Thriving In The Second Chair

The number of second chair leaders in churches and other ministries continues to grow rapidly. Churches operate with the leadership of paid and unpaid staff who are not the senior or lead pastor. Laity, licensed local pastors, and program ministry leaders are critical to the health and success of churches. In a new trend, there are far more executive pastors today than ten years ago. The campus pastor, another type of second chair leader, is also a rapidly growing group. Thriving in the Second Chair identifies and explores ten “key factors to thrive” (KFT’s) that determine whether someone truly thrives or barely survives in this vital but complex position. These ten factors are grouped into three sections: (1) the relationship with the first chair, (2) the definition and key meta-skills for the role, and (3) the personal and spiritual attributes that sustain leaders. Each factor is described in a separate chapter that includes the conceptual framework, real-life examples from the author’s own second chair ministry as well as that of many others, and practical steps to move toward thriving. Readers will be encouraged and equipped as they discover the keys to Thriving in the Second Chair.