The Strong Link Church
By John Pennylegion, October 24, 2022.
During season one of his podcast, “Revisionist History,” in the episode, “My little hundred million,” Malcolm Gladwell introduced me to the idea of strong link vs. weak link when it comes to sports. At its most basic, a weak link team is one that is built around a single great athlete. While a strong link team is one where there may or may not be a singularly outstanding player, but the team as a whole is talented. The weak can get by, win a game, or maybe even a championship with a team of supporters around an incredible player. The example Gladwell gives is basketball. Add Lebron (or whoever is the most dominant player at the time) to any team and they automatically become a contender. They may not necessarily win the championship, but they’ll certainly be in the running. The links (other players) of the team, while still important, don’t have to be “strong.” The example of a strong link sport is that of soccer. In soccer, the team that has eleven good players, will usually best the team with one superstar surrounded by ten sub-par players. To be successful in soccer you want to be a strong linked team.
Whether you buy his hypothesis regarding sports or not, it got me thinking about how this principle could or could not apply to the church. Very quickly I realized that many (maybe most?) churches and subsequently many pastors (probably most!) function like the church is a weak link community. Why do I say this?
Think of the last pastor search you witnessed. Maybe you observed it as a church member or maybe you experienced this as a pastor looking for a new position. What is the subtle, and sometimes not so subtle, message that is often communicated in these searches? We need to hire the right guy. This right guy will have dynamic vision, courageous leadership, administrative gifts, counsel that is insightful, preaching that is engaging, evangelistic abilities that will lead to conversions, etc., etc., etc. Implied by this half a step removed from Jesus, is that this right pastor will be everything we ever needed and everything that we have been missing. If you’re on the pastor side of this interaction, the one who is looking at the new position, it’s easy to start to think, “I am the guy they are needing! Once I’m there, the church will take off, conversions, growth, and buildings if, and that’s a big if, they follow my lead.”
This is describing a weak link mentality. Get the “superstar” and surround him with “role” players and everything will take off. And this may work… for a time.
If you’re a pastor, you probably know not to say these things out loud. But it’s easy to think them, isn’t it?
I remember my first pastoral internship. I had completed two years of seminary and was returning to my home church for the summer. I remember thinking (I knew better than to say it), “I can’t wait to share with them everything I’ve learned. This church of 800, they’ll greatly benefit from the two years of theological education I’ve acquired.” Before I go on, let me just say, GROSS! Looking back, all I can think of is the arrogance, the assumption, the youthful hubris. Yet, I’m pretty sure I’m not the only pastor, seminarian, or intern who has had these internal thoughts.
These thoughts revealed that I was operating off a weak link mentality. I would be the strong link that, at least for a summer, would bring maturity, growth, and Christ-likeness.
But what if the church was never meant to be a weak link community? What if the pastor was never supposed to be the only strong link that held everything together?
I don’t intend to imply that an individual’s life doesn’t matter or that a single person can’t or shouldn’t have a significant impact upon another. There are people who have had a profound influence on my life. Women and men who the Lord used over the course of years, months, or in just a moment to give direction. Kim has demonstrated compassion in beautifully unique ways. Scott has shown me generosity. Steve is loyal unlike many others I know. Susan, Jeff, Doug, and Suzy have shown care. Ryan has taught me leadership. Randy patience. Travis cares for those who are lost. Daniel and Beth have shown sincere curiosity. The list could go on and on…
This is beautiful. These are gifts to me. These are gifts to the church. And, individuals, though a blessing to a community, are not what the community is built upon nor what people should presume to always have.
You see, as beautiful as these individuals are, the danger is that when we experience their gifts, we seek to build the church around one of these individuals. But no man or woman can bear that weight. No one except Jesus. You see, when we long for the wisest of sages, the resolve of leaders, and the profound questions that stir reflection, what we’re longing for is the Savior. And none of us, including me, is the Savior.
There is a Savior, there is a Christ, and he is not Penny.
Yet, out of his kindness to his church, he has made us so that we aren’t a weak link but a strong link community in which every member is being fit together to be part of the whole. In 1 Corinthians 12, Paul, having declared that each member of the church is given gifts for the common good (v. 7), he uses what has become a familiar analogy to many, that of the church as a body. He says,
“For the body does not consist of one member but of many. If the foot should say, ‘Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,’ that would not make it any less a part of the body…If the whole body were an eye, where would be the sense of hearing? If the whole body were an ear, where would be the sense of smell?...The eye cannot say to the hand, ‘I have no need of you,’ nor again the head to the feet, ‘I have no need of you.’”…But God has so composed the body, giving greater honor to the part that lacked it, that there may be no division in the body, but that the members may have the same care for one another…” (1 Cor 12:14-26).
Among other things, what is apparent is that the church is to be made up of many parts and each part is needed. For us to function as God intended, we need one another.
Perhaps one of the best things that helped reinforce this to me was my sabbatical. Now, I’m sure you’re thinking that it was great for me because of the extended rest, the time away, the books I could read, the time with family, and the opportunity to travel. Those things were wonderful and I’m incredibly grateful for them. Yet, related to this idea of strong vs. weak link communities, my sabbatical was helpful because it strengthened my understanding that what my congregation ultimately needs isn’t me. This isn’t some sense of false humility; I believe the Lord has called me to be the Sr. Pastor to this people. To love them, to share the gospel with them, to walk alongside them. So, when I say, “what they need isn’t me,” I’m not saying that I shouldn’t be here (I believe I’m called here), instead it’s a recognition that a healthy church, which I believe Christ the King in Roanoke, VA is, isn’t dependent upon a single leader.
I was truly away for three months. I didn’t respond to emails. I attended a different church. I didn’t stand behind the pulpit and proclaim God’s word. And do you know what? The church is still there. People continued to worship God. They continued to receive the sacraments. They continued to hear the gospel and grow in their love of Christ and one another. We even hired a youth intern, who I didn’t meet until my first day back. And why? Because the church isn’t built around me. It’s not a weak link community, but a strong link.
Yes, God uses individuals, and calls specific leaders to preach, administer the sacraments, and direct the church; there is a unique call to those who pastor. And of course, some are stronger than others. Yet, no matter how strong a pastor may be, we must, especially those who are pastors, remember pastors are but a link. We might be the most noticeable link, the link with the most responsibility, but we are still a link in the chain.
As pastors and leaders, how can we live this out? We can encourage participation in areas that are often associated only with the senior leader. For example, not always leading the meeting but giving others the opportunity to lead when it’s their area of ministry that’s being discussed. Give others authority to recruit, pursue, and hire positions over which they will have responsibility. Share the pulpit with other pastors and have them continue in the series you’re preaching, thereby communicating that you’re not the only one who can preach this passage. Trust other staff and leaders to make decisions and support them when they make decisions.
What if you’re not in formal leadership? How can you live as a part of the chain? Participate and engage in the work of ministry at your local church. Don’t wait to be asked to set up communion, clean up the coffee, or serve in the nursery – jump in. When you come up with an idea for a new ministry endeavor, don’t expect that the pastor must be the one who will run it, but help to plan and recruit people for it. Listen to the advice and direction the senior leadership gives but be willing to own the implementation of an idea.
Whether you are called to lead or not, whether you have up front gifts that everyone sees or gifts that are behind the scenes, we are all links in the chain that is the church. So go implement your skills, seek to use your talents as a blessing to others, and use your gifts for the sake of Christ’s church.
John Pennylegion is senior pastor of Christ the King Presbyterian Church in Roanoke, Virginia and author of “I Am: The Statements of Jesus,”.
