Have you ever saw an appealing billboard advertisement that caused your mouth to water for that delicious T-BONE STEAK? I am sure you have. What if you went to the restaurant which advertised that steak and found the business to be shabby, run down, smelly from neglect, and providing awful service? Without question, you would be disappointed, and very upset! What’s worse, is many people have visited a church that looked good on the outside, but was absolutely horrible on the inside. Many times this sickening sight was allowed to mature because of poor pastoral leadership.

Even though there are churches who have proper doctrine and such, their image, practice and vision is in the proverbial “toilet”. When one finds a great local assembly with the right teachings, vision and practice, it makes an even starker contrast with the others we have described. It is so refreshing to find a church who KNOWS who they are, where they came from, where they are going, and how they are planning to get there. This does not happen by accident. It is borne along by exceptional pastoral leadership.

“Everything rises and falls on leadership!” the late Dr. Lee Roberson

4 Necessary Ingredients To Exceptional Pastoral Leadership

Vision

Vision should come from the leadership of a church. It is born in the heart of the pastor, or should be! Without controversy, Nehemiah was a great leader of men. A vision was propagated from a burden he received when he heard of the condition of his homeland. Nehemiah 1:1-4

Every pastor should have a vision of what God wants his church to be. If you do not know what it is as a pastor, then you had better be finding out or resign from the church as pastor!

Goals

You find in the first chapter of Nehemiah that he began to pray about the need of Jerusalem. As a result of this praying, God gave direction. Not only was direction provided, but the means to get the job done was miraculously given as well. God pays for what he orders!

The same principles hold true today! When you pray over your God-given vision, then plan or set goals to accomplish. Every goal should be centered upon glorifying Christ. Share these goals with your inner circle. Remember, if you aim at nothing, then you will hit it every time!

Commitment

People will commit to help accomplish a vision. It was true in Nehemiah’s day. If the leadership is committed, then the people will be committed. This done not mean the absence of problems, but does mean that the goals can be carried out. Nehemiah 2:18 records the answer to Nehemiah: “Let us rise up and build”.

Character 

Character is what you are on the inside. It is all “pie in the sky” if their is no perceived character in pastoral leadership. How quickly the walls crumble by lack of character! It takes time to gain the trust and respect of people.  Be sure that you are right with God as a leader because what you are on the inside will eventually show up on the outside!

Conclusion

What the church is lacking today is not money, talent, and provision, but a lack of morality, character and integrity in leadership; including the pastoral staff. May God revive the desire to live above reproach for the sake and honor of Christ.

Would you consider purchasing…

Why Revival Tarries

By Leonard Ravenhill / Bethany House

Leonard Ravenhill’s call to revival is as timely now as it was when first published over forty years ago. The message is fearless and often radical as he expounds on the disparity between the New Testament church and the church today. This book contains the heart of his message, A.W. Tozer called Ravenhill “a man sent from God” who “appeared at (a) critical moment in history,” just as the Old Testament prophets did. Included are questions for group and individual study.

Most pastors want to be a better leader. For me, it has become an obsession or sorts. I want to be the BEST pastor I can be. If I am to be a sharper tool in God’s omnipotent hand, then I must allow my Lord to whet the edge of my leadership ability. Ultimately, it is God who makes the leader out of the pastor, but I want to do all that is humanly possible to be in the place for God to make the most out of me.

In the never ending quest for becoming a better leader one will find a plethora of so-called experts on the subject. Not one week goes by that I do not see an advertisement on my Facebook account trying to get me to go to some conference or buy some book on leadership. In spite of the large quantity of materials on the issue of being a better leader, it really comes down to a few simple things: (1) A teachable spirit; (2) Submission to the Holy Spirit; (3) A little bit of common sense.

(1 Timothy 4:12) “Let no man despise thy youth; but be thou an example of the believers, in word, in conversation, in charity, in spirit, in faith, in purity.” (KJV)

Listed below are 10 suggestions for how to become a better leader as a pastor. May God use each of these to be  a blessing to you!

#1 – Great “leadership” starts with great “followship”. 

Follow the Lord, follow your pastor, and follow godly men!

#2 – SEEK to be the leader God wants YOU to be.

Don’t worry about being anything but what God desires you to be. Sometimes influential people have great plans for us, but not what God wants for us! Know the difference!

#3 – Be yourself.

God made you unique… so be unique! It can be one of your greatest Allies!

#4 – Don’t ask of others what you would not readily perform yourself.

There should never be a task “beneath” you. No matter how important you think yourself to be or how others think you to be, you are still a good candidate to clean the toilet bowl!

#5 – Seek balance in your leadership.

Balance is the key to a successful ministry. Don’t be going to extremes all the time. Find out which way God is going and go with Him.

#6 – Don’t exploit the mistakes and sins of others for personal gain and promotion.

The unfortunate blunders and circumstances that people get themselves into are not necessarily open range for you and I to graze upon. Some things are meant for us to see and learn from, not for the rest of the country to know about!

#7 – Lead, don’t manipulate, drag and force.

Lead by example! Jesus would be the greatest picture of this. If you will lead, then people will follow! Let God do this work!

#8 – Lead with confidence balanced by meekness and humbleness.

Know who you are, why you are here, where you are going, and how to get there, and you will be a good prospect for leadership!

#9 – Emulate the positive aspects of other great leaders.

Every man is our teacher, so watch and listen!

#10 – Embrace difficulties, trials, and persecutions as CHALLENGES not problems.

Be solution oriented, not problem oriented. There is a difference and happy is the man who understands this!

Conclusion

There is no claim being made in this post that we have cornered the market on what it takes to be a great leader. The suggestions above have been very practical and helpful to our ministry. May they help you to become the great leader God desires you to be!

Spiritual Leadership: Moving People On to God’s Agenda By Henry & Richard Blackaby / B & H Publishing Group Henry and Richard Blackaby are “concerned that many Christian leaders are reading secular books and are applying their teachings uncritically, “so they wrote Spiritual Leadership to help Christian leaders in business, politics and the pastorate develop the qualities of spiritual leadership. Spiritual Leadership will help you understand God’s design for leadership and will enable you to lead God’s people towards the fulfillment of His purposes. Let the Blackaby’s teach you the biblically based principles that will enable you to lead in the 21st century.