You don’t have to be in ministry long to understand the importance of being a strong leader. Now when most people heart the adjective “strong” they sometimes assume one that is straightforward, demanding, or assertive. This traits may have their time and place in the overall scheme of things, but typically a strong leader is one who doesn’t cave under the demands and pressures of ministry.
Many of us know that ministry is primarily about two things, God and people. We’re called and chosen by God to be His connection from Heaven to Earth. Our aim is to speak how He speaks, love how He loves, and love how He loves. In truth, ministry is about reaching the culture without comprising convictions, leading and journeying with people to better understand their purpose, and of course managing the unexpected twists and turns that life throws at us.
In the Passionate Pastors offices this week, here’s a few thoughts we’ve been tossing around about what leaders do. Of course there are endless pointers and tips that men and women have been coming up with since the beginning of time. But here four thoughts we’ve been meditating on this week.
1. Leaders Lift
A huge part of leadership is lifting people up so they can see things more clearly. A lot of problems don’t change overnight, but the call we have as leaders to help change people’s perspectives towards those problems. By getting people higher, we believe, they’ll see things from Heaven’s perspective. They’ll see things from the other side of the cross and that is a powerful point of few.
Question: who have I been lifting in this season of my leadership? What partners in ministry do I need to start empowering? How much of my time per week is dedicated strictly to leadership development?
2. Leaders Sift
As I mentioned earlier, leadership is primarily managing problems, and helping people understand their purpose. A leader’s job is to sift through things to find the opportunities and steps someone can take to grow. Sifting is a dirty job sometimes. It takes patience, and understanding to work through things that others might give up on. Think about when you counsel someone. It’s usually hours of helping them get to the root of their problems. In a sense, there’s a great deal of sifting involved every time you lead.
Question: what problems have I been dealing with lately? How can I better leadership in the area of dealing with and solving problems?
3. Leaders Gift
Generosity is an essential trait of any leader. When you’re in the leadership, you’re always giving. You’re giving time, effort, patience, love, grace, forgiveness and so much more. The greatest leader of all time, Jesus Christ, gave His life for His followers. If that’s the case, we’ve got the know that we are going to be gifting a lot to the people we’ve been entrusted with?
Question: who have I been giving most of my time to lately? Has it been effective? What changes should I make to better how I’m gifting my life.
4. Leaders Shift
To be an great leader, you’ve got to adjust. There will be times when what you’ve planned doesn’t work. Many will aimlessly keep trying over and over, not knowing that the solution may be simply changing your strategy. It’s key to adjust when necessary without losing momentum. Sometimes fruitfulness comes from not adding something, but taking away what’s not working.
Question: what processes have I been holding onto that might not be working? What things in my weekly schedule haven’t been as effective as I’d like? What disciplines do I need to take on to help keep the momentum in my life?
With these four simple realizations, you’ll be on your way to leading in an energizing, edifying, and effective way. We believe no matter what you’ve accomplished up to this point, God always has more for you. We believe in you! We love you, We’re praying for you! Let’s keep being the leaders God has designed us to be.
THE JOURNAL 