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Hello friends,
A critical foundation of a healthy organization culture is how much priority you give to succession.
Leaders often don’t think about generational succession. Maybe they’re in the thick of the ministry work and don’t have time to think about it. But more often than not, leaders avoid thinking about succession because of long-held assumptions and fears about what it might look like to consider letting go of the authority they have.
In our work in East Asia, we had the privilege of hosting a conversation between three generations of leaders in a particular church network. This conversation revealed why succession was so difficult for them.
A first-generation leader pointed out that when he was just getting started in ministry, the Church in their nation was in the middle of intense persecution. Therefore, generational succession was one of the last things on their mind. They were concerned more with survival.
“We did not have theological training, did not have enough Bibles. Everything was achieved through prayer. At that time, our ministry was mostly done at night. We didn’t understand what true leadership was; we just knew our spiritual fathers were our leaders, so we obeyed them. The relationships between the generations among all the believers were strong; our fathers and sons and daughters served together. There was unity and love in the midst of challenging, difficult storms and struggles, but there was no intentional succession going on.”
When it came time for them to pass on the treasure they carried, however, this lack of intentional succession posed some problems. Perhaps due to the influence of their culture or assumptions made by both generations, leaders would reach their 70s or 80s and still maintain their power in the church. A key second-generation leader said:
“I know a pastor — his son is also a top leader of a church, and his grandson is also a leader in the church. The leader, who is 86 years old, often got very upset or very angry at his son and grandson because they didn’t respect his authority enough to consult him on everything in ministry. At 86 years old!
As leaders, whenever we got together, the only thing we talked about was ministry, about the church. We never talked about the issue of succession and the need to give power away. We never touched that topic, and that is the greatest crisis of our church.”
Other second- and third-generation leaders identified trust issues.
“The father’s concern was, can I trust you to take the responsibility? After I give leadership responsibility to you, will you still listen to me? Our generation also had trust issues: After you die, will you give the leadership responsibility to me or to someone else?”
Besides trust, fear was another common issue, in every generation. Several older generation leaders weighed in on their original fears when it came to succession:
“The younger generations have many qualifications, but they lack experience. They have passion, but they do not have enough perseverance. We were afraid that they would just throw away the traditions we had developed over decades. The second fear is that once they take power into their hands, they have the authority and position to get rid of, or silence, the older generation. … Our primary fear was that nobody would accept the responsibility, that no one would be there to receive it.”
It turns out that the younger generation shared some of these fears themselves. A third-generation leader said:
“I would wonder, “Am I ready to take this responsibility?” Our younger generation does not have the favor, resources and relationships our fathers did. We’re also afraid that there are people who are better than us, that we will not be respected, that our leadership will not be accepted.
Every time they gave us responsibility they would say, “You will do better than us.” We felt tremendous pressure. We would think, “Am I really about to do greater work than he has done? If I do worse than he did, what will he do to me?” Our thinking is not the same as our fathers. What if there were disagreement or conflicts? Maybe they would take the responsibility back! When our fathers gave us responsibility, they just said, “You take it,” but they didn’t tell us how to take it. We took the responsibility in great darkness.”
If any of these fears or assumptions feel familiar to you, congratulations! You’re a normal leader. But they can’t stand in the way of you and your organization looking to the future. And the future involves succession.
Here’s Malcolm with more:
“Put yourself in the shoes of the other generation. Try to see things from their perspective.
And serve them.”
Communication is key, and so is humility.
The primary thing that Malcolm is getting at in this teaching — the thing that makes succession actually work well — is communication. As older and younger generations communicate honestly, respectfully and humbly with one another about their responsibilities, needs and fears, we begin to realize that we are aligned in more ways than we thought. We are challenged and convicted, encouraged and exhorted.
This is how God’s Church should function. Think about all that we miss out on when we are afraid to embrace a culture of succession!
Here are some of the beautiful things that happen when succession is prioritized in an organization.
When asked at a training if there was one question she could ask the previous generation of leaders, one young Middle Eastern leader said this:
“I would ask what it was that made them stand for Him, no matter what happened. I want to receive the love that they had and have for the Lord. I want to know what it was that they experienced in the Lord and His love that enabled them to stand and face all the difficulties, suffering, and persecution — and still serve Him with great joy. I want to have the same love for Him.”
In India, an older leader shared how the younger generation’s passion, expressed during a training on succession, inspired her:
“As I was listening, I remembered back 20 years, when I was a youth. Back then I was much more zealous for God! I felt that this vision provided me with a new opportunity to engage with the purposes of God.”
And an older leader in a small East Asian church told his young leaders what they really needed to hear:
“It’s okay if you don’t do it perfectly — you’ll have to make decisions one day, and we believe in you.”
These all evidence healthy, loving communication. They also show that the emphasis is no longer on who has the power and authority in the organization, but on keeping the main thing the main thing. They have identified the treasure that the older generation longs to pass on, and the next generation longs to receive.
A second-generation pastor in that network in East Asia put it well:
“Our church was birthed and built through suffering. … The history of the church clearly testifies of the quality of spiritual life our fathers have. They have proved themselves sacrificial. They have no concern for themselves, just for God and for the church, and for the believers in the church. Their love, their sacrifice, and their character is undeniable. They are founded in the Scripture, built through prayer, centered around the Cross, and directed at the vision of the Great Commission. They seek the power of the Holy Spirit.
This is the heritage of our church. This is the quality of life of our fathers and mothers.
… So as the younger generation, we want to make sure we inherit and pass on the same quality of spiritual life, the love, and the sacrifice that our fathers and mothers have displayed.”
What About You?
The next step for you might be to get together with leaders of different generations in your ministry and identify the responsibilities, needs and fears for each of them. Here’s a few questions that might help you to do that:
What stops you from thinking about and enacting succession in your organization or church?
Evaluate the older generation’s responsibilities. Have they changed from ten or fifteen years ago? If they haven’t, what has been the cost?
For the older generation: which of the younger’s needs are you meeting? Have you invested in them relationally, or just given them advice?
For both generations: What are you most afraid of losing in the process of succession?
If you’re encountering specific problems in this area, let us know in the comments. We’d love to help get these conversations going. And don’t forget to check out our course on succession in the recommended resources. It goes a lot deeper!
Recommended Resources
Story: A Conversation with Three Generations about Succession
Video Course: Shaping a Culture of Generational Succession
Model Brief: LeaderStream
Article: God’s Vision for the Generations
For more resources, visit our website.
We’re so grateful to our friends at Fifty-Four Collective for helping us create these videos and for providing top-notch leader development online training. Check out what they’re doing!