The Challenge Of Empowerment

Far too many Pastors face a common dilemma. They want to develop leaders at every level in their church, but they continue to live with an overloaded ministry schedule that keeps them from training new leaders. The typical Pastor has too many balls to juggle. His greatest need is not more time to juggle or more juggling tips; his greatest need is more jugglers, individuals who can lead ministry under his guidance. The juggling metaphor is helpful in introducing the idea of empowerment. Empowerment represents a point in the leadership-development process when a leader stops juggling one of his balls and hands it to someone else, an “emerging juggler,” so to speak. This handoff is critical because no amount of classroom training, reading, practicing, or mentoring can produce a juggler without the handoff. Likewise, no amount of leadership development can produce a leader without empowerment.