Irreplaceable
No leader is irreplaceable. For some of us, we need to read that statement again. No leader is irreplaceable.
If we are honest with ourselves, we don’t really believe that statement. We may give lip-service to it, but our actions show otherwise. The way we lead our churches insinuates to everyone around us that we believe we are irreplaceable. That we will be in this position forever. That there is nobody else more qualified & able to do this job. We lead this way because the reality is less appealing, more unnerving and simply too hard for most of us to accept. The reality is … one day somebody else will be sitting in our office. Somebody else will be answering calls, responding to emails, planning events, preparing messages and counseling people.
This reality came up in conversation with my fellow pastors during a recent trip to a church multiplication conference. We were out to dinner enjoying some barbecue when the conversation turned unexpectedly morbid. Our lead pastor asked the question, “If you get hit by a bus tomorrow…will your ministry be able to continue without you?” The question he was asking each of us was simply this: Have you done the hard work of preparing for your replacement?
Have I brought any other leaders into my inner-circle to understand the behind-the-scenes work of my ministry? Have I shared my knowledge & experience with any other leaders? Have I identified, trained & empowered my potential replacements? Because the reality is…I am replaceable. And so are you.
There will come a day when I walk out of the doors of my church for the last time. There will come a day when somebody else will assume my position of leadership. There will come a day when somebody else will assume YOUR position of leadership. Chances are…these leaders-to-be are already in our churches.
They are the babies being held in the arms of faithful nursery workers. They are the restless children being taught the ABCs of the Bible in our Sunday morning classrooms. They are the emotionally-charged, acne-laden, impulsive Middle School students in youth group. They are the pre-adult teenagers wrestling with their faith during late-night conversations with their friends and youth pastor. They are the college students whose foundations of faith are being tested in ways never before experienced.
As I survey the landscape of my church, I don’t see “teenagers” or “millennials.” Those titles are too narrow, too restricting. Those titles come with too much baggage. When I survey the landscape of my church, I see future pastors, elders, deacons, small group leaders, Sunday school teachers, missionaries & evangelists. I see leaders in the making. Leaders who need to be given the opportunity to lead now rather than later. Leaders who are not just the future of the church; they are the present of the church.
I see my replacement. I see your replacement. Do you see them? Or do you only see your name on your office door?
Psalm 145:4 “One generation shall commend your works to another, and shall declare your mighty acts.”
Psalm 71:18 “So even to old age and gray hairs, O God, do not forsake me, until I proclaim your might to another generation, your power to all those to come.”
2 Timothy 2:2 “And what you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses entrust to faithful men who will be able to teach others also.”
