Lovett Weems's Thoughts on Leadership
Dr. Lovett H. Weems, Jr., president of Saint Paul School of Theology, was the speaker at the twenty-first Welborn-Payne Lectureship at First United Methodist Church, Lubbock, Texas. Dr. Weems is the author of Church Leadership: Vision, Team, Culture, and Integrity; John Wesley's Message for Today, and Leadership in the Wesleyan Spirit. Betsey interviewed him April 9, 2001, in Lubbock.
Betsey Heavner: What is leadership?
Lovett Weems: There are many different views of leadership, and we must be careful not to make only one view synonymous with leadership. Positions of authority give a person the opportunity to lead, but this is not leadership. All of us are leaders in different ways is the view of Paul in 1 Corinthians 12:14-21. Changing circumstances mean different people may fulfill leadership responsibilities at different times. That means that sometimes the person in a position of authority, such as lay leader, chair, or clergyperson, will step back and be a follower. At the beginning of the 20th century, Mary Parker Follett descibed this as "multiple leadership." Her insight about the complexity of leadership was way ahead of her time — in her time, people believed great leaders were born. She introduced the idea that leadership skills can be learned.
BH: What is the most important skill for leaders to learn?
LW: Leaders need to create the bridge between vision and the practical everyday activities of ministry. The skill that is needed for that bridgework is asking the right questions. There are visionaries and theorists who are excellent. There are people doing excellent work in the churches. But these two tasks often get separated so that churches develop vision statements that never get implemented. A true leader learns to ask the right questions. Questions can lead people to think about the meaning of the ministry activities they undertake. The right questions elp people reflect on the deeper meaning of the choices that they consider each day. A leader looks at everything through the lens of vulnerability to see whatever happens as an untapped opportunity. Learning to ask the right questions is a lifelong work.
BH: You spoke about the role of leaders and followers. When does a person step forth and lead?
LW: I like to think of leadership as a calling. In our Wesleyan heritage, there is a tension to wrestle with, as we discern when to exercise our leadership. The first source of our calling is God. Any leadership must be rooted in what God calls us to do. In baptism, we are all called into ministry and God gives gifts for ministry.
The second source of calling for Christian leadership is the church. The community of faith calls forth individuals to exercise leadership for the community. A particular leadership role, whether lay or ordained, is always carried out on behalf of the faith community.
The third source of our calling is the context. When the context calls for teaching, particularly gifted individuals can lead. When the context calls for singing, particularly gifted individuals can lead. When the context calls for administration or preaching or praying or cleaning, certain gifted individuals can lead.
Let me illustrate what I mean by three sources of calling. This question guides me when I consider leadership: What is it that people have a right to expect of me so that, if I do not do it, no one else can or will? At Saint Paul, I have been called by the church to the leadership role of president. The church expects me as president to oversee functions such as public relations, fundraising, and administration. God has called me into ministry and gifted me with teaching and leading. The context of the role of president at Saint Paul is that, when oversight is needed, people have a right to expect me to step forward in leadership.
BH: What do leaders do?
LW: Leaders need to know the past (the heritage from whence we come), look at what is happening now (the current reality), look for clues in the world to see what God's already put there, discern and proclaim a vision.
BH: Saint Paul is developing a congregational leadership project. Tell us more about it.
LW: The project, funded by the Lilly Endowment, Inc., aims to increase the quality and capacity of clergy leadership for congregations. We are developing three dimensions of the project.
- Dimension 1 is pre-seminary and emphasizes identifying, encouraging, and enlisting greater numbers of gifted candidates for ordained ministry.
- Dimension 2 is the seminary years, and it focuses on improving assessment and leadership education so that students are better prepared for ministry.
- Dimension 3 is post-seminary years, and it seeks to help recent graduates grow in effectiveness through feedback, training, and helpful supervision.
Each of the dimensions is multifaceted, but here's one example of what we are doing. During seminary years, students are involved in internships in a congregation for the final two years. They are also taking classes and participating in a practicum group. The practicum group involves four other students and an active church leader who can help students integrate all they are learning in class and in the internship. Another example is the Saint Paul Institute, which is exploring partnerships for life-long learning opportunities.
Lovett Weems, Jr. is Professor of Church Leadership and President of Saint Paul School of Theology, Kansas City, MO.