Willow conference – Handing over our churches to the next generation
Willow creek Leadership conference
This conference at the City Temple in central London was very thought provoking and helpful if not mindblowing. There were a lot of guys there who pastor churches of between 500 and 3000 people who clearly demand a fair amount of respect, as well as ladies too who were either Heads of departments or teenage apprentices for leadership – so very encouraging.
Helped me move forward another step with Lead for England, and also had some helpful insights into handing churches over to the next generation. Basically the first generation people and the next generation people, (very tactful and constructive terms! Which link to the issues God’s people faced in the wilderness) need to ask themselves 3 questions:
1) Do I really want to do this? hand the church over.
2) What is it? transfer of authority and responsibility together. Whereas first generation people are often OK at handing over responsibility but still want control; and the next generation are OK about having their ideas implemented but want first generation people to pay for them! Need to work at making sure the two roles are linked properly then transfer them both together.
3) There are risks. but there are bigger risks to not doing it! Ie a church dwindles down and finds there’s no 18 year olds left to hand stuff onto! They’ve long gone and we’ve failed God by not trusting his ongoing purposes for the church but clinging onto how we like things rather than handing stuff onto our 18 year olds. As 30 somethings we need to be ready to train our teenagers and begin to hand stuff over.
I’m looking forward to it though I think. Do yourself out of a job every 3 years that’s a related axiom I heard from a church leader which seems to make great sense and be a sign of a healthy church I would think. Any thoughts? Comments?
(Must just say thanks to my amazing husband who looked after the kids today on his day off so I could go)
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