When the ELCA Region 4 bishops gathered in December we had conversation about the election of a new presiding bishop in 2025. We each agreed to write something reflecting what we believed the next Presiding bishop would, can, and/or should be. This is my contribution…
The next Presiding Bishop (PB) of the ELCA has an opportunity to lead our church into a new era of impact, functionality, and sustainability. The new PB will recognize our structures were created for a different era, have not fulfilled the goals we have set as a church, and must be dramatically changed. Trusting in the Holy Spirit’s guidance, they will be instrumental in helping to form a new ELCA. As bishop they will be a pastor to the whole church, a learning leader who is proactive in responding to the continual shifts in our society. They will be a leader who sees opportunity in change, and confident that God has a purpose for our church.
The next PB will be a prophetic voice to our institutions, synods, and churchwide structure. They will regularly remind all these institutions that they exist not to perpetuate themselves but to serve the congregations of our church and prioritize the health and well-being of our lay leaders, pastors, and deacons. This task, serving our congregations and leaders, lay and ordained, the living heart of the church, will be the measure of the success of their leadership.
This attention represents a course change, a shift away from centering the churchwide expression and institutions. Therefore, the next PB will likely encounter significant pushback from those who perceive to have benefited from the current structure. As a pastor proclaiming Law and Gospel they will speak hard truths, unwelcome truths, to our structures and institutions. They must be honest that our current church structure and ways of being church together have not created growth or accomplished the goals we have set for ourselves. Because of these complex dynamics, the next PB will likely need to be someone from outside the current churchwide system who is willing to push back when told this is the way things are done. There will be a need to reorganize staffing which no doubt will lead to job changes or individuals being asked to leave a position. The levels of formal and informal power within our churchwide expression must be confronted, held to accountability, and where appropriate changed.
To accomplish this task the next presiding bishop of the ELCA must have experience leading staff and making significant organizational change. They will need to be adept at using technology in adaptive and innovative ways (recognizing that congregations and synods have already, without the help of the churchwide structure, made many of these changes). They will need to have as their heart the prioritization of the church, the baptized people of God gathered in local congregations, over preserving churchwide, synodical, or institutional structures.
In addition to this internal work, the new PB must continue to represent the ELCA nationally and globally in a rapidly shifting landscape. They will tend to global LWF and ecumenical relationships while ensuring that work does not dominate schedule or detract from leading our church in our current context. Being the ELCA in the United States is a very different reality than in any other place around the world. Our global/ecumenical relationships matter deeply. But our ability to support, encourage, and learn from our companions cannot be accomplished without clarity and leadership based on who our church is in our context today.
To accomplish these goals the next presiding bishop of the ELCA needs our prayerful support and encouragement. We must commit ourselves to prayer for who we trust God is preparing to be this leader. Each of us should recognize our own interests and those of the many stakeholders in our church. In so doing we would be wise to recall we serve a God who in Christ humbled godself on the cross, taking on our pain and grief to bring life and bring it abundantly. I trust God is preparing for us such a leader and invite you to prayer for this process.