We need to develop the next generation of leaders for our churches to continue strong. It’s true, and we know it. But the Barna Group found that almost four out of five pastors agree that churches aren’t rising to their responsibility to develop the next generation of leaders. Many of these pastors said that they’re just too busy to develop the pipeline needed to plug them in and begin development. That’s sobering!
The devil is always trying to stop what God is doing. For pastors, that might mean he causes us to be overwhelmed and so progress stops, or he distracts us so that our good intentions go nowhere. As Pastor Jim Graff says, “Your ‘want to’ isn’t enough; you’ve got to practice the things that are important.” For leaders in the church, what could be more important than developing the next generation so that there is someone to pass our baton to? If we don’t pass the baton, the world will suffer!
We can’t just be working in the ministry; we have to be working on the future of the ministry. That’s where investment in the next generation really comes in to play. And the next generation needs that investment because many of them do not yet know what their calling is, let alone are able to answer the call and develop the gift God has given them. As pastors and leaders, we need to ask God to help us to see the rich potential He’s placed inside the next generation surrounding us.
Pastor Jim always says that there are five steps to developing Next Gen leaders:
- Communicate Fresh Vision. Take time to pray. You have to process the things inside you so that when you share them with your Next Gen leaders, there will be an excitement birthed in their hearts and a responsibility and discipline to see them through. Chances are that they’ve been thinking about the same things too, and your fresh vision will stir their passion and investment in it.
- See Tension as a Good Thing. Tension isn’t strife. Strife is bad. Tension exists between generations because God is using position to develop powerful leadership qualities. For instance, a Next Gen leader needs to have honor for the older leader because that honor will help him navigate what the older leader does not know about the younger generation, like communication styles. And the older leader needs to have respect for the Next Gen leader so that he doesn’t exasperate him but nurtures him. It needs to be mutually understood that the Next Gen leader’s starting point is the older leader’s ending point. They’ve got to grow from your growth, Pastor, instead of just growing on their own.
- State Your Desires Clearly. I know it can be hard to respectfully state your desires. There’s a natural, healthy doubt that the Next Gen leader can take over what you’ve built and handle it well. But when that healthy doubt sounds condemning, it becomes unhealthy. How can the Next Gen leader mature and become who he needs to be if there’s no faith in his abilities? My advice is to keep the main thing the main thing: that God be glorified and the Kingdom progress.
- Leadership Is Necessary. The best place for a gift to develop is in the atmosphere of people who can be trusted to affirm and pray for you. That’s what the next generation needs. If you lead like this, then your other directions will be more readily accepted. Why? Because it sends a clear signal that, “I’m invested in you,” and that is huge!
- A New Wineskin Should Be Our Goal. Things change. The old generation’s culture won’t work to reach the next generation’s culture. We need a new wineskin that the enemy can’t defeat. That being said, we as leaders must remember to trust God, that He loves His Kingdom more than you and I do. He’s at work. As you trust Him in the scariness of transition and doing things differently, He’ll show you the way to advance the Kingdom through a new wineskin.
Exponential impact happens when we develop the people around us. When we give them fresh vision that they’re a part of, they can see their role in it. John Maxwell talks about five levels of leadership. Those are position, permission, production, people development and pinnacle. As the older generation, we need to make sure we’re focused on the last two. We should desire to develop the people around us. We should want to see them win more than to see ourselves win at this point. Why? Because every generation has their Goliaths to take down, and this world needs the ones who were called for such a time as this to rise up. When we believe in the next generation and in their capacity, we cast vision to them and affirm that God will use them in their generation just as He used us.
The tension that’s felt between you and your Next Gen leader isn’t something to run from. It’s as helpful as the tension in a rubber band. If the rubber band didn’t have tension, it wouldn’t be useful! Valuing each other keeps the tension healthy. Frustration breaks down the effectiveness of the rubber band. I remember having a very good talk with our younger staff at FFC. I discovered that understanding each other’s mentality will go a long way to developing a healthy relationship that allows for an easy transition of leadership one day.
Pastor, I encourage you: give the next generation a safe space to practice their calling so that they will strengthen in their leadership skills and one day be able to effectively take over what you’ve developed. Provide a place that’s safe and nurturing. Recognize their wins but have the ability to make little tweaks. Constant development is important. Failure, mistakes are bound to happen at times. That’s just part of getting good at something. If I want to be the best shooter, I’m going to miss a lot of shots as I work toward my goal. Let your face, your tone, and your words confirm to your Next Gen leader that you know they’re developing and it’s okay to not be perfect right out of the gate.
As I wrap up here, I just want to encourage you to get excited! God is going to do bigger things than you can imagine, bigger things you can’t muster up on your own. He’s going to show you how to pass the baton to the next generation, and in the end, you’ll look back and say, “Wow! Look at God!” He can do that in and through your partnership with this next generation.
This blog was created using content from the webinar Readying Your Church for a New Season / Developing Next Gen. Leaders.
