I recently heard a conference speaker lament the fact that the lead team at a majority of the churches she works with are older men in plaid shirts. She is not wrong. When I look at church websites I am always amazed at how little diversity there is at the top. Its almost always white men in their 40s and 50s wearing plaid shirts. In other words, they look just like me. I am hopeful over the next few years we will see that trend turn as women, people of color and younger leaders are added to the mix. Its one of the biggest challenges the church faces today.
As a member of the old men/plaid shirt tribe (I’m wearing one as I write), however, I’d like to give a different perspective. Not opposing, just different. I agree that change has to come to the church, if for no other reason than the fact all of us old white guys will be in Heaven soon. (And there are many other, better reasons for change.) I just want to give the view from our seat. In these conversations it often feels like we are dinosaurs, irrelevant, in the way. Our gray hair, or lack of hair, seems to be a sign pointing to the exit. It feels like our best contribution going forward is to quit, retire or die. We are the problem and our absence is the solution. I am in no way saying this is the intent or the tone of those arguing for diversity at the table; I am simply sharing how it feels sitting on the other side.
We don’t want to be in the way, we don’t want to be dead weight taking up limited space at the table. On the other hand we don’t feel like our contribution is over. We have decades of experience, we have faced challenges younger leaders have yet to walk through, hopefully we’ve picked up some wisdom along the way. While we can’t speak for women, Millennials, African Americans or Latinos and we do not know what it is like to be an immigrant, an outsider, a minority, we do know the narrative of the church. We shed blood, sweat and tears building the church. We led through disasters like 9/11, the Iraq war and the Great Recession. We are like Farmers Insurance, “We know a thing or two because we’ve seen a thing or two.” We don’t want to block the entrance, but we feel like we can still contribute as we’re headed for the exit.
In addition to pointing out the inequity of the current leadership structure in churches, I think we need creative paths forward. How can we promote and develop the leaders who are not currently at the table without patronizing and discarding the leaders who are already there? I believe the answer is more about addition than subtraction; additional leaders, additional teams, additional roles. Let’s have deep and difficult conversations about what individual leaders do bring to the table, and then reshape roles around strengths rather than aspirations or age. Let’s avoid easy answers and reach rather for solutions that honor the experience and leadership gifts God has given each of us.
As for the plaid shirts, just think of them as old guy tattoos.
