Church Leadership – Tim Gray
In all areas of life…
…LEADERSHIP IS (ALMOST) EVERYTHING.
In all my helping with church development around the world, this is one of my main messages. Without great leadership, organizations stumble around, and the church is no exception. Businesses, educational institutions, homes, ect – all must have great leadership.
However, the church does not function exactly like other organizations. Jesus said, “I came not to be served, but to serve.” Therefore, servant leadership may be wise for a Fortune 500 company; it is NOT an option for a church. When a church leader walks in a room, his thoughts are either, “HERE I AM,” or “THERE YOU ARE.” If he leads from the latter and not the former, his organization will have a great chance at health as the folks who are giving their lives to His leadership will love being there. Humility, given to us by Jesus, is a must for a quality leader.
Leaders must possess the three C’s also.
First, they must have great CHARACTER. Selflessness is just one of the traits that Christ brings to leaders. Integrity and honesty also shape great leaders. Love really is the ultimate trait though as we can pretend to care about people, or we can actually love and respect them. My grandmother used to say that “we can catch more good with honey than with vinegar.”
Second, they must be COMPETENT. Leaders have to know the content of their organization backward and forward. They must know what they are doing or nobody else will know what they are doing.
Lastly, they must be COMPATIBLE. If leaders are not ‘playing well in the sandbox’ with those on their team, they should not lead. People are complex and the ability to work through people’s complexities into a unified unit is a must. If a leader is high maintenance and always fighting over differences or fighting to have their way, the organization will suffer greatly.
In addition, church leaders have the Biblical call to do the following for the folks they lead and secular leaders would be well advised to pay attention:
FEED – Leaders have to give folks what they need to be successful. In the church, we give deep and thorough understandings that our Scripture contain all the content for successful living because all Scripture is about Jesus, and HE is sufficient.
LEAD – “Come follow me as I follow Christ.” That is leading. We follow Jesus, empowered by Jesus, so that as people watch us, they see things that they would desire to have. So, they would desire Christ.
PROTECT – We provide safe environments in every way possible. Spiritual safety, emotional safety, physical safety, mental health safety all are carefully carried out. We have good relationships with the government, with insurance companies, with social services, etc., so that our people are protected.
CARE – We love seeing health and improvements in all areas of life for our people that God has assigned us. We work toward it, and we celebrate it when it happens. We care because Jesus cares for us.
Church leaders are servant leaders who are like shepherds who selflessly give their lives for the sheep. Interestingly, Jesus is called the “the GREAT SHEPHERD.” Hmmmm! It makes sense that we would turn to Him to attain these attributes. These attributes are needed because quality LEADERSHIP IS EVERYTHING.
Tim is the senior pastor at City on a Hill Church in Arnold Mo. You can reach Tim at coaharnold@gmail.com. Find the church here.