May
Listed below are the columns and other commentaries written by Bishop Hee-Soo Jung in the May 2006 issues of the Northern Illinois Conference's weekly newspaper, The United Methodist Reporter. To read a column, click on its name.
God calls us to be visionary leaders (May 12)
God calls us to be visionary leaders
(May 12) Visionary is not a position defined by The Book of Discipline of the United Methodist Church. Nor is it the title of any elected office. It is, however, the prime need for key leaders of a congregation.
This would include Lay Members, Lay Leaders, Council members, Staff Parish chairs, Finance chairs, and anyone who perceives that they are being called to shape the mission and ministry of the congregation. Whatever the elected office, the primary task only secondarily involves its “job description.”
The primary task centers on attentiveness to God’s leadership of the congregation. Council chair, Commission chair, Lay Leader . . . are asked first of all to be open to where God is leading the congregation.
When leaders meet with leaders in whatever structure that exists, the basic question is not “What do I think?” or “What do you want?” or “What do we think the congregation wants?,” but “What does God intend for us?”
Share the good news of Christ
The church, after all, has a mission to share the good news of Christ with the world. Leaders are asked to discern what it means for their particular congregation and each of its particular ministries to share effectively and obediently this good news.
The central task of visionary leadership in the church is to take the congregation, in faithfulness to God’s call, to places it has never been.
Members of congregations deserve respect from their leaders. But respecting members does not mean catering to every whim and desire. Rather, it means meeting people’s deepest needs through faithfulness to God. It means assuming that their faith is genuine and they desire to share the Gospel with others in following the commission of Christ, no matter how trivial individual expressions may appear.
If this is not where some members are “at,” it is not the leader’s responsibility to dilute the Gospel so as to please. It is the leader’s responsibility to share the vision and to be in dialogue with others in coming to understand, and in that process to refine, the vision.
The bottom line
The bottom line is that key visionary leaders, those who shape the ministry of the congregation, need to be persons who are open to God’s call to lead the congregation from where it is to where God asks it to be. Often local leaders have only wanted to find out what the congregation wants and act accordingly. But congregations can want all sorts of things, many of which have little to do with the mission of a church committed to following Christ.
Visionary congregational leaders need to be in constant dialogue with each other through serious biblical study and reflection. They need to be in constant dialogue with the congregation and community to discern needs. They need to be in constant prayerful dialogue with God to seek essential divine guidance for every decision and action in which they will lead the congregation.
Functionary positions have important responsibilities, absolutely necessary for the survival of congregations. Those who serve in such positions fill essential roles. Without them, congregations could not function, could not survive. Functionary positions are the down-to-earth, wheels-on-the-ground, “let’s-get-things-done” roles. Though people who fill such positions may also provide visionary leadership, functionary roles are ones that do what needs to be done.
God calls everyone to be visionary leaders for God’s reign. There are two primary requirements for visionary leaders of congregations. First, they need to be persons who sense that God is calling them to lead their congregation from where it is to where God calls it to be. And second, they need to be persons who are trusted by a congregation that perceives them to be leaders called by God.
May God bless us with the visionary leaders we need!
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