But it is not just that the laity must cede power to the leaders. The lay leaders must also cede power to the staff and volunteer leaders.
In a smaller church it is usually the lay leaders who know more about the members than the pastor. The lay leaders have been there longer and thus have more knowledge of the past, more trust from the members, and more knowledge of the member's abilities, capacities, interests, opinions, etc.
But once a church gets beyond 200 it is the staff that knows more about the church members than the lay leaders and increasingly the new members (in particular) take cues from the pastor(s) rather than from the lay leaders.
Increasingly the lay officer board (elders, etc.) will not be able to sign off on absolutely everything and will have to let the staff and individual volunteer leaders make decisions on their own.
