How Do You Steer A Church?
A Leadership Forum
April 1, 1989
Imagine yourself at the rudder of a sailboat when a squall catches you in the middle of the lake. Gusts threaten to capsize the craft unless you can make it to shore.
Then picture yourself paddling a canoe through a stretch of rapids. If you don't position yourself properly in the current, you'll be smashed on the rocks.
The job is simple, right? In both cases, all you have to do is steer. But unless you're experienced, "just steering" is plenty of challenge, thank you. And even if you have experience in other kinds of boats, navigating this kind of vessel in these conditions is quite unlike your previous training. In other words, it's about like leading a church. One church will require different pastoral skills from another.
To investigate the mysteries of charting the course for a church, the editors of LEADERSHIP gathered five pastors who bring diverse styles to their diverse churches:
-Milton Cunningham is the pastor of Westbury Baptist Church in Houston, Texas, where he has been for sixteen years.
-Wayne Jacobsen pastors The Savior's Community in Visalia, California, a congregation he helped start eight years ago.
-Joe Rhodes is pastor of New Hope Church in San Diego, a congregation he planted seven years ago.
-Ray Stedman has, for thirty-eight years, pastored Peninsula Bible Church in Palo Alto, California.
-Mick Ukleja pastors Grace Church of Los Alamitos, California, a congregation formed by the 1987 merger of two churches.
Leadership: Does a church inevitably reflect the personality of its pastor?
Mick Ukleja: Usually, and that can be good or bad. It's bad if the pastor is not following the Lord. But most churches will reflect a certain style, a certain approach to ministry, that comes from the pastor.
Joe Rhodes: I would ...
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