Leaders Anonymous.

Taken from Ben Arment of Catalyst.
Neutered By The Church
It's no wonder there are more and more high-caliber leaders who
aren't serving in the church. Many of them are the best in the world
at what they do, but they've essentially been neutered by the church.
No one is telling them "We need what only you can do." No one is
coming after them. Church leaders aren't stepping aside to accommodate them.

And that's a shame.

Attracting High-Capacity Leaders
"High capacity leaders want to be invited to serve. It's not a pride-thing;
they just don't know where to plug-in. So we invited 10 of them to a
breakfast at the Marriott Hotel. We reserved a private dining room,
wore our suits, prepared a formal presentation on Power Point and in
print, and cast big vision to them. In essence... we spoke their language.

I can't tell you how much that meeting impacted our church. These
leaders felt included. They bought-in. And it wasn't about giving
them special treatment - they were the marginalized members
of our community.
It was about laying down our pride to let gifted leaders lead."

The Stuff Legends Are Made Of
"Church planters are notorious for thinking that a great dream + hard work
+ insight = a thriving church. But church planters fail all the time with
this formula.

What's missing is spiritual fertility. Every area has an established
degree of receptivity to the Gospel, which can make or break a
chruch plant before it ever gets off the ground. I'm not saying
we shouldn't plant churches in difficult areas. I'm saying that in
these cases, we should change our primary activity from planting
an organization to cultivating relationships."

Attracting High-Caliber Leaders To Your Church
1. Have big vision. Leaders are too busy for small vision.
The greeter ministry might have a need, but think about their
sense of significance. Does the church's activity feel like kindergarten
to them?

2. Help them know where to start. Many leaders don't know
where to step in. The church feels uber spiritual with no practical
footholds for involvement. We have to tell them how and why they're
needed.

3. Create leadership roles that don't require spiritual qualifications.
A lot of ministry doesn't require the pope's sign-off. If they're not
Bible scholars, don't write them off. You need help with marketing
strategies, development issues, church systems. You need help in
areas you don't know you need help in. Let them poke around.

4. Don't be intimidated. They're not going to commandeer
the church from you. They'll be more sensitive to your spiritual
leadership than you realize. They'll come behind you and support you.

5. Make the ask. A leader wants to be asked.
Pastors assume they're too busy to help. But they're like the pretty
girl in high school no one asks to the dance because everyone
assumes she's got a date.

6. Hang out, but don't have meetings. Leaders abhor meetings.
They have too many of them. Plus, they're used to driving them.
And much better than we are. We like meetings because they
make us feel productive. But these folks don't want to spend
weekends theorizing.