The blessing of flexibility

Bud Brown June 14, 2019

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“Blessed are the flexible, for they shall not be bent out of shape.” According to a wise elder I know, this may be the missing Beatitude from Jesus’s Sermon on the Mount.

I haven’t found this in any of the ancient New Testament manuscripts, but it certainly rings true. This is particularly relevant for pastors who would like to see plateaued and declining churches revitalized. 

Flexibility is a hallmark leadership characteristic that distinguishes pastors who lead stagnant churches to conversion growth from their ministry colleagues who prefer to maintain the status quo.¹ Pastors who find it difficult to change in response to new information, unforeseen challenges or emerging opportunities create compliant followers who follow the rules. Flexible pastors attract committed partners who pursue the mission.

Flexible pastors emerge as innovative leaders in many areas of ministry. Two are particularly important for revitalization because they open the door to collaboration by church members. This becomes a force multiplier because the pastor’s flexibility in these areas gives members a voice in how things run.

1. Business meetings benefit when the pastor is flexible, open to change and innovation.This is assuming that the pastor either chairs the meetings or helps set the agenda. Relatively inflexible pastors prepare and set the agenda, manage the time well and ensure discussion of every item. These are positive, but the pastor’s inflexibility becomes problematic when the agenda pushes the most important matters toward the end of the meeting.

Pastors who are more flexible aren’t as insistent that the meeting follows the agenda. They let the hot topics drive the meeting. As a result, weightier matters receive more attention. This increases the likelihood that meeting participants will make good decisions.

2. Effective delegation also benefits from the pastor’s flexibility. 

The pastor who typically resists change and innovation will give detailed instructions when they delegate tasks to subordinates and church members. They are also prone to micromanage the process. This results in lower levels of commitment by those who feel micromanaged and may end up producing a passive aggressive culture in the church.

Flexible pastors will delegate the task, perhaps with a few guidelines or parameters. Then they trust the other person to get the job done in their way, using their initiative, with occasional progress reports. This results in a higher level of ownership because it signals trust and gives people an opportunity to use their spiritual gifts.

Here’s a simple test to gauge your level of flexibility: 

How do you respond when, at day’s end, you find several unfinished items on your task list? 

If you wrestle with feelings of failure or guilt, you’re highly inflexible. If you say to yourself, “Those things didn’t need doing anyhow,” then you’re highly flexible. Now, with this in mind, watch to see how you manage those meetings and how you delegate those tasks.

1. Brown, Penfold, and Westra, Pastor Unique, 84–86.  ↩

Photo source: istock 

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Bud Brown is an experienced ministry leader, writer and educator. He is co-founder of Turnaround Pastors and co-author of the ground-breaking Pastor Unique: Becoming A Turnaround Leader. He brings special expertise to change leadership in the local church, mentoring pastors to become revitalization leaders, training churches how to find and recruit the best talent, and training leadership teams how to achieve their shared goals. Learn More »

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