The Power of Sharing Leadership

“Why don’t we just get all the leaders together and have a conversation about decentralizing our organization? It sounds super exciting, and I’m sure they’d love to hear and contribute to the conversation!” As one of the three executive team members, I was excited about inviting the second-tier leaders, most of whom had been a part of this international training organization longer than I had and were all currently leading in their own locally rooted ministries. We were at the point of choosing how our organization would grow. As an Apostle leader myself, it felt like meaningful work.

After a decade of existing as a training organization, we were finally poised to think about how to connect our alumni church communities into tightly knit communities for the sake of their cities or regions. We could open the leadership platform so the community could also learn from one another and from our best practices and worst mistakes. It felt like what I’ve always dreamed of—to be a part of an organization that thought about how to raise the tide for all ships. And here was an opportunity to tap into the wealth of leadership resources in these extremely mature, experienced, and practitioner-based leaders.

But Jonah did not agree. “No, no, I think it’s better to just do one-on-one conversations.”

“What?!” I replied puzzled, “No, if you just do one-on-ones, then we’d lose the gift of hearing from one another and learning from one another. Some folks may be able to better articulate things; others are probably better at thinking of real-life models. These leaders want to contribute.” I paused for a moment, having worked closely with him for some time now. Changing my tone, I considered, “Hmmm . . . I can hear some hesitation in your voice. I wonder what you might be guarding.”

He replied, “I’d prefer one-on-one conversations so that I don’t lose control of the room.”

Because of Jonah’s fear of losing control, this organization never tapped into the wealth of leaders who had stood by his side for almost a decade. Sadly, today nearly all those leaders have transitioned from under his executive leadership. They never had a platform to make contributions, and the organization remains a training organization that favors White male leadership.

Sharing leadership is actually about sharing power. If we as leaders don’t know how to do this, then we can label our churches and organizations “sharing leadership” all we want, but in the end we are just holding onto power while using and abusing others.

SHARING LEADERSHIP AND POWER

Sharing leadership in the church is one of the most powerful and effective ways to equip the people of God for the sacred unity and communal Christlike maturity to foster a flourishing church that connects to community.

In the act of willingly giving up power, leaders experience the gift of kenōsis (self-emptying). The kenotic journey of experiencing descent and humility, relinquishing power, becoming de-centered, and following the selfless way of Christ, cultivates in leaders the gift of a deeper discipleship—denying themselves, taking up their cross daily, and imitating Jesus (Mk 8:34). The act of mutually exchanging power in sharing leadership invites leaders to regularly practice detaching from the temptation of grabbing and holding on to power. This regular practice cultivates in leaders a release from selfishly motivated desire for power through control, crowd, and contribution. Instead, the ability to command control, mobilize a crowd, and make meaningful contributions isn’t used to wield power but is mutually shared among a set of leaders who are equipping the people of God. And finally, the act of freely giving away power and empowering more leaders impacts a single leader by cultivating hope in prayer to the Lord of the harvest for more workers (Lk 10:2). When leaders practice seeing the potential of leadership in others, using clear marks of maturity (of humility, hospitality, honor, and hope), there is a deep sense of joy that they are not alone in the work (Barna, 2022).

But sharing leadership doesn’t end with its impact on just the leader. There is a profound impact on the congregation and for the surrounding community. When leaders willingly give up power, the congregation welcomes kenōsis as a normalized way of imitating Jesus. It will generate a gathering of people who won’t resist a kenotic journey but expect it for their own connection with Christ. When leaders mutually exchange power, the congregation begins to value unity and maturity over proximity to power. A congregation with proximity to power (in this case, the leader) may succumb to feeling either safe or special (chap. 2).

But, when a congregation witnesses the regular practice of power being mutually exchanged among a set of diverse leaders, they experience the peace (instead of just the desire to feel safe) that comes through unity and Christlike identity/maturity (instead of just the desire to feel special). Their dependence lead them to seek proximity to the leader; their longing will be to have proximity to Christ. And finally, when leaders freely give away power, the congregation is invited into joining in the work of God. Their expectation on the leader isn’t to be entertained, nurtured, or fed; their expectation on the leader is to be equipped for the works of service for the flourishing and benefit of the community around them.