Leadership-and all that jazz
What do artists, actors and musicians have in common with effective church leaders?
The ability to improvise
By Lee Hinson-Hasty
 How many times have you sat in a meeting and wondered if you were wasting your time? Without direction, a church committee or task force can seem more like a pointless sitcom episode than an opportunity to make a real difference.
Church meeting agendas today often look almost identical to some of the ones from 20 or more years ago. Too often church leaders work from templates from the past — doing it “the way we have always done it” — but somehow expecting new results.
And just because people are placed in leadership roles does not mean they are ready to address effectively the social or organizational problems in our church and society.
Leadership is not just about filling a slot on a committee or church session or mastering a series of technical skills. Good leadership is an art. Today’s church needs leaders who are called by God, and who exhibit the gifts of courage and compassion, as well as imagination and the ability to improvise.
© istockphoto.com/Eva SerrabassoMarian McClure, former director of worldwide ministries for the General Assembly Mission Council, told a group of seminary students in 2005 that she sees a “leadership vacuum” in the denomination. Those who are educating the next generation of pastors in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) have noted the church’s desperate need for high quality leadership.
Professors Katie Cannon (Union Theological Seminary and the Presbyterian School of Christian Education) and Marsha Snulligan Haney (Interdenominational Theological Center/ Johnson C. Smith Theological Seminary) in May organized a special symposium to consider the crisis that looms as legendary African American Presbyterian leaders retire or move out of leadership roles.
Not only do we need new leaders, but also new kinds of leaders. A recent survey of congregations conducted by Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary highlighted qualities that previous generations might not have associated with strong leadership. Church members said over and over that they wanted leaders who are humble, who listen and who work collaboratively. We no longer live in a predominantly agrarian society. Church members no longer have fierce denominational loyalties. Technology has exploded in the last 30 years. The typed or handwritten letter is no longer the primary form of communication. Our wired, multicultural and globally aware society demands a church with similar priorities.
“This is no longer my father’s church,” says Curtis Kearns, executive administrator for the General Assembly Mission Council. The church of the previous generation, he explains, had a rigid governance structure that worked well when members had more leisure time. But in today’s dynamically changing and fast-paced world, with church members more occupied with work and family responsibilities, the church needs more flexible processes to respond to immediate needs.
Think about some of the great leaders of the past century — Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Susan B. Anthony, Eugene Carson Blake, James Costen, Martin Luther King Jr., Lech Walesa, Mohandas Gandhi, Fannie Lou Hamer. One factor that enabled them to create significant social change was their perceptive sense of timing. They noticed when the moment was ripe for change, and responded quickly to people and conditions around them.
One way we Presbyterians live out our baptismal vows is by nurturing leaders for today’s church and world. Seminaries, governing bodies and congregations are partners in this endeavor. Many aspects of leadership can be taught, but ultimately the ability to lead effectively is a gift from God.
Good leaders, like good artists, have the ability to improvise. Improvisational comics, some of the most clever and creative people of our time, know how to work a room. They may have their act planned out before they go on stage, but they make adjustments to their lines and timing based on the audience. Jazz musicians work from a theme, but deviate in a way that maintains the integrity of the musical score as well as harmony and rhythm with other musicians and instruments in the band. Actors who do improvisational theater learn to trust themselves and each other as they extend and accept openings to lead the action.
Michael Jinkins, academic dean and professor at Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary, a jazz musician himself, says strong leaders are keenly aware of their environment and adjust their plans depending on what they discern is taking place. In preparing his seminary students for church leadership, Jinkins often uses poetry, film, music and the visual arts as a way of inviting them to use the right side of their brain — the side that drives human creativity.
Leaders are more than managers or solvers of technical problems. Leaders address more complex and changing issues. A manager or supervisor might lead a team to clear a piece of land and build a church building. But leaders of the new church must build relationships with prospective members, find an appropriate place to meet, and create programs that attend to the needs and problems of a particular community.
Actions — not status on an organizational chart — are what define a person as a leader. Successful leaders have a knack for seeing the larger picture, understanding the group dynamics, managing resistance and nurturing ownership and collaboration to address particular issues or concerns.
In his books Leadership Without Easy Answers (1994) and Leadership on the Line (2002), Ronald Heifetz says good leaders influence others by having the courage to face up to the problems before them. No matter what position they may hold in an organization, good leaders put themselves on the line and open themselves up to critique and even resistance. Leadership is about tackling tough problems and challenging the status quo.
Similarly, the performances of improvisational actors and musicians are more than repetitions of a memorized script; they are unique works of art shaped by a particular group for a single time and place. This kind of improvisation, when practiced in the church, can move us from managing or maintaining a ministry to truly leading.
Lee Hinson-Hasty is coordinator of theological education and seminary relations for the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). |
