Church Planters: Specialists Or Generalists?
As an aspiring pastor, I often feel the pull to decide between these two options. Do I want to be a specialist or a generalist? Just so we're all on the same page, I should define my terms. I consider a specialist as someone who chooses a relatively narrow set of competencies in which to focus the majority of their time and creative energy. A generalist, on the other hand, is someone who essentially makes no such choice, preferring to be a "jack of all trades and master of none."Do I want to be a specialist or a generalist? The question is not so abstract as it seems. If I convince myself that I would prefer to specialize, then there is a good chance I'll end up at a larger church - probably in or near a city - with multiple pastoral staff. I'll probably be in charge of a small number of ministry programs, and I'll be expected to manage them with a pretty high degree of excellence. On the other hand, if I choose to become a generalist, then I might be better suited for a rural church. There I'll probably be the sole pastor and in charge of managing all of the church's ministry programs. So, at least on the surface, it seems like this choice could have a large influence on my future.
Those of you who know me might be surprised to know that, though I feel a pull toward city ministry, I actually aspire to be a generalist. I could never quite get my head around that seeming contradiction until I read the opening paragraph from Chapter 4 of Darrin Patrick's book, Church Planter. After describing his experience at the gym - seeing muscle-heads constantly at the weights and rail-thin runners on the treadmills - he realized that these guys were more comfortable doing what they were already evidently good at. Never did he see rail-thin runners lifting weights, for example. Patrick continues:
I sense the Spirit telling me: it is the same with pastors. Pastors tend to stay in their strengths and avoid their weaknesses. "Theology guys" tend to spend a lot of time reading and discussing dead theologians. "Missional guys" tend to spend a lot of time analyzing culture and drinking lattes. "Shepherding guys" tend to spend a lot of time hanging out with people and counseling them. But rarely do we see pastors step out of their strengths and into areas of weakness. Why is this? Because it's uncomfortable. It is difficult. It is flesh-starving.Patrick is describing something I wish I could have put words to a long time ago. I have a counter-intuitive desire to step away from doing things I do well and trying my hand at something unfamiliar. This desire is especially counter-intuitive to someone me who so often needs to be good at whatever I'm doing.
What a minute. If I need to be good at everything I try my hand at, why would I want to be a generalist? This gets even more to core of where language became useless to me. I know my weakness (needing to be good at everything), yet I feel a pull to try new things. And, thankfully, Patrick is wise enough to follow up the paragraph quoted above with another one answering this very question:
One of the greatest spurs to dependence on God is stepping out of your comfort zone and ministry strengths into your weaknesses. You will feel inadequate, but paradoxically you will be more potent for God's kingdom than ever because you will be forced to depend more on God's power than your own. And ultimately it is only God's power that makes any of us able to accomplish breathing, thinking, and walking, not to mention ministry.That's the kind of paradox I want to live in.
There are a lot of forces pushing pastors to specialize. One of the most perplexing is assessment centers - usually geared toward aspiring church planters - that serve to determine your strengths and weaknesses. There are two ways to take such an assessment, and I fear that the more common response is also the wrong one. That is to read your strengths as areas where you should be focusing your time and energy developing. I believe to respond like this is to miss an opportunity. There is value to knowing the unique ways that God has gifted you. But God wants to use your weakness at least as much as your strength.
I probably straddle the line between "theology guy" and "missional guy." I am not naturally drawn to be a "shepherding guy." It's a gifting thing. But that doesn't mean I'll refuse to shepherd. Patrick, it seems, would encourage someone like me to step out and do some shepherding. I'm glad to be in a church where I have just recently been given that opportunity.
My point in all of this? To the specialist: Don't focus your energy and creativity on one small part of ministry. Do know your strengths and weaknesses. Then ask God in prayer to redeem your weaknesses and use them for His glory. To the generalist: Don't assume that because you can do everything "well enough" that you couldn't do some things better. Start by knowing yourself - your strengths and weaknesses - better. Then do the same thing I recommended the specialists do. Ask God in prayer to redeem your weaknesses and use them for His glory. You'll find that your weakness is the very place that God meets you most powerfully.
