WILLOW Magazine, Volume 15, Issue 1 Leaders from the Second Chair So what happens when leadership and subservience come face to face? When the person sitting in the second chair makes a leadership decision and it conflicts with his or her superior, how is the situation resolved? How do the two leaders best work together? Here are five church leaders who have learned to adapt — and thrive — in the second chair. Rick Eschenburg Associate Pastor Spring Branch Community Church Virginia Beach, Va. Rick Eschenburg, associate pastor at Spring Branch Community Church in Virginia Beach, Va., is not an architect, but he does have a favorite kind of structure. He calls it the “non-structured structure.” “I like the moving and shifting and changing that comes with my job,” Eschenburg said. “I love the non-structured structure that allows me both the joy of general pastoral ministry and the privilege of going deep into people’s lives. The deep-wide paradox can be frustrating and challenging, yet it’s also so exciting, especially when you’re able to be a part of people’s lives being transformed and people being reconciled and people coming to the Lord.” In many organizations, second chairs are so busy focusing on to-do lists that they don’t experience the opportunity to accomplish what they were hired to do in the first place: lead. Fortunately, that’s not the case at Spring Branch Community Church. “That’s not an issue here because there’s an expectation of leadership at a variety of levels,” Eschenburg said. “Even the volunteer ministry leaders are given the freedom to lead. And that’s how first chairs can help second chairs and others — by recognizing leadership as organic and allowing it to grow. “They need to realize that people who are part of ministry teams are not yet what they will become. If you’ve asked them to lead, then let them lead and realize that there’s a growth curve there. If a first chair feels that there’s no time for that, then that’s a faulty mind set.” Eschenburg believes that the value of community helps him and other second chair leaders stay on track. “There will always be disagreements, but you need to deal with those issues — first privately — and in that conversation, the restoration process can unfold. I realize that I’m not the center and [Senior Pastor] Michael [Simone] realizes he’s not the center. God is the center and He’s responsible to change hearts while I must be faithful to what I’m responsible for. That attitude allows our drive and focus to stay sharp.” Eschenburg said the same principal can be applied to balancing his own dreams with being content to facilitate the dreams of his first chair. “If my dreams are allowed expression and are valued and the process has integrity, I can live with the fact that what comes out of a discussion might be different from what I had in mind when I went into the room,” he said. “We can’t be saying, ‘It’s my turn now.’ We need to be focusing on what God has called us to be and to do.” Leading on the Field of Dreams Aaron Jayne Pastor The Dream Center Los Angeles, Calif. If you build it, they will come. Aaron Jayne has his own field of dreams at The Dream Center in Los Angeles. He understands that if he gives his life to building the dream of senior pastor Matthew Barnett, God will build his own dreams later. “I’ve learned that when I build someone else’s dream, God builds my dreams,” said Jayne, one of the founders of The Dream Center and currently one of its key associate pastors. “In fact, God brings about my dreams in ways I couldn’t have imagined. I’m able to do a considerable amount of travel and speak at some of the largest conferences in the world. “There is one pastor over the entire church here and I’m an extension of his vision. I never exercise my leadership to promote my vision.” Jayne, who wears a multitude of hats at The Dream Center, including responsibility for overseeing some of the ministries and the construction process, handling capital campaigns and working with donors, said he has learned over time that there is a very good, God-given reason for submitting to the first chair at a church. “I believe that there is a spiritual dynamic on the life of a senior pastor,” he said. “They have an intuition about things, and I believe that’s from God. There have been times when I thought that we should do something differently from the way Matthew decided to do it, but then later I realized he was right. I’ve learned to submit and serve him. “There’s always going to be a healthy tension between the first and second chair, and fortunately Matthew is very permission-giving. He doesn’t micro-manage. One of the things I try to do is think about what I would want a second chair to do if I were the senior pastor, and then I act in accordance with that. I’ll share my opinion, but I’m always 100 percent behind his decision. I don’t serve by how I feel and I don’t serve a man. I serve a position that God has given me.” Jayne said that second chair leaders should understand what their strengths are and what they are gifted at, and then make those strengths and gifts fit into the dreams of the senior pastor. “As a second chair, you need to realize that you are a major part of accomplishing that dream and then give your whole heart without a thought of ‘what’s in it for me.’ You need to be 100 percent faithful and loyal. You need to love and serve and be committed. Don’t take anything personally. Have a thick skin. And when you stand by your senior pastor, make sure what shows on your face matches what you say.” Trusting the Vision Rupert A. Hayles, Jr. Chief Operating Officer Christ Church Montclair, N.J. A popular song in the late 1970s communicated the message that “two out of three ain’t bad.” Rupert A. Hayles, Jr., chief operating officer at Christ Church in Montclair, N.J., begs to differ. “I’ve seen individuals who are spiritually grounded and are intellectual stars, but from an emotional standpoint they were dismal failures because they couldn’t understand how to work with people or how to function in the emotional realm,” Hayles said. “A second chair leader needs to be able to manage all three dimensions of interaction very well.” Of course, even with those three arenas under control, the role of a second chair leader is very challenging. Differences of opinion can cause problems unless there is submission. “There will always be disagreement,” Hayles said. “At times, I might feel very strongly about things, but in serving God I recognize that He has set up an orderly structure to His Kingdom. One thing that has been good in working with [Senior Pastor] Dr. David [Ireland] is that I have been allowed to share my opinion. I’ll sometimes say, ‘This is how I think on an issue, but you are the decider, so I wait to see your conclusion.’” In addition to submitting on a particular issue, a second chair leader must also sometimes lay his dreams aside to pursue those of his senior pastor. “It is not an issue or a challenge for me to exercise leadership because my wishes, dreams, and hopes are subservient to that of the senior leader,” Hayles said. “There are things I want to do, but what matters now and foremost is what God has placed in the heart of the man I serve. It is a significant thing and every day I am thankful that God has allowed me the opportunity to be in this position.” From a practical standpoint for Hayles, that means exercising the leadership skills he has been given by God and entrusted with by Ireland. “A term we use here at the church is ‘Stay in your lane.’ There are certain aspects of the organization that I exercise full leadership over. Dr. David is the person God trusts with the vision. I then take his vision and guide it from the abstract to the tangible.” A serious challenge for any second chair leader is managing to be both wide and deep. “It’s impossible to know everything, but I try to get involved in things very deeply at the beginning,” Hayles said. “Once a ministry or program or event is implemented, I move on to other things, but it’s essential to leave qualified people in place to ensure that things do not fall. The three things that are critical here are proper structure, effective and constant communication, and qualified, God-fearing and caring people.” Hayles said that first chair leaders can be very helpful to second chairs if they listen, show they care, make themselves available, and don’t publicly overrule a second chair. The Value of Open Communication Steve Shaffer Executive Pastor Northwoods Community Church Peoria, Ill. Like any leader, Steve Shaffer has his dreams regarding what his church should be doing and the direction in which it should be heading. As executive pastor at Northwoods Community Church in Peoria, Ill., he has the freedom to express those visions and see some of them become reality. “But as I’ve told staff members, the majority of whom will not go beyond a second chair position, you need to lay your dream aside to follow the senior leader’s dream or vision,” Shaffer said. “He’s in that chair for a reason. God has probably given him greater dreams and visions than what He’s given us. “We can tweak that vision, but ultimately the church will not move forward unless [Senior Pastor] Cal [Rychener] is in favor of what we’re suggesting. He has to believe in it and has to be enthusiastic when he presents that vision to the congregation.” Shaffer said that the need to submit your dreams to those of the first chair is one of the key elements of being content with your role as a second chair. “The only time I’ve ever had to leave a position was because I just didn’t agree with the vision,” he said. “If you’re in the second chair,you need to be on board with the vision that your senior pastor has. And that’s why it’s so important for the first chair to share his vision early on with the second chair and use the second chair and others for input.” Among the talents that an effective second chair leader must possess, according to Shaffer, are being an innovative ministry designer, developer, a producer, an initiator, an ideas generator and an evaluator of ministry needs. Most of all, a second chair needs to be an implementer of the senior pastor’s vision. “Cal and I have an open door policy and open communication,” Shaffer said, “and that’s very important. There has to be a trusting relationship both ways. I started off in the ranks of the church staff here at Northwoods 14 years ago, and Cal saw how I worked with the lay teams and the staff. He saw that I respected him and challenged him. “Now, as the executive pastor, I’ve learned what he needs to be aware of and what he doesn’t. He knows that his vision will be stronger if he brings in his leaders to talk about it and tweak it before it’s presented to the church. We have a great dialog back and forth, and I know that even if I disagree with something, I’ll always land in the right place if I submit to him and his vision.” Shaffer said that his experiences in various roles at the church have taught him the importance of being both deep and wide. “You have to know what’s going on throughout the church, but you also have to listen to the teams around you that you’ve put in place,” Shaffer said. “You have to let them do their jobs.” Balancing Friendship and Leadership Randy Reeves Executive Pastor Fellowship of The Woodlands Houston, Texas Can a high school friendship survive an adult working relationship in which one person needs to be subservient to the other? Randy Reeves and Kerry Shook are living proof that it can. The former high school buddies have been working together at Fellowship of The Woodlands Church in The Woodlands, Texas, since 1995 and they still “do life” together. “It can be challenging to lead while submitting to the No. 1 leader, but it works in our case because [Senior Pastor] Kerry and I have a great level of trust between us,” said Reeves, one of the original eight members of the church. “I didn’t come into a well-oiled machine where a misstep would have messed things up. “I left a law practice to come on staff full-time as executive pastor, and my role has evolved from day one. I’m very comfortable leading and submitting, and that’s because Pastor Kerry has given me the freedom to evolve in this position. There’s a lot of straight talk between us. He’s given me permission to speak into his life and his vision. I feel like no matter what happens in the room between Kerry and me, we’re on the same page when we walk out.” For Reeves, sometimes that means submitting despite having a different opinion regarding a decision or a direction. “Kerry is rational and wants to do what’s right,” Reeves said. “Of course, I’m not the only guardrail in his life. He has a variety of mature Christian people who speak into his life. He may go with our thoughts about something, or he may hear us out and say that we’re not going to go in that direction. I think it’s true that people will buy in if they can weigh in, so either way I trust him to make the right decision. Kerry has a long history of making very good decisions.” Reeves said that a second chair leader will do well if he or she is humble, is willing to defer to the first chair, has good people skills and possesses street smarts and good business sense. “I clear a path for Kerry, so I handle a lot of people issues,” Reeves said. “He’s entrusted that to me. I also preach from time to time, so being a good communicator helps. And you have to have a willingness in your spirit to say, ‘It’s his way, not mine.’” In his particular case, Reeves says that having no desire to be a senior pastor helps him remain content with his job. “I’m content with being in the wake of the vision that God has given to Kerry,” he said. “On the main things, like the guiding mission, I’m in lockstep with him. We think alike. I have no tension in my heart regarding how the church is moving ahead. He trusts me to know what the big issues are in his mind, and when it comes to implementation, he trusts me to do it.” Top