This is such a great chart that illustrates the difference between authority and responsibility.

When an established leaders is trying to empower a new leader, he needs to direct at first, then move towards empowering. The temptation is to keep the authority over all aspects of the ministry. This is often seen as “controlling” the ministry. Making all the decisions, etc. Disabling takes place when responsibility is given to a person, but they are not given the authority to make decisions on the ground, or given the resources to enact anything.

Challenge: Empowerment increases the scope of unknown ministry outcomes.

Empowerment priority: embrace uncertainty.

“By simply involving others in the decision-making process, the potential for new ideas and different decisions multiplies, leading to a greater variety of ministry results.”

“There is no way around the fact that empowering others requires living with greater uncertainty, and this uncertainty forces a leader to face personal issues of control.”

Why?

     Fear that the ministry quality might suffer

     Fear that the leader will lose some leverage in the system.

“What happens over time when fear concerning ministry quality and unknown outcomes inhibits empowerment? The leader builds an organization with systems and processes that extend his control. Then a personal problem becomes an institutionalized problem.”

“If leaders want to walk in predictable pathways of doing ministry, kingdom expansion will be difficult if not impossible. If however, leaders take the risk to release others toward probabilities of success, God can release atomic like energy through our ministry efforts.”

“You must trust that God was, is and always will be the author and prime move behind all ministry activity. And this includes the ministry that we release.”

“Security is mostly a superstition-it does not exist in nature. Avoiding danger is not safer in the long run that outright exposure. Life is either a daring adventure or it is nothing at all.” Helen Keller.

“The control I think I possess is really an illusion. The most absurd truth about control is that we never really have it. It is God’s all along. So in the end we can either live with the illusion of control and move toward the illusion of security and predictability, or we can relinquish control to God in a way that frees us to take the risk of empowering others.”

Questions for Reflection

In what ways to you gravitate toward control (people, tasks, ideas, processes, environment, and so on)?

What types of people or roles do you tend to control (leaders, church members, pastoral staff, admin staff, children, spouse, others)?

In what kinds of activities do you want control (planning, problem solving, teaching/preaching, facilitating, counseling, studying, socializing)?

What are your hot buttons (correct appearance, competition, finances, certain personality types, others)?

“To the extent we fail to counteract our control issues, we will limit the development of other leaders around us.”