Week 12 - Anton Folz April 7th 09

Week 12
Formal Leadership Theory – Anton Folz
April 7th 09

At Lakeview Wesleyan Church, the church that my wife and I have been attending now for almost four years has gone through some fairly dramatic changes in the past two years. The church has gone through a large building addition, some very tough financial matters that involved stolen monies, and a change in the senior pastor. Through all of this I personally have seen how the Situational Leadership principal has come into play at our local church. As the church was going through the building project, the church was in a circumstance where they really needed a leader that was willing to motivate them to give and to make the sacrifice so that more ministries and avenues for the church could be open to the people in the community. That was exactly what they needed and what they received.
As the church began to discover what had happened with the stolen money, they needed a leader that would then be able to walk with them through the time of mourning and then forgiveness, so that they could then heal. This was and still is a very sensitive and hard issue for many in the church, but overall the leadership has helped to provide guidance to the people as to how they should walk through this difficult time and how they can then move on. After this circumstance, the situation is now beginning to change again and there has been a great need for a leader that can motivate and help lift the sprit of the congregation. A leader was needed to help the people feel as though they had a real reason to continue giving, and that the church was and is recovering. The current senior pastor has been able to motivate the people to give, and he has been a tool from the Lord to help encourage the people that they are a part of a church that is growing and in the recovery state.
So by looking at the leadership and situations over the past several years at Lakeview Church, one is able to see how the situational leadership principal has played its part. Through all the circumstances God has led and He continues to lead. He has provided the right leadership and the right type of leadership from those leaders as the times have changes and the situations have required special attention.