SP-XP Communication

One of the vital elements of the XP role is that of communication between the Executive Pastor and the Senior Pastor. The core of the XP-SP relationship is one of trust. Many new XPs are hired because they already have a solid relationship with the SP. This trust relationship allows the senior team to focus on mission critical issues.

One aspect of trust is plenty of “heads-up” communication. I mean by this the ability of the XP to alert the SP of critical upcoming issues. “It looks like we may have an issue brewing with the seniors,” would be an example. Just as XPs don’t like to be surprised by staff that report to them, so SPs like to have plenty of “heads-up” time on upcoming issues.

The same is true with governing boards. Few boards like “ministry surprises.” They like to know of issues in the church that may start with a simmer, proceed to a boil, and end with a spill-over. This takes careful attention to devote the time to sharing the progress of ministry issues. With your SP, this means that you have to be proactive in bringing issues to your discussion time.

Don’t wait for the SP to ask questions about an area. Bring up issues that might become problems. Get some advice and decide on your plan to handle them. This will keep the trust component of your relationship alive and well.

By David Fletcher|2016-10-12T11:00:37-05:00December 17th, 2012|XP-SP Relationship|

About the Author: David Fletcher

As an experienced pastor, Fletch knows church life. As a professor, he delivers insightful material. As a seasoned coach, he helps you grow. Dr. David Fletcher is often called "The Dean of Executive Pastors." Fletch was a pastor for 35 years in churches from 1,000-8,000 members, single and multisite, churches with mergers, camps, schools, apartments and cafés. He founded XPastor in 2003 and its 1,300 free articles from over 350 authors have become a principal resource for leaders in a complex church world.