Would Churches Be Healthier Without Formal Leadership?

Lance Ford, Rob Wegner, and Alan Hirsch, The Starfish and the Spirit: Unleashing the Leadership Potential of Churches and Organizations. Zondervan, 2021. 336 pages.

Movements. Missional. Multiplication.

These are the three dominant words in the church planting conversation, both in North America and abroad. The Starfish and the Spirit represents these emphases well.

Summary

The strange title of the book is borrowed from a New York Times secular leadership book named The Starfish and the Spider: The Unstoppable Power of Leaderless Organizations.

The basic premise of these books is that if you cut off the head of a spider, you kill the entire organism. Likewise, if an organization (like a church) puts its emphasis on a hierarchy of leadership and something bad happens, you kill the organization. The starfish doesn’t have that problem. If you cut it in half it will morph into two separate starfishes (2).

“[The Starfish and the Spirit] is a clear call toward the movemental, decentralized form of church and the pursuant form of leadership required . . . our end goal is to see the church as a movement reactivated,” its authors state (9).

This “starfish movement” (152) leans upon Scripture about the priesthood of all believers. It suggests our gifts are quenched by authority structures that quiet us and then quell church planting multiplication. The secret to unlocking the potential is to de-centralize the church so that it is able to spread further and faster by creating intentional discipleship environments (IDEs) that result in a multiplication of discipleship movements (MDMs) that lead to the multiplication of disciples, leaders, houses, hubs (larger churches), and networks that lead to the fullness of Jesus in the world (295).

Evaluation

While I’m so thankful for the imaginative and aggressive call to plant churches and leaning into what God is doing with each individual Christian, there is more to be concerned about than to be commended.

1. Sin, Not Structures

Put simply, hierarchal structures aren’t hindering the spread of the gospel; it’s the basic sinfulness and apathy of the average confessing Christian. Jesus’s basic message was “repent and believe” (Mark 1:14–15). If apathy and sin aren’t seen as the primary problem plaguing the church, then we might just multiply something other than the fullness of the life of Christ.

2. Elders and Deacons

While the authors give a faint nod towards elders and deacons naturally being recognized, I didn’t see a single reference to the very authority structures that the Lord provided for us so clearly in his Word. Passages like 1 Timothy 3:1–13, Titus 1:5–9, and 1 Peter 5:1–3 were never addressed. For that matter, the pastoral epistles in general were barely referenced. The command of Hebrews 13:17 to “obey your leaders” was uninfluential. Should we de-centralize to the point of ignoring the Lord’s desire for leadership in the church?

3. Warnings?!

These kinds of books never seem to engage with the concerns of false professions and deception in the New Testament. Jesus warned us of two kinds of “Christians” that weren’t actually Christians in the parable of the soils (Mark 4:1–20). Paul had a constant “anxiety for all the churches” (2 Cor. 11.28) due to slippage in doctrine and life, such that he warned Timothy on numerous occasions (i.e., 1 Tim. 4:1–2) and exhorted another church to “anathema” preachers of a different gospel (Gal. 1:9). Jude has to tell the church to “contend for the faith” in light of error (Jude 3). John has to clarify what it really means to be a Christian (1 John), as he is aware of a church that “left its first love” (Rev. 2:4).

Multiplication-centered books are so focused on starting churches that they ignore the danger of false professions. As a result, they may unintentionally celebrate churches that become factories of deception and, therein, counter-productive to their intended goal: more churches that spread the name and fame of Jesus.

Conclusion

I appreciate the calls to discipleship and church planting in this book. Likewise, as a Baptist, I appreciate the calls to lean into the work the Lord is doing in each individual believer.

But we do no favors to the kingdom of heaven by ignoring clear standards and concerns because of our good desire to spread the gospel. The goal is not merely to spread but to offer true worship to our risen King. Therefore, we don’t need pragmatism and new techniques built on unbelievers’ zoological observations. We need zeal that is built on the rock of the ancient Word of Christ. We need leaders who won’t stifle but fan the flame of discipleship by holding out a vision of God’s glory that is so excellent we can’t help but spend ourselves for its advance!