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The questions that come up for church leaders can stump even the most experienced. What are we going to do about the missing young adult demographic? Where do we need to allocate more resources to sustain and strengthen the ministry for the next five to seven years?
People often want clear answers and expect the minister to be confident, decisive and unequivocal. However, a pastor’s willingness to say “I don’t know” can be a gift both to the pastor and to their congregation.
Congregations often crave certainty from leaders when too much change is happening too fast. Maybe church membership is in decline, or a recent conflict has hurt morale. In the process, pastors can become the focal point for the church’s tension. When the pastor reacts to this situation by trying to meet the expectation of certainty, this can lead to unintended consequences. Doubt is silenced. Lament and discernment are pushed aside.
Although leaders do need to be competent and resourceful, Scripture affirms the importance of being able to live with holy ambiguity. Almost the entire book of Job is an unanswered question. Abraham took a journey without being completely certain of the destination. Paul names the experience of not knowing what to pray for in Romans 8:26. Faithful leaders practice trust when they do not have control.
When we can say that we do not know, we model for our congregations that faith does not require having all the answers. And not knowing does not mean we are helpless. Acknowledging that we don’t have all the answers invites opportunities for shared discernment. People around us become less defensive because they are less afraid of being wrong. Ultimately, not knowing creates space for the Spirit to move in ways that surpass our expectations. Not knowing makes us uncomfortable, but what might be possible if we reframe being honest about not knowing as a sacred practice for Christian leaders?
Resources
God’s call for us can be ever-changing
Vocation may not be a single, fixed thing. The location and context of ministry can change, writes a teacher and United Methodist lay leader.
By Lindsay Pulido
How to lead as a pastor when you’re uncertain of your own future
A Scottish pastor facing possible deportation because of a backlog in visas for religious workers reflects on leading a congregation amid deep personal uncertainty.
By Gary D. Noonan
Shifting perspective hones leadership skills
When we shift perspective as leaders, we pause, slow down and consider fresh possibilities in the face of challenges, writes a director of programs and grants for Leadership Education at Duke Divinity.
By Elizabeth Tamez Méndez
The opportunity of fruitful fear
How we honor fear’s presence and consider its purpose can shift its role in our lives.
By Kelly Ryan
Before you go
I can’t tell you the number of times I’ve had someone ask me to share “my vision” for the church. What I’ve learned is that my vision is too small. The church needs God’s vision. And one of the first steps to discerning God’s vision is to confess that you do not know what it is.
We think that leadership is defined by steely-eyed certainty, but that’s not always true. Sometimes great leadership involves having the humility to admit our need for God to reveal what is “abundantly far more than all we can ask or imagine” (Ephesians 3:20, NRSVUE). May your not knowing lead you to the God who knows all.
You can always reach me and the Alban Weekly team at alban@duke.edu. Until next week, keep leading!
Prince R. Rivers
Editor, Alban at Duke Divinity