Missional Leadership

I found this at Dan Sheffield's blog. It sounds like an excellent analysis to me.

1. In the model being suggested, one-third of the missional pastor's time and energy is focused upon hands-on ministry engagement with real human needs in the community (living the story). the pastor must develop a long-term ministry response in an area that matches passion and giftings. This ministry involvement serves both as model and inspiration for the missional congregation. Authority in this model is earned rather than ascribed.

2. Another third of time and energy is focused upon forming a "called-out" community (forming the community). This group of individuals and families who have risen to the call to disciplined Christian living is the primary pastoral responsibility of the missional pastor. Worship is designed around enabling these earnest followers into authentic encounter with God. Vision, policy and decision-making for the congregation is rooted in this committed community.

3. The ongoing formation of the pastor's ability to tell the story of Jesus to both seekers and disciples focuses the third priority of the missional pastor (telling the story). Engagement with scripture and society coupled with practicing the spiritual disciplines enables the missional pastor to connect the Word to people's lives and to model Christlikeness for the community.

This picture suggests that caring for the fringe community of God seekers (the pilgrim congregation) is not a priority role of the missional pastor. The missional pastor's task is to lead the way into engagement with the wider community and to form the character of the committed/core community.

Many in the pilgrim congregation are people who have come into the fellowship through the influence of ministries lead by the core/committed community; they will naturally continue to be nurtured and discipled by these leaders. They are attracted to the transformed character of the missionally-engaged leaders. In existing churches which care for a whole group of "Christian hangers-on," undue attention should not be given to them by the missional pastor. Rather than "seeking to engage them" or push them up the leadership funnel, the energy of the missional pastor and the committed community should be attractional.

as those with authentic, mission-shaped authority cultivate missional practices in the congregation, they enable the development of a missional identity. These leaders say with Paul, "live according to the pattern we gave you" (Phil 3:17) and "follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ" (1 Cor 11:1). The place of leadership is to be at the front of the community, living out the implications and actions of the missional people of God, so all can see what it looks like to be the people of God.