Introduction

Leaders are called to make decisions. 

 

Leaders are called to make decisions that are right and good for their congregation and to make decisions for the right reasons.

 

This type of decision making requires a set of values to guide them. 

 

Unfortunately, personal preferences can take the place of values in decision making. When personal preferences are used as the values, then the best interest of the congregation is not served.

 

When the right decisions are made for the right reasons, an environment is created in a congregation where mission can thrive.

 

A Time and Place for Likes and Dislikes
If making the right decision always felt good, leaders would make the right decisions all the time.

 

I have favorite foods at different restaurants. A full breakfast is my choice at one of my favorite diners. A smoothie is my go-to choice at another. I will usually choose the sesame chicken if eating Chinese food. Whether it is my favorite food, preferred beer, or a perfect setting to visit with a friend, there are things I like in restaurants and diners. I make my decisions based on what I like. 

 

It should go without saying, then, that there are also foods I won’t choose. I won’t choose fish or seafood. Rarely will a salad be my whole meal. I have a wimpy palate when it comes to spicy food. So, you know that I will not decide to order those items.

 

We all have likes and dislikes. These likes and dislikes guide us through the many pleasures—or help us avoid what we don’t like—of life. They can be about food, colors, clothes, music, sports, entertainment, or books.

 

These likes and dislikes guide our decision making so frequently, we can assume that all decision making is rooted in likes and dislikes. That is a trap for leaders. We can think that we should like, prefer, and feel good about the decisions we make.

 

Making decisions as leaders is not about making decisions based on preferences. Making decisions as leaders is based on this core value–what is best for the congregation.

 

There is a time for decisions to made based on personal likes and dislikes, but leadership decisions are made on what is in the best interest of the congregation.

 

Moral Decisions
Leaders make right decisions, and they make right decisions for the right reasons.

 

Right decisions are decisions made based on what is in the best interest of the congregation. It is important that the right decisions are also made for the right reasons.

 

One of my son’s favorite baseball players for the Philadelphia Phillies was Hunter Pence. Pence had a wild batting stance and nasty cut on his swing. Yet, he seemed to make regular contact with the ball and get hits. Once, I heard a commentator speak about Pence’s batting stance and swing. The commentator mentioned that it is amazing to watch him swing and be productive, but don’t let your kids mimic him when they learn to bat. The ball got hit, but in an unconventional way.

 

Bad form and luck can get desired results, but they are not sustainable. They don’t help in the long run. Why is that? Simply put, we think that if we reach the right decision in a certain way and it works, then that’s the way we should go at decision making every time. We assume if it works it’s right. Getting lucky in decision making can lead to impulsive decision making. Knee jerk decision making is not good for a congregation.

 

Congregational leaders are called to make the right decisions for the right reasons. Right decision-making leads to the best outcomes if the decisions are made for the right reasons. 

 

Decision Making Based on the Bottom Line
If the notion of the Bottom Line is broadened, then it can be a helpful guideline for decision making.

 

A young leader and friend of mine, Ben, once described the bottom line as having 3 components. The components were Financial, People, and Environmental. I have found this breakdown of the bottom line to be extraordinarily helpful. In my work in congregational leadership, I have added a fourth component—Missional.

 

So, to measure the bottom line, a congregation measures the Missional Impact, the Financial Impact, the Impact on People, and the Environmental Impact. These can be helpful values to use when making decisions in congregations. 

 

Let’s break down the four components:

• Missional: Is the decision being made consistent with the mission of the congregation? Does it strengthen the mission? Does it empower others to engage in that mission? And is the mission a faithful mission?
• Financial: Is the decision financially feasible? Is the decision financially sustainable? Are we being penny wise and dollar foolish? Is the decision making the best stewardship of the congregation’s resources?
• People: What is the decision’s impact on the people of the congregation? What is the impact on the people outside of the congregation? This outside group of people impacted is not only about service ministry, but also includes the financial impact that a congregation makes in the community as a non-profit corporation. A congregation I served had an annual budget of 1 million dollars. That congregation made a considerable economic impact on the community in which it found itself.
• Environmental: What is the impact of the decision on the immediate environment around the congregation? Where I served in Lancaster, PA, there was an issue of storm water run-off that found its way to the Chesapeake Bay. The congregation participated in the city storm water management program by sustaining larger green spaces and paying the storm water management fee so that remedies could be found to the runoff problem.

When these four components are used in decision making, a right decision can be made for the right reasons. The four components guide congregational leaders to make decisions that are faithful, moral, and practical.

 

Discerning the Difference between Preferences and Right Decisions for the Right Reasons
There is a difference between impulsivity and intentionality, knowing that difference helps discern the difference between preferences and right decision making.

 

In churches, we make some fascinating distinctions.

 

I have heard leaders in some congregations tell their pastors that the pastor should stick to caring for the spiritual life of the congregation and the leaders will take care of the business side. On the surface, it appears to be an acknowledgment of the training and calling of the pastor to tend to spiritual concerns and not be weighed down by the business component. Underneath, I think the statement can point to something a bit more detrimental.

 

Congregational leaders tend to draw a distinction between the emotional side of the ministry and the practical side. Spirituality is seen as the emotional and irrational side of ministry. The business side of the church is seen as the practical side. Being the practical side, it is assumed that there is a set way to make decisions and that the decisions are objectively and pragmatically made—commonly referred to as using a “business model.”

 

The flaw in the assumption is that no decision is ever made in an objective, fully rational, and pragmatic way. Not even business decisions. Every person, even the pragmatic business minded person, brings biases and preferences to decision making. They can fall prey to the bias of likes and dislikes as does every other person.

 

To be a bit more theological, we concede that we are “in bondage to sin and cannot free ourselves.”¹  This bondage will lead to a self-oriented approach to decision making, where we are afraid to fail, afraid of doing something wrong, or afraid of working hard and not getting the desired results. These fears bias decision making.

 

What does that mean for pastoral and lay leadership in congregations?

 

First, it means that the pastor of a congregation, responsible for the spiritual well-being of the congregation, tends to the way the business of the congregation is conducted. This does not mean that the pastor makes every decision, but that the pastor makes sure a decision-making process is in place that leads to good decisions. The pastor will affirm and commend when good decision making happens. The pastor will speak the truth when brokenness is driving the decision-making process. The pastor will be a bit of a prophet when they call leaders to consider the components of Mission, Finance, People, and Environment in the decision making. And the pastor will offer a time for confession and absolution when bad decisions are made and/or for the wrong reasons.

 

Second, it means that lay leaders of congregations are called to a higher level of decision making in their churches than what might be expected of them in their places of employment. (Though, wouldn’t it be a beautiful moment if places of employment used the practical and moral values of mission, finance, people, and environment.) It means that congregational leaders pray for wisdom and prudence. It calls from humility, not hubris, from leaders. It challenges congregational leaders to open themselves to the spiritual leadership of their pastors. And it means that congregational leaders engage in the disciplines of faith, such as worship, giving, learning, serving, witnessing, and fellowship. Doing so helps them to integrate the Christian character given them on the day of their baptisms into who they are as a leader.

 

Making Right Decisions Challenges One’s Comfort
Leaders know that making decisions that are right and made for the right reasons are usually outside of their comfort zones.

 

The most important personal choices I have made in my life are ones that shoved me out of my comfort zone. The time I tried out for the high school play and got a major role, when I made my college decision to major in Psychology and Speech/Communication, working at church camp, heading to seminary, proposing to my wife, adopting our son, taking a new call, entering a doctoral program, moving my parents into a care center. With those choices, I have learned where I am strong, and I have learned how I needed to grow. I was not fully equipped for any of those changes. None of those decisions was comfortable.  They were all right and good. 

 

Leadership is about making those types of choices. It is about taking measured risks for what is right. It is about trusting one’s capacity to grow and learn. It is about asking for help. And it is about being willing to be uncomfortable for the sake of the congregation.

 

If good leadership were easy, more people would demonstrate good leadership. Leadership is difficult, challenging, rewarding, perplexing, exhausting, and inspiring. Leadership is what we are called to demonstrate for the sake of our congregations so that mission can thrive.

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Endnotes:

¹ Evangelical Lutheran Worship, Order for Confession and Forgiveness.