Churches get stuck for all kinds of reasons. But a common reason Churches get stuck is that the Sr. Leadership Team gets stuck. Last week I had the opportunity to sit in the room with Sr. Leaders from some of the nations leading mega-churches and talk through this issue. Here are a couple of the thoughts I captured about Sr. Leadership Teams from that conversation.

1. If the team begins doing the wrong work it may be time to change the team

The purpose of the Sr. Leadership Team is to make directional decisions that build a strong unified culture around your values and move the organization closer to vision. When decision making and implementation begin to consistently slow down it is probably means a change on the team is in the future.

2. If someone is building their own kingdom, get them off the team

When someone on the team cares more about their own personal mission, personal posturing or positioning, or a sub ministry in the church; it’s time for them to leave the Sr. Leadership Team. People who serve on your Leadership Team need to be able to think conceptually and transfer principles across disciplines quickly and they must care more about the mission of the church than their particular ministry

3. When you make changes you’re going to hurt feelings

As the church grows and changes so will your Sr. Leadership Team. Different leaders have different capacities. This isn’t a good thing or a bad thing. It’s just a simple reality that we all have a part to play in the body. When a body is smaller someone may play a larger or more public role than they do when it is larger. But be prepared, not everyone will approach these conversations with sober mindedness and a healthy sense of self awareness.

4. Are there too many people in the room?

Span of care is a major issue on any team, but particularly on a Sr. Leadership Team, because so much is at stake. Because a Sr. Leadership Team is not about ministry representation but decision-making and culture formation as the church grows you will consistently be tweaking the team to both have the right people and the right amount of people on the team. Think of it as breathing, the team will contract and expand as layers are added and growth take place.

Want to learn more about Sr. Leadership Teams? Check out my interview with Tony Morgan about his most recent book “Take the Lid Off Your Church, 6 Steps to Building a Healthy Sr. Leadership Team.”