Editorial: Winter 2008 issue

It’s the elephant in the room that no one is talking about: how congregational leadership and authority get passed from one generation to the next. When the editors of Leader started gathering ideas on the subject for this issue, some people suggested ideas on helping an older generation of leaders to move toward retirement. Others wanted us to focus on getting young adults involved in congregational leadership. But there were few examples of congregations proactively working at generational shifts in leadership and authority.

Perhaps one reason for this lack of attention is that we’re really talking about is power, a subject we Mennonites would rather not face. Congregational power in part has to do with influence: who are the movers and shakers who can get things done? Who are the people who can sway decisions one way or the other? Who are the people with the gifts to take on leadership roles? Who are the people willing to work behind the scenes in unglamorous, yet essential roles? And what happens when all these people no longer are in positions of leadership due to aging, ill health or death?

I suspect older people probably don’t like to talk about the need to pass leadership and authority on to subsequent generations because it reminds them of one more loss in life. And middle-aged adults, especially the baby boomers, don’t want to talk about it because with their numbers and their place in the life cycle they have a lot of power. To talk about it might suggest they should share it more. And younger adults probably don’t talk about it much openly because they’re not given the opportunity.

Leadership is a shared responsibility between the generations, drawing from all the age groups in the congregation.

There are instances too where older people say, “I’ve had my turn at leadership. I’m getting older and don’t have the energy I once had. So let the younger people do it.” But despite the fact they don’t want to be responsible, they still want to be in control. They may no longer serve as leaders, but they still want to pulls strings from the sidelines by exercising some kind of invisible veto power that never gets named or challenged. Transfer of leadership and authority in a congregation will happen, even if we don’t talk about it. But when it isn’t a subject for discussion, what happens are proxy battles with power struggles beneath the surface and behind the scenes.

In a healthy congregation, this generational shift is a multi-layered one. It is not a simple matter of one generation passing responsibility along to the next. Instead, leadership is a shared responsibility between the generations, drawing from all the age groups in the congregation— seniors, older adults, middle-aged adults and younger adults. Older, more experienced people will mentor younger, less experienced ones. Over the course of their lifetime, individuals may move in and out of congregational leadership roles a number of times, depending on the needs of the congregation and what is happening in their lives otherwise. Women, for instance, may not be heavily involved during the child-bearing and raising years, but when their children get older or they’re empty-nesters, then they have more time to volunteer for the church. And both women and men actually have more time to give to the church after retirement.

Here’s an exercise that congregations might consider: try to identify who your leaders are, not just those holding positions, but also the people who have influence over decisions your congregation makes. And then plot on a graph where those people fall in terms of age. That in itself could be a revelatory exercise. Are most of the leaders in their 50s or 60s? Are younger people being mentored to take their place? Are 30-something people getting tapped for responsible roles? If not, why not?

Without spiritualizing the issue, congregations should treat this subject as a matter for spiritual discernment. Who is God calling up for congregational leadership at this point in your congregation’s life? How best can the gifts and experiences of the old, the middle-aged and the younger people be used? Who are the people here who can serve as mentors, and who should be mentored and for what roles?

Consider this issue of Leader just a conversation starter. We at least want congregations and their leaders to start thinking and talking about how leadership and authority is a shared responsibility between the generations; what happens when leadership and authority in a congregation get passed on from one generation to the next; and where the Spirit of God is in the process.

Richard A. Kauffman