Leading from the Second Chair

As I type, Mercy Me is singing "Rocking Around the Christmas Tree" on "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno." Mercy Me did the song "I Can Only Imagine." It's good to see another group composed of Christians who is able to perform on this influential show.

Our friend and upstairs neighbor of last year, Chris Goppert, sent us a summary by Jim Fann of the book Leading from the Second Chair: Serving Your Church, Filling Your Role, and Realizing Your Dreams by Mike Bonem, Roger Patterson, and Greg Hawkins. Fann is church health director of the Evangelical Free Church of America.

While I haven't read the book, the summary makes it sound like it's well worthwhile.

In summary, it develops the notion of leading from the 2nd chair (a position occupied by the majority of leaders in the church), rather than from the 1st chair. The authors state that "a 2nd chair leader is a person in a subordinate role whose influence with others adds value throughout the organization." They use Joseph (in Genesis) as an example of someone who led from the 2nd chair.

2nd chair leaders, while they have their own particular ministry responsibilities and visions, have the opportunity to make the organization better, if they are committed to cultivating influence and adding value to the organization. 2nd chair leaders are big picture people who habitually look across the functioning of the broader organization. While they might not be involved in every decision or ministry, their perspective is organization wide. They are always looking for ways to improve the organization. Their motive is a servant's heart, rather than self-serving motives.

Fann raises some good questions at the end of his summary.

1. How well are you doing under someone else's authority? What growth points is this experience surfacing?
2. Are you looking for positional authority or becoming a person of influence? What evidence do you have that this is the case?
3. How would you rate your relationships with the others in your area of responsibility? How would they rate you?
4. Is the church or ministry you serve better because of your influence? What evidence do you have that this is the case?
5. In what ways do you positively affect the entire ministry, not just your piece throughout?
6. What is your most needed leadership growth point this year? What specifically will you do to make improvement in this area?