Earlier this year, Andrew Nixon wrote an article on the 12 hard truths about ministry in Sydney that he learned from overseeing Connect09. As a result of the feedback he is completing a series of blogs on each of these ‘hard truths’. A list of the past blogs can be found here.

10. Our senior ministers are first class people who we have failed to prepare properly for the mission situation we place them in.

You may have heard of the "three-thirds rule”?

When applied to the Sydney Anglican diocese it goes something like: one third of churches are thriving, growing, moving forward; one third are solid, going okay, but static; the final third are struggling, declining, going backwards. 

I had the privilege in 2008/09 to attend the two-day "residentials" at Bishopcourt (the now famous "PJs at PJ's") attended by (virtually) all of the rectors in the diocese. And I have to say that I came away from every one of those tremendously encouraged. 

Having heard the thirds theory, I guess I half expected to meet: one third of brilliant guys; one third of good solid, ordinary fellas; and one third of no-hopers.

Well, that wasn't the case. And I have to say, having spent some time with them talking about mission, we really do have a fantastic bunch of senior ministers in this diocese. I met men who are passionate and prayerful about the gospel of Jesus, who long for the lost to have a saving knowledge of Him. 

Of course, we only sat round a table and talked and prayed about mission. I could not judge their skills and abilities to actually do the things we discussed. Nevertheless, I am confident in saying that the thirds rule - even if it is true - most certainly does not translate simply into: a third of our senior ministers are brilliant, a third are okay, and a third are hopeless. 

There are many factors other than the minister that influence how a church is doing: demographics of the suburb is huge, but also the history of the parish, other staff, lay leaders, the building, geography etc. That said, the leader is certainly a crucial factor, especially in our system of church governance. So let's stick with this one aspect for the moment.

My background is in vocational education and training, specifically in the Royal Australian Navy, and for several years, in leadership training. One of things the military does is recruit young men and women - very early in life, before they have had a chance to do or be anything - and train them to be officers. Officers are fundamentally leaders, but also managers and specialists in various areas. 

Yes, there is entry screening, such as education level and aptitude; and some specialised testing, like colour-sight for engineers, or hand/eye coordination for pilots. But the basic working principle is this: leaders are made not born. Let's face it, how much can you really tell about a person's leadership potential at 18 years of age? (They were class captain? Hall monitor?)

Everything that an officer needs to perform - be it knowledge, skills, even attitudes - is provided via what we called "training". Hence, when problems arise the question is obvious: "How have we failed to train sufficiently in this area?" Closely followed by, "How do we fix it?" The responsibility is corporate. The solution is corporate. And so it should be. 

In addition to teachers and preachers, our senior ministers are expected to be: leaders of staff, pastors to people, volunteer coordinators, counsellors, communicators, small business operators, building custodians, dispute mediators, social workers, money managers. the list goes on. And above all else, I hope, missionaries to their parish.

I am sure I have missed some things, but in the Navy, we called this "job analysis". We then made sure that the training matched up in every area. We took it all pretty seriously as the consequences of poor performance were pretty serious.

What are the consequences of poor performance of our ministers? 

I suspect that to some this question is uncomfortable, if not downright offensive. But I humbly submit that the eternal consequences are far more significant than anything we ever dealt with in the Navy. 

Do we believe that? If so, can we apply some of these basic secular principles to ensure we are properly equipping our 267 mission leaders for the job we are asking them to do? 

Yes, mission is God's work. He is building his kingdom soul by soul. But that doesn't let us off the hook doing our part well does it?