Churches need strong leadership. John Maxwell says, “everything rises and
falls on leadership”. This is nowhere else as true as it is in the church. It takes courage to step into a role of
leadership in a contemporary organization that is based on eternal truth and
moral absolutes.
In my ministry in visiting, encouraging and partnering with literally hundreds of
churches, there are five essential aspects of church leadership that I am
committed to never forget. Here they
are in a condensed form. To make it
interesting, the most important is actually the last one on the list:
1) Major on majors; minor on minors – While everyday
there are definitely battles and struggles, we need to remember that every battle doesn’t need to be
fought. Successful leaders pick their
battles to ensure that if the battle is worth fighting, it is worth
winning. People know that we live in an
imperfect world and they are looking for leaders to make incremental
improvements in those areas that are important.
2) Make time your friend – Every leader has exactly
the same amount of time each day. All
too often, time management is not a church leaders strong suit. One of the key principles to remember is that
you need to manage your time rather than have time manage you. Use a calendar, block out hours (yes hours,
not minutes) in each day without meetings, without interruptions to accomplish
that which is important.
3) Develop leaders – Jesus is a great example for us
in developing people. Jesus spent most
of his time with those that were chosen to carry out the mission. These were
not necessarily qualified, gifted nor remarkable individuals except that they spent quality
time with Jesus. Make leadership
development intentional including identifying, equipping, challenging and
releasing leaders.
4) Refuel Regularly – My friend, Lance Witt is the author
of “Replenish: Leading from a Healthy Soul.”
In his book, he speaks of the front stage and back stage of every
leader. As church leaders, we are
easily prone to burn out and succumb to spiritual attack. One thing to remember is the three Rs in
keeping our lives in balance: Recharge, Renew and Relax. Even Jesus commented, “Man was not made for
the Sabbath, but the Sabbath was made for man” (Mark 2:27). This is a great lesson for our busy pastors
that all too often rarely take any time off.
5) Remember your Role – The biggest advantage in the
church is often overlooked. We need to
remember our role as under-shepherd as Jesus is the Good Shepherd and head of the Church. This is not a ceremonial role but one that is
active. Jesus leads through his Word, by modeling behavior and responding to
our plans. Proverbs 16:9 says, “The
heart of man plans his way, but the LORD establishes his steps.”
There are always new opportunities to improve our
leadership. Don’t be overwhelmed in the
struggle but take every opportunity to learn from others and be sure to pass on
those lessons to those you lead.
