I’ve had the privilege to study leadership theory. I was trained as a pastoral coach, assessor of leadership potential and served as an advisor to churches, both nationally and internationally. While each of those endeavors proved profitable at the time, none of them prepared me to process the major shift that is about to take place on the landscape of Church leadership in the United States. 

Many have been faithfully trained in our Bible Colleges, Seminaries, and training institutes. While those institutions will not disappear, a new breed of Church leadership will emerge coming from areas of cultural influence not directly linked to the production of professional clergy. 

From the seven spheres/mountains of cultural influence – Government, Religion, Education, Economy, Arts & Entertainment, Media and Family – will come leaders who have not been processed in an institution but were trained by the Spirit in their field of calling. These new leaders will bring to the Church a fresh understanding of Kingdom expansion. They will lead the Church without all the attachments we had previously assumed were necessary to fulfill their calling.

These leaders will not use the language and methods of previous generations. They will speak in the language of the marketplace. They will see no need to leave their place of influence to lead the Church. They will remain engaged helping their membership see and experience a new vision of ministry in the marketplace.  

This new pool of leaders will not operate out of religious protocol or feel the need to filter their actions through the approval funnel of accepted speech or reproduce existing models of ministry that may no longer be able to accomplish our mission. They will be pioneers of a new era in the Church that will accelerate and accomplish the Great Commission in new and unprecedented ways.