A few more of the leadership lessons I've learned over the last 10 years of pastoral ministry...
Major on the essentials, minor on the non-essentials. Essentials are those things that I would bleed over. They include things like: the authority of the Bible, the necessity of Christ for salvation, the deity of Christ, the atoning work of Christ on the cross, the reality of the resurrection, salvation by grace through faith, etc. As a leader needs to know where they fall on major issues. No one will follow a leader that sways with the wind.
Laugh and have fun. The ministry is filled with enough pain, challenges, and serious issues and there have to be equal amounts of joy or your batteries will run dry. Some of my best memories of ministry are when I am just laughing and being silly with my staff or others in the church. I gravitate towards being sarcastic and I think my staff is starting to get used to my humor. I've been known to jump out of the shadows and scare others or play a harmless practical joke. Adding humor to your conversations with others endears them to you and a unique bond is created because you have shared a laugh.
Be yourself. People, especially young people are very good at spotting phonies. We have a world that lives in the make-believe and it longs for authenticity. Pretending to be someone that you are not is way too tiring and at some point you will be exposed as a fraud and lose your credibility with others.
Lead confidently. Confidence doesn't mean that you have all the answers; confidence is trusting in the One who is the answer. If you are in ministry you have been called by God Himself and that should fill you with confidence; not in yourself but in the call.
Don't be afraid to make decisions that will fail. Failure is not the worst thing that can happen to an organization lack of stepping out on faith could be detrimental. I hate it when I fail, I hate myself even more when I don't do what should have been done.
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