The Slacker Leadership Model

And just when I've all but written off the emergent movement, they go and produce this little gem of an article!


THE SLACKER LEADERSHIP MODEL
by Casey Tygrett

I admit it, I’m a slacker. I do nonsense things like have two-hour conversations with friends or church members when I should be up and about doing “administrative” things for the church. In the eyes of some Christian leaders, I’m not quite the type that should be leading a healthy community of believers. From the previously celebrated leadership paradigm, I would have to agree with them.

Can a case be made that the best perspective on leadership and ministry for the emerging church will come from “slackers?” By “slackers,” let’s from now on understand that I mean those who do not fit the CEO/Type-A mentality that was the hallmark of American Christian leadership a decade ago. Leaders who are driven to see productivity and efficiency increase within the Body of Christ, ultimately culminating in a new facility or national recognition. I realize this stereotype is laughably general, but the core of it is still taught as normative for Christian leaders. Me, I’m not that guy—I’d rather spend my time talking to our people about what kind of music they like or who they most admired as a child than working on flow charts and organizational development models. What does this say about leadership for the emerging church?

We are in an age of transition, especially in the area of rethinking faith and ekklesia, where we are hard pressed to find models by which to do ministry and leadership. Christ’s model of ministry seems to have less to do with motivating people and “coaching” (as one egregious leadership book recently suggested) and more to do with wasting time involving himself in the life of the people who surrounded Him. In the last few months, I have discovered that the things my seminary leadership profs taught as normative actually take me out of the culture and society that exists in my community. Now, I am not advocating “laziness” or “passivity” in ministry because there is still a drive and passion for those of us involved in leadership ministry to see the Kingdom grow. The key question is: Have we set up a personality model that is incongruous with the model of leadership and ministry set by Christ?

The “slacker” mentality for leadership, I believe, has some distinctive characteristics:

Life is holistically present in “slacker” leadership. We lead with our whole life and existence, fresh and on the surface of who we are. The illusion of “having it together” for the sake of vision and mission momentum is a false notion because it is not a normal human life. Figure heads have starved the Kingdom of leadership that is real and tangible in every sense, even in the daily failures and struggles of life. Instead of actively putting on a front of professionalism, let the energy of protection slip in lieu of authentic personhood.


People are the “process.” It is difficult to come to the realization that as a leader you have used people simply to effect the change or execution of an organizational plan. The parables of lost things should show us that each life is invaluable to God. The “slacker” leadership takes seriously each person’s life and circumstances above their own plans for organizational advancement. In this case, working to have everyone “on board” takes on a whole new meaning: it now means a level of respect and relationship that comes with time wasted in conversation and shared experience.


Personality has little to do with leadership. In our effort to line up spiritual gifts, we have lost the focus that if leadership is “influence,” then we are all leaders in our lives. Everything that we do and don’t do influences someone, somewhere, somehow. It appears from the ministry of Christ that He was attempting to slow down the pace of life and center people’s attention on the Kingdom. “You don’t need the corporate-driven mindset to lead people. Slow down, hang out with me. Let the afternoon slip by while you and I get down to business about who you are and what you’re doing with my kids.” Slackers have an insight into life because their personality enables them to stop and look at it without feeling like they’ve wasted their time.

There is a sense that I might be wrong, or that this may not make sense to anyone else. Yet as we look toward the future of the Kingdom in the “already” stage, what do we need more of: organizational structure and professionalism in ministry, or leaders who are humble enough to let down their guard and value wasting time with people for the sake of Christ? I think there is insight in the slacker mentality toward leadership, and if nothing else it helps us slip the driven and professional paradigm that seems to inexplicably lead to burnout and frustration. As a leader, take today and waste it with someone. Be a slacker for the sake of the Kingdom.