Abstract: Case-Studies of Policy and Vision Implementation by the Executive Pastor
by David R. Fletcher
Readers: J. Lanier Burns and John W. Reed, Dallas Theological Seminary
The thesis of this dissertation is that there is a functional need for an Executive Pastor to facilitate policy-and-vision implementation in Elder-led churches. The body of the dissertation is divided into three parts. A literature review examines causative factors relative to the Senior Pastor and church growth, as well as pertinent sources on role aspects of Executive Pastor. The research procedure defines the Case-Study Interview Questions and the Executive Pastor Indicator (XP-I), and statistically establishes the reliability of the Indicator. The case-studies demonstrate the function and need of the Executive Pastor, and validate the Executive Pastor Indicator.
The management crisis of the overburdened Senior Pastor caused the rise of the Executive Pastor. As the size and staff of churches grew, the Senior Pastor was expected to be a superlative preacher and executive. The position of Executive Pastor solves the crisis and serves in Three Multidimensional Roles of Executive, Shepherd, and Assistant. The Executive Pastor has Five Focused Functions of Administrator, Catalyst, Mentor, Minister and Overseer. With a mix of Roles and Functions, the Executive Pastor implements the vision of the Senior Pastor and the policy of the governing board. The rise of the position of Executive Pastor is an indicator of the changing external form of the church in America.
Why the study?
Preaching Pastors are drowning in "church officialdom." "Reflection, study and prayer have always had to compete against the imperious claims of other activities ... Church officialdom is more likely to take note of a pastor mighty in raising money than of a pastor mighty in prayer." -Richard John Neuhaus, Freedom for Ministry, 1st ed. (San Francisco: Harper & Row, Publishers, 1979), 183.
This dissertation presents an answer to the management crisis faced by the Senior Pastor. This study demonstrates the functional need of the Executive Pastor. The role of the Executive Pastor is to implement the vision of the Senior Pastor and the policies of the governing board. The time and energy of the Senior Pastor can then focus on the pastoral disciplines, preaching and casting vision.
"Sometimes I feel like I'm being drowned. There's no modeling for leading a megachurch, and it can be pretty scary. It's like riding a wild tiger. If you stay on, it's a wild ride and you don't know where you are going. But if you get off, you'll get eaten." Anonymous Pastor, Pastors Off the Record: Straight Talk About Life in the Ministry (Downers Grove, Ill.: InterVarsity Press, 1993), 45.
In both large and small churches, Executive Pastors help manage the church, freeing Preaching Pastors to focus on the pastoral disciplines. As this essay is an inaugural work on the functional need and role of the Executive Pastor, there are significant items for future study, such as transitional period of churches adopting the position of Executive Pastor. Important issues remain to be studied, such as how to train future Executive Pastors. As the position continues in the church, entirely new issues will deserve attention.
