Church Leadership

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Written by: Richard Condie

Created: 01 June 2026

The Episcopal role is a complex one. When I commenced my current appointment, I drew out a list of “Key Performance Indicators” from the Ordinal by which I could monitor my progress and be accountable. The list has 13 items! Best practice to keep an organisational leader focussed is somewhere between 3 and 5 KPIs. As I say, it is a complex role – that includes not only teaching, preaching, promoting mission and leading the clergy, but also ordaining and licencing, caring for the poor, correcting doctrine and exercising discipline, pastoring the people and saying one’s prayers.

Then there is the “unwritten job description” that is the expectations people have of the role! And all of this takes place in the presence of the Synod who have elected a bishop to lead and who now provide the governance guardrails for that leadership.

In this article I am going to focus mostly on how the bishop leads and then reflect on what that means for synodical governance. I want to suggest four ways in which the bishop exercises his or her leadership in the diocese.

1. Leading through Teaching and Preaching

As a pastor and a guardian of the truth, the bishop is primarily a teacher of God’s word.

Are you persuaded that the holy Scriptures contain sufficiently all doctrine required of necessity for eternal salvation through faith in Jesus Christ? And are you determined out of the same holy Scriptures to instruct the people committed to your charge, and to teach … (BCP Ordinal – emphasis mine)

Teaching the Bible is the primary way that bishops exercise their leadership. “A bishop without a Bible is no bishop at all”. (Peter Adam, in his sermon at my consecration) Of course, the contexts and opportunities for this vary a great a deal. Most lay people only see the bishop once a year or every couple of years, at best, on a Sunday visit.

But in my view bishops ought to take every opportunity to teach the Word that they can. I have been so edified by the bishops who, in their already busy jobs, continue to teach the Bible at conferences, not just for clergy but for lay people. For the last 10 years in Tasmania, we have held an annual gathering called “The Bishop’s Training Event”.

Along with seminars and a keynote speaker on various topics, it has been a wonderful opportunity to teach the Bible to the leaders in our churches each year. And of course, the Synod sermon and Presidential address provide yet another avenue.

I have always been curious why most bishops I have served under have used guest preachers for ordinations, Synods, and Bible studies at clergy conferences. Surely these are natural moments for the bishop to pastor his or her people and lead clergy by teaching the word to them.

My clergy and my synod might be a little sick of my voice, but I consider them my primary “congregation” and annually plan my teaching and preaching to them accordingly.

Let us not lose sight of the fact that our God is a speaking God who leads his people by his Word. How our Synods are enriched by strong teaching of the Word that then gets reused throughout the meeting. Bishops as undershepherds of the Great Shepherd should “Preach the word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction.” (2 Timothy 4:2)

2. Leading through Culture Setting

The management consultant Peter Drucker is reputed to have said “culture eats strategy for breakfast”. Culture, “the way we do things around here”, is more powerful than all the goals and strategies we might set, to shape an organisation. Promoting a constructive mission culture is one way that the bishop can exercise significant leadership.

Telling people what they can expect, what values matter, and what makes us tick is vital and must be backed by action. If we want diocesan cultures that are open and transparent, that value good communication and take gospel risks, then bishops should say so and then do it. Bishops who return their calls, answer their emails, respond to need, and encourage gospel risk-taking in parishes can create a positive, light-filled culture.

In our Synod and across the diocese we talk a lot about our Vision – to be a church for Tasmania, Making disciples of Jesus. We mention it whenever we speak, so that the culture and expectation of disciple making is at the forefront of our minds. We speak about our values of transformation, boldness, perseverance, joy, and generosity. Our Synod and Council business revolves around our Vision, Values and Strategy. We set expectations for parish priorities and then report our progress back to the Synod for accountability.

After 10 years in the saddle, the culture has changed. There is more evangelism than ever before, our clergy are taking gospel risks, we are constantly learning and growing, we expect each other to show up and communicate, we are bolder, more persevering, joyful and generous than we have been. None of this is accidental.

Synods of course have a culture of their own. I have been in some hostile ones where the deep divisions among people and theologies must have caused the bishops presiding over them much grief. I am so delighted that the culture of the Synod in Tasmania is one that embraces difference but is united in the things that matter. What makes a good Synod culture? When people are engaged.

When minds are stretched. When hearts are moved. When there is laughter (and maybe a few tears). When there is unity and joy. When there is purpose. These are the marks of a healthy Synod culture.

3. Leading through Appointments

One of the guiding principles of CMS is that “under God, all will depend on the type of people sent out”, and we can certainly attest to the truth of that in the Anglican Church more widely. In some ways, the power of appointments is one of the strongest leadership “levers” that a bishop has to pull. Who they choose to ordain, licence, and appoint to parishes and other roles including Synod is a significant way to exercise influence and leadership.

Will you be faithful in ordaining, sending, or laying hands upon others? (BCP Ordinal)

Over the last decade we have worked hard on appointing the right team to achieve our vision. We are most interested in developing a strong local leadership pipeline; taking every opportunity to get to know the young people of our diocese and speak at their camps and congregations about opportunities to serve.

Casting a vision for ordination and vocational ministry is key to the bishop’s leadership. I am always asking my clergy who the people are that they are raising up for leadership, who are the “people worth watching” to consider vocational ministry. Each year I have held a dinner for young leaders to encourage them to consider ministry. Three of the young people who attended those dinners are now ordinands for the Diocese.

The bishop gets to influence the culture and direction of the diocese in the appointments to parishes as well. The bishop gets the final say who gets licenced to a parish. Getting the right team of clergy in place certainly sets the direction.

Of course there are other appointments that are critical. In our context the bishop appoints members to the three Anglican school boards, the Board of Anglicare and a number of other bodies including Synod appointments.     Raising up, training and deploying excellent gospel minded people to these roles ensures that the diocese is led to more and more effectiveness.

4. Leading in Vision and Strategy

I have left this until last, not because I think it is unimportant, but because I think the other three areas above have a greater effectiveness for the bishop’s leadership, and I realise not everyone loves a strategic plan. It is not in the ordinal, nor is strategic planning a New Testament requirement for church leadership.

However, planning and aiming for something focussed and having shared language around those aspirations can keep us on track.

Reflecting on the scriptures, listening to the desires of others, assessing what we are good at and where we are weak, discerning the external culture and challenges, dreaming where we want to be in a certain period, and then planning how we will get there, is the basic job. I think the bishop has a critical role in leading and guiding this process and then communicating it widely.

Of course, the bigger and more complex the diocese, the more difficult a job this is, but having something in place does help us with communicating what is important to us, what expectations there are on each other, and how we will be accountable. We measure what matters to us, and a good strategic plan will help us measure the right things and pay attention to them.

Leading with Synod and Council

The bishop’s leading meets its governance framework in the Synod and between them with the Diocesan Council (or Bishop-in-Council or Standing Committee). Where this works well the Synod graciously receives the leadership of the bishop and enables that leadership through providing governance guardrails. The guardrails include providing a legislative framework to allow the bishop’s leadership to be applied in an orderly way, and the provision of resources through diocesan budgets.

Of course, “guardrails” implies direction and sometimes they should push back on the bishop’s plans, if the group decides that they don’t want to follow. That would not be a failure, but the right operation of these frameworks.

The Synod is the appropriate body to adopt and endorse the strategic direction of the diocese. I rely on my Diocesan Council to provide me counsel and guidance on the strategic priorities as we plan. They are sounding board and trusted advisors from a range of perspectives that make my leadership more focussed and more effective. And then the Synod gives a solid mandate when they endorse the direction.

I was so grateful that when we took the difficult decision a few years ago to sell church properties to raise funds for our redress liabilities, I had the backing and the endorsement of parishes in Tasmania via the Synod. It added integrity and confidence to a difficult period of leadership. To stand in front of the media and in contested public meetings, with the Synod behind me, was a great gift.

While anyone is free to put a matter on the Synod’s agenda, we have tried to use Synod proactively, shaping its business around the contours of our strategic plan and embodying aspects of it in our gathering. Reporting back to Synod each year creates a rhythm of accountability that keeps the diocese honest about whether what we said we would do is actually being done.

I think it best to see the relationship between the Synod, the Council and the Bishop as a mission partnership. The bishop leads; Synod governs; Council steers between gatherings. Each needs the others to do its work well, so that together we might fulfil the Great Commission to make disciples of Jesus.

Richard Condie has been the Bishop of Tasmania since 2016.

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Written by: Breeana Mills

Created: 01 June 2026

Interviewed by Breeana Mills

DO YOU WANT TO START BY INTRODUCING YOURSELF AND SHARING SOMETHING OF YOUR LEADERSHIP JOURNEY?

I'm Ric Thorpe, Archbishop of Melbourne. I’ve been in the role for a few months now. My spiritual journey really began in childhood. My parents took me to church, and I had a lot of head knowledge about faith, but I wasn't following Jesus. I also attended a boarding school with compulsory chapel, so I had plenty of information about Christianity, but it didn’t really affect my life.

At university, someone invited me to church. She turned out to be the leader of the Christian Union and was very evangelistic. I went along to a service aimed at new students. I must have heard the gospel many times before, but that day I truly saw it and understood it. From there, I threw myself into university Christian life.

All the things I had heard in church and chapel as a child fell into place. I grew quickly as a Christian. After university I spent a year working with the evangelist J. John. In February 1988 we came to Australia running school and university missions for about eight weeks across Sydney, Wollongong, Perth and Bunbury. It was my first time here, and something of Australia lodged in my heart.

After that I went into marketing with Unilever for a few years. During that time, I attended Holy Trinity Brompton (HTB) in London and was part of Nicky and Pippa Gumbel’s home group. He encouraged me to start a new group, so church planting ideas began very early for me. We started multiplying mid-sized groups of about 30 people.

One of the most influential parts of that season was meeting weekly with my vicar, Sandy Miller. We met for an hour each week for 13 years. That investment shaped me enormously and I remain deeply grateful.

Eventually I went to theological college at Wycliffe Hall, Oxford and married Louie early on in our time there. After three years we returned to HTB, with a very clear sense that God was leading us back there. I served a curacy there that lasted nine years. My main role became running the church while Nicky and Sandy travelled leading Alpha conferences.

In 2005 we were invited to lead a church plant in the East End of London with a planting team from HTB. We kept the traditional service going and started a new contemporary service. Both began to grow. Then we added an evening service. After that we helped revitalise struggling churches in East London, sending teams of 10, 20, and eventually 30 people.

Later the Bishop of London appointed me as the Bishop of Islington, with responsibility for church planting across London. About 70% of my time was spent nationally, helping bishops recruit, train, and deploy church planters. Early on, we founded the Gregory Centre for Church Multiplication, which supports leaders and bishops starting new congregations.

I was also involved in church planting learning communities and was invited to help with one here in Australia. One of the teams was from the Diocese of Melbourne. It’s interesting how God lays foundations over time.

Eventually the opportunity to be considered for Archbishop of Melbourne came up. It wasn’t initially our first option, but over time other doors closed. As we prayed and discerned, it became clear that this was where God was calling us.

And now we’re here.

NOW THAT YOU ARE HERE, WHAT DO YOU SENSE GOD IS CALLING THE ANGLICAN DIOCESE OF MELBOURNE INTO IN THE NEXT SEASON?

I’d answer that in two ways.

First, we’re beginning a listening process across the diocese called “Listening in Lent.” We're asking churches, church members, and even people outside the church a series of questions about the next season. The hope is that this will produce a grassroots sense of calling across the diocese.

Alongside that, I sense God calling us to focus on several priorities in this first season. These emerged both from my own convictions and from conversations during the discernment process. There are five priorities.

1. Prayer

There is already a lot of prayer happening, but how can we catalyse even more across the diocese?

2. Healthy churches on mission

We want churches to flourish and fulfil their calling in God’s mission.

3. Church planting

Melbourne is a rapidly growing city likely to double in size over the next 25 years. We need to plant new churches to reach new communities. The same principles can also help revitalise struggling congregations.

4. Developing leaders

We will need many new leaders, not only for churches but for the wider city. At the end of our services we send people out ‘to love and serve the Lord’. We should be equipping them to lead well in every sphere of life.

5. Anglican schools

Anglican schools play an important role in shaping young people and contributing to the life and culture of a city. I would love to see us strengthen those connections and the Christian foundations that have shaped them.

My hope is that over the next year these two tracks, the listening process and these priorities, will converge into a clear vision and strategic framework.

ACROSS YOUR YEARS OF MINISTRY, WHAT HAVE YOU LEARNED FROM CONTEXTS WHERE CHURCHES HAVE GROWN OR BEEN RENEWED THAT YOU WANT TO BRING INTO MELBOURNE?

One key lesson is confidence in the gospel.

I’ve had the privilege of serving in contexts where churches were growing. While growth isn’t universal across the global church, it does happen. Often those churches share a few characteristics.

First, they take evangelism and the mission of God seriously.

Second, they have a deep commitment to intercessory prayer. We pray in our liturgies, but in other traditions, Pentecostal, African and Latin American churches, you often see an extraordinary passion for prayer. I believe we have much to learn from them.

Third, they pay attention to welcome and hospitality.

Visitors are not treated as temporary guests but as potential future members. That simple mindset changes how churches welcome people.

Fourth, they ask good questions about growth and barriers. The Church Growth Movement raised helpful questions about why churches plateau and what prevents them from moving beyond certain stages. It’s not that bigger is always better. But if a church stops growing, it’s worth asking why. Are there barriers preventing the mission from expanding or multiplying?

Renewal often begins with honest questions like that.

IN TERMS OF YOUR HOPES ACROSS AUSTRALIA— AND EVEN ACROSS DENOMINATIONS—HOW DO YOU ENVISION FOSTERING UNITY AND COLLABORATION BOTH WITHIN THE ANGLICAN CHURCH OF AUSTRALIA AND WITH OTHER DENOMINATIONS?

That’s an important question. The approach is slightly different depending on the context, because even within the Anglican Church there is a wide breadth of views, and sometimes we find it difficult to identify common ground.

If you look at what Christians actually believe, a great deal is shared. The challenge is that when we focus on our differences, they become very prominent. But when we focus on the mission of God and on Jesus, we often discover greater opportunities for unity, even while recognising that some differences remain.

Rather than beginning by asking, “Why won’t this work?”, we might instead ask, “How could this be helpful?” If we start from that posture, I think it opens more possibilities for unity.

Unity matters because it mattered to Jesus. In John 17, Jesus prayed for the unity of his followers. These are foundational truths that Christians across traditions affirm.

That doesn’t mean things aren’t complicated, they are, but those are good places to start.

Within our own denomination, I would love to see a posture that says: despite disagreements, we are on mission together. Each of us may pursue that mission in slightly different ways, but if we are proclaiming Christ, his Lordship, and his Salvation, then we are heading in the same direction.

The second thing is recognising that we don’t all need to do things the same way. In fact, diversity in practice often means we can reach more people. Difference is not necessarily a bad thing.

A third posture is asking, rather than criticising others, “How can we be the best we can be?” What does faithfulness and fruitfulness look like in our own context?

I often think of Richard Foster’s book Streams of Living Water, which describes the different streams within the Christian tradition and the gifts each brings. For example:

• The evangelical stream brings a deep love for Scripture and a commitment to proclaiming the gospel and making disciples.
• The charismatic stream emphasises the work of the Holy Spirit and the living presence of Jesus.
• The contemplative tradition offers depth in prayer and reflection—something many younger people today are increasingly drawn to.
• The sacramental tradition speaks powerfully through mystery and the outward signs of inward grace. Many younger people are rediscovering a hunger for that.
• The social justice and transformation streams, often strong in the Catholic tradition, remind us of the church’s calling to serve and transform society.

Each of these traditions has something important to offer the wider church. Rather than competing, we should be learning from one another.

If within our denomination we can keep pointing toward Jesus, remain focused on prayer, and invite one another into the mission of God, that would be a wonderful thing.

I would love to see every part of the church playing its role in that mission.

When it comes to other denominations, we often end up collaborating mainly with people who are most like us. That’s a good start, but I think we can go further.

One thing I would personally love to see is greater shared prayer across denominations for our state and for our city. That’s something I hope to participate in and encourage. We don’t have to start with complicated structures or programs. We can start by loving one another, encouraging one another, and praying together for the city.

And from that place, it may be that new opportunities emerge, ways we can serve and reach our city together for Jesus.

WHAT DO YOU HOPE PEOPLE WILL MOST EXPERIENCE THROUGH YOUR LEADERSHIP OVER THE NEXT TEN YEARS OR SO?

That’s an interesting question. My answer would simply be: Jesus. It might sound like a simple answer, but it really is the most important one.

I don’t feel my role is to be remembered as someone particularly significant. Rather, I would hope to be someone who, often behind the scenes, helps enable good things to happen. I’d love to help catalyse health and growth within the diocese. It’s already a wonderful diocese, and I want to join in with what God is already doing and wanting to do.

If in ten years’ time the diocese is more confident in its mission, more rooted in discipleship, and more deeply connected to Jesus, that would be wonderful. The Diocese of Melbourne’s strapline speaks about making the Word of God fully known, and I would love to see that flourish even more.

And beyond the diocese, I would love to contribute positively to relationships with other dioceses and churches across Australia. There are some extraordinary people doing wonderful work. If I can simply be part of that wider movement and faithfully play my role, that would be a great privilege.

The Most Reverend Dr Ric Thorpe is the Archbishop of Melbourne, elected in May 2025 and installed at St Paul’s Cathedral later that year. A leading Anglican voice in church planting, he previously served as the Bishop of Islington in the Diocese of London, a national role focused on helping the Church of England develop new worshipping communities and revitalise existing churches. Ric founded and led the Gregory Centre for Church Multiplication (CCX) for a decade and continues as a trustee. He has a doctorate in church planting and has trained many leaders at St Mellitus College, London. Earlier in his ministry, he and his wife Louie led a church revitalisation from Holy Trinity Brompton into St Paul’s Shadwell, which went on to support several further plants in East London. Educated at Stowe School and the University of Birmingham, Ric first worked in marketing with Unilever before training for ministry at Wycliffe Hall, Oxford. He is married to Louie, with whom he has three children. He loves the sea, wide horizons, and sailing whenever he can. As Archbishop of Melbourne, he is committed to listening well, discerning God’s leading, and strengthening the shared life and mission of the Diocese.

Breeana Mills is Canon for Church Planting, Anglican Diocese of Melbourne.

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Written by: GREG HAMMOND OAM

Created: 01 June 2026

It’s the exception that an organisation stays true to its mission.
The natural course - the unfortunate natural evolution of many
originally Christ-centered missions - is to drift.

This statement by Chris Crane, then President and CEO of Edify and a former President and CEO of Opportunity International, is quoted in the recent book, Keeping Faith.^[i] Although Chris Crane was speaking from an American context, the secularisation of Christian organisations is a worldwide phenomenon.^[ii]

The authors of Keeping Faith further note “We believe that the most important thing that God requires of Christian organisations is faithfulness to the Christian life: expressed in the Bible and modelled by Jesus. This faithfulness is maintained by ensuring an overlap between the ethos (culture, spirit) of an organisation with its Christian identity and the impact that it has.^[iii]

Read more: Organisational Faithfulness

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Written by: Paul Dale

Created: 01 March 2026

“I will build my church” says the Lord Jesus, and in His extraordinary kindness that’s exactly what He has been doing through The Bridge Church in Sydney.

It was in August 2004 that a group of 10 people gathered to pray and envision what a new church might look like. We never imagined that 21 years later we’d be a church with 4 different campuses (Kirribilli, Neutral Bay, Macquarie Park and Rozelle), with 13 gatherings every Sunday and around 2000 people worshipping our Lord Jesus Christ.

There were 3 foundational truths that shaped the foundation of The Bridge Church, and these continue to be our ‘distinctives’. They are:

Read more: The Story Of The Bridge Church