People Spots
Online
Produced by James W.
Moss, Sr., and Church Consultants
Provided as a service by New Life Ministries
The Pastor as Leader: Survivor
by James W. Moss, Sr.
Just surviving is never enough. However, long-term pastorates tend to be more productive than a series of short-term ones. But for long-term pastorates to occur the pastor has to survive to lead another day. What do I mean? There will be a series of bumps in the road for the pastor leader. That is as inevitable as the sun coming up in the morning. But each bump has to be navigated carefully so the pastor can survive to lead another day. Through the years, there are only a few issues that I would lay my ministry on the line for.
How does a pastor leader survive? The following are some key components.
Pastor leaders have to provide high quality efforts in all they do. Pastor Harry Smith takes ministry seriously. He makes every effort to do the best he can. Sermons are well thought out and competently presented. All of the written materials are well done. Everything at Mountain Grove Church has a touch of class. Remember, we are doing Kingdom work. The Kingdom deserves the best we have to offer. High quality means different things to different people. Different people have different gift levels. The one thing we all have in common is that we are asked to do the best we can for the King. People tend to follow the leader’s approach to quality in effort. Quality efforts produce quality results. A haphazard approach to ministry on the part of the pastor leader fosters the same response from laity.
Pastor leaders earn chips by providing service to people. Pastor Susan Stanley loves people. That is obvious because of her attitudes relative to the needs of her people. Funerals and weddings are provided in a caring manner. The ill have experienced her gentle touch. Those who are celebrating have heard her full laughter. If you ask the people of Shore Trails Church, “Does your pastor love you?” they answer with an immediate and resounding yes. The service she provides gives evidence of such. The earned chips provide you the right of leadership. I have always been stingy with my chips. It has to be a major issue to lay the chips on the table. That is critical because when you lose all your chips, it is call U-haul™.
Pastor leaders have to know their stuff to survive. Pastor Josh Black exudes an air of self-confidence. The leadership team at Mt. Carroll Church believes he knows his job and quickly follows his lead. Josh had worked hard in school. He has gathered a group of solid advisors that he listens to closely to make good decisions. Most of the suggestions Josh makes work. Ft. McKinley Church has benefited greatly from the fact that Pastor Black knows his job. Each victory earns him a few more chips.
Pastor leaders have to be willing to adjust or they will rust. Have you ever sat in the back yard on a rainy day and watched a cast iron birdbath rust. It is amazing how quickly the rust begins to form. A ball player had a very fine career. His career ended abruptly when it would appear he still had time left. There were whispers in the sports pages that he had quit doing the things that had brought him success. The conclusion: he didn’t wear out, he rusted out. Our world is constantly changing. You just can’t do things the way you used to. You have to constantly keep working to stay sharp or the rust will start forming. Rust on a car is very damaging. It has to be stopped or it will spread. Rust on a leader has to be quickly removed. The people will notice the rust emerging before the leader does. You will hear comments like, “The game has passed him by.” “She is no longer relevant to today’s world.” Rusty leaders forfeit their right to lead.
There has to be constant improvement for the pastor leader. I’ll never forget doing a seminar in Western Pennsylvania. An 82-year-old minister of visitation was in the front row. He was copiously taking notes. He was striving to learn. That was evident because he was asking the right questions. I was so impressed. I hope I can be a lifelong learner. Our world is changing so drastically. The role of ministry is changing significantly. If you have made no improvements in the last two years you will be out-of-date.
Pastor leaders have fun pursuing a dream. The carrot is on a stick ahead of the horse’s nose. The horse chases but eventually has to catch the carrot. Pastor Walter Goodman has been at Goodfellow’s Church for five years. Solid progress has been made. But Walter has dreams of seeing the church double in size, seeing the facilities expanded, and ministry program enlarged. He is having a ball chasing the dream. There is a carefully formulated plan. It is working step-by-step. The aggressive pursuit of the plan has energized the people as well.
The pastor leader has to survive to lead and serve another day.
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Next:
The Pastor as Leader: Risk-Taker
Also in this series:
 | The Pastor as Leader: Vision-Caster |
| The Pastor as Leader: Accountability |
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Read about Jim's seminars and books.
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July 28, 2004. Volume 7, Issue 13. People Spots Online is prepared by James W. Moss, Sr., and Church Consultants. It is provided as a service by New Life Ministries, www.NewLifeMinistries-NLM.org. Articles may be duplicated and reproduced in any way with proper credit. A new article is produced about every two weeks. To be added to a list to receive these messages directly by e-mail, send a request to churchconsultants@yahoo.com.