is not in what we call the "formal worship service" that this building up occurs. 

Alan Hirsh in "The Forgotten Ways" and in "Creating a Missional Culture-Equipping the Church for the sake of the World" postulates that the "functions" of apostolic leadership, prophetic leadership, evangelistic leadership, pastoral leadership, and teaching leadership are vital functions in order properly equip the congregation for works of service.  Within the same context in Eph 4 we are told that ALL Christians are given spiritual gifts by Christ.   It is the function of a "polycentric leadership'( Hirsch's term) to equip the  members to use them for service.

What does all of this mean for the church?  Leadership in the church is not about control.  The conventional top down leadership pyramid was inverted by Christ.  The greatest in the Kingdom are the servants. "Power" such as it is perceived to be is NOT invested exclusively in an eldership.  Power is demonstrated  by examples of service and not by issuing decisions.  ALL members of a congregation are endowed with spiritual gifts to be cultivated by these five functional leaders.  

How different would a congregation be if the above were truly in place?  Individual life transformation and thus a congregational transformation would occur.  No longer would elderships be concerned with attendance numbers and dollars given, but the focus would be on enabling members for works of service.  If this were done, God would take care of the numbers and dollars.