How we tackled McLeadership in our church

Theo-May-26_

A culture obsessed with measuring success has infiltrated the Church, warns Dr Chloe Lynch. She’s calling leaders to embrace love, vulnerability and shared power over efficiency and what can be counted

Aged 26, I accidentally found myself leading LifeGiving Church in West London. I’d been a city lawyer when a group of us planted a gathering for people that didn’t do church. At first, we were mentored by our founding leader. But suddenly he stepped away altogether, leaving us to figure out church leadership alone. 

The leadership model we’d inherited made numbers important. Bigger was better: we wanted more of the ABCs: Attendance, Buildings and Cash. Growing meant making more converts for Jesus. And more converts meant our reach for Jesus – in terms of bodies and finances – would increase. Then we could make even more converts.