No Man (or Staff) is an Island

Posted on 2/17/2012 by Tim Nations in the Learnings Blog

I am an introvert. I enjoy my alone time. Its an opportunity for me to recharge and gain perspective on the people and things around me. But there are times when I don’t need to be alone. There are moments when the connection, accountability, and encouragement of my peers is necessary to my health as a Christian, a husband, a leader, and a dad. Unfortunately, our culture can convince us this is a sign of weakness. And that can present challenges for leaders of fast growing churches. 

The rugged individualism of our western culture would have us believe that we can do it all on our own. When faced with challenges, all I need to do is bear down, grit my teeth, and ‘do it my way’. The results, however, usually don’t line up with what we originally envisioned.

Leaders of rapidly growing churches can fall into the same trap. The organizational success, personal strokes and professional accolades threaten to create an unhealthy degree of self-reliance. And the ongoing responsibilities of trying to stay on top of increasingly complex lives and ministries can isolate leaders from one of their most valuable resources—their peers. The impact of being alone in ministry can hit you out of the blue.

Tim Harlow of Parkview Church in Orland Park, IL:

“I had no idea anything was going bad until one day when I was backstage getting ready to come out for a Saturday night service, and I literally thought, ‘I can’t go out there and do this.’ Its been really key for me to figure out how to get other people around me. It has helped me figure out how to retool and re-staff and do the things that I need to do.”

Being at the helm of a rapidly growing church doesn’t (and shouldn’t) mean going it alone. There are others who have experienced the unique pressures and pains of growing churches and are willing to join others on their leadership journey.

Leader isolation is one of the many core issues being addressed in Leadership Network’s Rapid Growth Leadership Community. For more information on our Rapid Growth Leadership Community, visit the Rapid Growth website where you can learn about past groups through videos and free downloadable concept papers.

The first gathering of Rapid Growth Group 4 is November 5-7. If you’re interested, please contact Tim Nations at tim.nations@leadnet.org or complete an application here .