Pastor, “I don’t have the authority to lead” isn’t checkmate. Make your moves.

Picture two pastors with difficult boards. Both feel boxed in. Both wish they had more room to lead. One spends his days looking over his shoulder, waiting for permission that never comes. The other studies the board in front of him and starts making moves. Same constraints. Different belief. Different future. If you’ve ever said, “I don’t have the authority to lead,” here’s what that story costs, and why you have more moves than you think.

The old story: “I don’t have the authority to lead”

I once rented a church building from a pastor. We showed up and couldn’t get in. He said, “Hold on a second, I have to go get the keys.” Then he explained that his board didn’t even let him, the lead pastor, have keys to the church. The elder board had hired him to preach on Sunday, and that was it.

Think about how little trust that is. Bizarre, I know. But most pastors feel a lesser version of it. You’ve got one small area where you’re allowed to do things, and you’re always looking over your shoulder: at the board, at a spouse, at someone from the past.

What it costs

The cost is paralysis. You start living like you’re being acted upon. “I’m stuck. I’m in checkmate. It’s horrible.” And while you wait for “maybe next year my board will let me lead,” people are dying without Christ.

That’s why I’ll say it plainly: if you’re paralyzed waiting for permission, that’s not on your board anymore. That’s on you.

Breaking the old story

Here’s the picture I want you to hold: every leader is dealt a chessboard, and everyone’s board is different. You can be upset at the board you were dealt, or you can learn to make the right moves with faith, excitement, and passion, and be thankful for the authority you do have.

Where we get into trouble is thinking we’re in checkmate when we’re not. So really assess your board. Who comes off the elder board? Who comes on? How fast? How can you get the gospel down the field? What change can you implement? Count the cost of each move and how long it will take. Many times you think you’re in checkmate, but you’re just not willing to make a sacrifice to make something happen. A lot of people quit without making moves.

And size doesn’t save you. You can be at a church of 5,000 and be in checkmate. A paycheck isn’t the same thing as moves.

Let me say this with love: the people on most boards are not people trained to lead the local church. You are the pastor. Act like it. Stop letting your board lead you, and start leading your board. That takes ownership, personal responsibility, and the courage to have hard conversations, including about church governance.

Now, if you are genuinely in checkmate, out of moves, you still have agency. You can leave. You can go serve at another church, start a church, work somewhere else, or step out for a season and come back. That can feel like failure. It isn’t. Sometimes leaving is the best thing for the gospel. You’re never truly stuck.

The new belief: I courageously lead with the authority I have

God has given you the ability to speak, to have conversations, to make moves. Your allegiance is to Jesus and His gospel, not to a spot. If you can further the gospel where you are, lead with every bit of authority you’ve been given. If you can’t, go find a new board in service of Jesus Christ.

What to do this week

1. Map your board. Literally. Who comes off, who comes on, and how fast? What would healthy governance look like in two or three years?
2. Make one move. Pick one thing you’ve been waiting on someone else’s permission to do, count the cost, and make the move this week.
3. Pray honestly about the bigger move. If you truly can’t further the gospel where you are, bring it to the Lord. Making a move somewhere else is not failure.

You probably have far more moves than you’ve seen. Look at the board again, thank God for the authority He’s given you, and lead with it. When you start making those moves, you’re going to see a lot more life in your leadership, in Jesus’ name.