In a world obsessed with quick fixes and constant innovation, three prominent theologians are calling church leaders to embrace a radically different approach: the courage to wait on God.
In part two of a compelling Pivot Podcast conversation, Dr. Andy Root, the Rev. Dr. Michael Binder, and the Rev. Dr. Dwight Zscheile challenge the prevailing wisdom about church growth and leadership. Their message?Â
True innovation in ministry might look more like slowing down than speeding up.
The Power of Doing Less
“If it’s not going well, I’m working too hard.” Andy often reflects on this simple yet profound statement, attributed to the late New Testament scholar Don Juel.
“Stop. Open your hands and wait on God. Attend to the people around you,” Andy says. This counters the common impulse church leaders experience to add more programs or work longer hours when faced with challenges.
Michael agrees: “Give yourself as a leader and give your community permission to streamline and prune and stop doing things because the temptation is to get busier, to add more. And that is the least helpful thing right now if you are trying to help your community learn how to follow God.”
“Holy pruning” isn’t about cutting for the sake of cutting, but about creating space for what truly matters. As Michael notes, “Most churches we know are doing too many things.” Instead, focus on practices that genuinely help people “learn how to obey and follow God in daily life or live into the story of scripture.”
The Courage to Ask Difficult Questions
Perhaps the most challenging aspect of pruning is the need to ask tough questions about God’s activity. As Andy puts it, “To ask what is God doing is very dangerous because what God is doing is taking what’s dead and making it alive.”
This requires a fundamental shift in how we view leadership. Instead of seeing the leader’s role as providing all the answers or fixing problems, it becomes about creating space for communal discernment and bearing witness to God’s work—even in places of pain and loss.
Dwight emphasizes that this isn’t about passivity, but about a different kind of engagement: “You know, the best thing about being a Christian is that we’re not actually leading this thing. We’re followers of Jesus.”
Hope for Weary Leaders
In a context where church leaders are experiencing record levels of burnout and discouragement, holy pruning is a message of hope. As Michael reminds us, “Jesus is not worried.” This simple truth can be profoundly liberating for those carrying the weight of leadership. It’s an invitation to trust in God’s ongoing work, even—perhaps especially—when we can’t see immediate results.
The Path Forward
This path forward isn’t an easy one. It requires vulnerability, patience, and a willingness to let go of our need for control. But it also offers the promise of a more authentic, sustainable, and ultimately transformative approach to ministry.
As churches navigate the challenges of a rapidly changing culture, this call to courageous waiting and attentive presence may be exactly what’s needed. It’s an invitation to rediscover the heart of Christian leadership—not as a call to constant motion, but as a journey of faithful presence and trust in the God who is always at work.
In a world that demands instant results, the courage to wait, listen, and bear witness might be the most radical innovation of all.
