Are church staff associates sidekicks?

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With my new book The Work of the Associate Pastor out, fellow blogger and Baptist minister, Tripp Huggins (aka AngloBaptist) posed an interesting question to me, “are associates sidekicks?”

I wonder if this imagery is helpful or even healthy?

Tripp quotes from the book, The Wicked Truth About Love:

Sidekicks have enormous hearts and are incredibly intuitive about what other people need. They live to serve and get real joy out of helping those around them be successful. They don’t need the spotlight but celebrate when the spotlight shines on their family or friends. Sidekicks need to be needed more than they need to be loved. The Wicked Truth About Love can help a Sidekick lover figure out why they fall into this pattern.

I have not read the book, but at first I had a hard time with this image of church staff associates as sidekicks.

The difficulty with the sidekick motif is more centered around comic book imagery, where the sidekick obediently serves the hero. That type of romanticism can lead senior pastors to become control freaks and say, “You’re supposed to be my sidekick.” The sad part is that yes, the sidekicks might not need the spotlight but the reinforcement of the power relationship leads associates frustrated. I haven’t read this book, but it may be more about codependency than sickkick-ness.  In comic books, the hero is always first, and the sidekick is a B-type super hero is second.

There are two ways to look at the staff associate as sidekick. First, the associate as sidekick does not mind being the sidekick, as Tripp quoted. They are in a place of contentment. Happy with serving and the associate does not desire the spotlight. This type of dynamic is requires a healthy staff and senior pastor. Second, the associate as sidekick is motif can backfire. The associate is seen as secondary rather than complementary. Forced to serve and be reminded of their position.

So, which is it? Should we see associate and church staff as sidekicks? Or, is there another way of looking at this? Please comment and respond.