Dan Smith & Mary K. Hucyke: CourageousSpace Newsletter: February 2007
Authority vs Authorization
A congregation grants formal authority to a pastor when the pastor is appointed
or called. His or her title is placed on the outside sign, the office door
and all official correspondence. The question that remains is whether or not
the congregation will continue to authorize the pastor to lead. That depends!
The congregants and church leaders granting authority have expectations. And
when expectations are not met, authority can be withdrawn by those who granted
it. It is a frustrating and painful experience. Pastors report feeling blind-sided
and victimized by the church when it happens. What we want pastors out there
to hear today, is that in those moments that's what the people report feeling
too.
What is going on!?
Trinity was a church declining in attendance. Robert was appointed there about
the same time that the members of the church came to terms with the fact that
the demographics of their neighborhood were dramatically changing. It had
seemed to both Robert and the congregation a match made in heaven. The future
felt bright and full of hope to everyone. The congregation knew that they
needed to find a way to connect with their new neighbors and were excited
to have Robert's leadership. He was energetic and had a heart for the Spanish-speaking
people that were becoming the majority group in the community. Appreciative
of the congregation and its history of reaching out, and concerned about its
future, he clearly wanted to see the church grow and connect with its new
neighbors.
Along with the expectation that Robert would connect with their new neighbors,
and help their church grow, the congregation held other expectations. These
expectations were so basic to them, they didn't know they had them...until
they weren't met. They expected their basic pastoral needs to be met; they
expected their traditional ways of encountering God and nurturing their faith
to be respected and valued. And most importantly, the congregation expected
their church to grow under Robert’s leadership without the members having
to significantly and personally change.
Robert did, at the beginning, meet their basic pastoral needs. But each time
he tried to bring something new into the church that bumped up against those
other hidden expectations, he'd meet with resistance - even when he tried
some of the very things they'd originally asked for! The more they resisted,
the more he insisted, which in turn deepened their resistance. Slipping into
frustration, he found himself enmeshed in adversarial relationships. Trust
between him and the people quickly eroded. Though they had originally turned
to Robert eagerly for leadership, people began to withdraw their trust of
him and the authority granted him. He still held the title of pastor, but
it felt to the people that he was pastor in name only. And Robert, once so
fond of the people, found it hard to even drive down the streets that certain
people lived on, let alone provide pastoral care.
Robert, without knowing it, made some significant and fatal mistakes. Even
though the general direction he and the congregation wanted to move in matched,
he was way ahead of the people in knowing the changes that had to be made.
He expected the people to understand the changes and to willingly give themselves
to those changes. It was so clear to him what needed to be done!
What he didn’t understand was the inner work the people had to do to
shift their attitudes, behaviors, and their long established patterns. He
mistakenly assumed they were at the same place he was. What felt refreshing
and life-giving to him, felt to them like the death of all they held dear.
It was not that the people were unable or unwilling to do the work. But, what
the work actually entailed and actually felt like was very different from
what they anticipated. They needed help to move across the edge, but Robert
took their resistance as that of “stiff-necked” people and treated
them as such.
Robert didn’t understand that a central piece of his work is leading
people through the personal shifts the systemic changes requires. Does it
slow things down? Yes. Does it feel frustrating when you can see so clearly
what's possible? Of course. But if you move so far ahead that the people stop
following you, you can not lead them anywhere.
Significant internal work needed to be done by the people of Trinity before
they could do the external work of developing plans and strategies –
and really give themselves to them. That internal work takes time and is stressful
for people as they let go of ways of being church that have been meaningful
and say goodbye to long-held pictures of what the future would look like.
Doing that work was beyond their expectations of what renewal of the congregation
required.
To continue to be authorized by the people, Robert needed to pace the work
more slowly. The people needed to know that he cared about them as much as
he cared about the growing ethnic group in the community. They needed help
to more fully develop and own a compelling picture of the kingdom future they
were called to. They needed a deeper understanding of what that commitment
would require of them. And even as they moved forward into a new future, they
needed help in letting go and grieving what they were giving up of the past.
The people clearly told Robert they were ready for change. But as Robert began
to lead in that direction, he missed the clues that their resistance gave.
Rather than getting curious about the resistance and what it pointed to, he
got angry and defensive.
Lacking the sense that their pastor walked with them, the people grew fearful
and resistant. Without their own transition needs addressed, the people could
not give themselves to the changes. Although Robert could still claim the
“formal” authority, he was no longer authorized by the people
to lead.
What can you do? If your church is in the process of addressing change, use
this article as a conversation starter. Listen to each other about the stresses
you are experiencing. Be clear what you need from each other in order to give
yourselves to the work of transition and change. Allow yourselves to be open
to having the conversations you must have for the sake of the church.
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