Associate Leaders experience a unique tension. They are leaders, but not senior leaders.  An Associate Leader doesn’t operate independently; he is part of a coordinated whole, and his is not the coordinating hand.

Which raises a question: will you see your role as offering you greater freedom or greater frustration?  Some Associate Leaders choose frustration.  They chafe under the direction of a Senior Leader, longing for fewer restrictions, dreaming of being a Senior Leader themselves.  This path ultimately limits their effectiveness in their present role.  The other choice is to embrace the freedom of the role of Associate Leader.  Here are three keys to choosing freedom:

Embrace The Senior Leader’s Vision Whole-Heartedly

Senior Leaders act, direct and lead out of a vision, so the best way to find freedom as a follower is to embrace your leader’s vision.  Here are two practices that are especially helpful in embracing the Senior Leader’s vision.  First, read what he reads.  The Senior Leader’s vision is being continually informed by the books he reads, the podcasts he listens to, the magazines he reads.  Read what he reads, and you’ll begin to think like he thinks.  Listen to what he listens to, and you’ll begin to value what he values.

Second, publicly affirm his vision.  Our hearts often follow our mouths.  Take every opportunity to explain to others in your congregation what the Senior Leader values, and why the church is making the decisions it is making.   In several months, our church will be adding another service, and I’ve heard several people comment, “Wow! That’s going to be hard, isn’t it?” This is an opportunity to inspire parishioners with the Senior Leader’s vision.  “It’s really exciting,” I reply, “and let me tell you why.”

Pour Your Vision Into Your Areas of Influence

If you are an Associate Leader, then you have specific areas of influence.  You may be responsible for men’s ministries but not for outreach.  You may be responsible for youth ministry but not for pastoral care.  One way to guarantee frustration in ministry is to dream about ways to change ministries over which you have no influence.  If you aren’t responsible for youth ministry, don’t spend any time thinking about how you’d do it differently.  If you aren’t responsible for preaching on Sunday mornings, don’t waste your time thinking about how to improve it.

If you spend time thinking about how to improve ministries you can’t change, then you aren’t spending that time thinking about how to improve ministries you can change.  When I was first hired, the only thing I was responsible for was the bulletin. That was it. So I put all my effort into making the bulletin better.  Overtime, I saw improvement in the bulletin.  If I had spent my time thinking of ways to improve the children’s ministry, I would have seen no improvement at all.

Don’t Harbor Frustration – Deal With It

Any Associate Leader will eventually experience a moment when he understands the Senior Leader’s vision for his specific area of ministry, yet the Associate still disagrees and gets frustrated.  What do you do then?  Here are 3 steps to deal with followership frustrations properly:

1.  Journal about It.  You can’t complain to the people in your church, and that means that you probably shouldn’t be talking about your frustrations to virtually anyone you know.  On the other hand, you need an outlet – a safe way of expressing your thoughts and feelings.  Every pastor should have a journal ready for these moments.

2.  Phone a far off friend. Cultivate friendships with people who have nothing to do with your church.  My best friend lives 3,087 miles from me.  I can call him anytime and whine, freak out, or complain.  He knows nothing about the situation, and he isn’t involved.  Pastors need this kind of friend outside their church.

3.  Pray about it.  Frustration and bitterness are ultimately spiritual issues.  We need God’s help to keep them out of our lives.  Set aside an extended time of prayer, and pray until you’ve fully dealt with the issues in your heart.  Surrender, repent, and give thanks for all the reasons you are glad you are at the church you are at.

Ultimately, if God has called you to serve as an Associate Leader, it is your responsibility to support and uphold the vision of the Senior Leader at your church.  By embracing his vision, pouring your vision into the areas assigned to you, and dealing with frustrations as they come, you will release yourself to experience incredible freedom as an Associate Leader.  By allowing these three keys to align you with what God is already doing at your church, you will experience the greatest possible freedom as a follower.