Leadership Resolutions

Believe it or not, we’ve arrived at the end of another calendar year and the beginning of resolution season. Personally, I believe that we should resolve to be better and live more committed lives daily not just annually, but I can’t resist the call to be reflective at year’s end. There is something about section of time when one year ends and another begins, that moves people to think of starting anew. Truthfully, most of the resolutions that are made in the next several days will be forgotten in a month’s time, but that fact doesn’t at all diminish most people from announcing resolutions. Leaders are no different. As the curtain closes on the year 2010, and rises on 2011, here are a few resolutions that I believe would be beneficial for all leaders, and especially those that lead in churches.

1. Resolve to live balanced lives.

Leaders, in the same or greater proportion as the rest of the world, are typically living out of balance. Too much work, not enough rest. All worship, no serious study. Spend, spend, spend; not enough saving. Eat too much, exercise too little. Too task-oriented, not enough attention to relationships. Let’s be honest, balance takes work. It is a lot easier to lean to our areas of perceived strength or comfort, rather than to work to grow in the areas of our weakness. Some management philosophies, such as “staff to your weakness”, empower the notion to continue in our strengths rather than striving for relative balance in all areas. Some leaders have gone so long without any course correction, that they have developed blind spots to just how out of balance they are.

As leaders, we should strive to live balanced lives. Leaders should, at least annually, partake in some sort of assessment that will highlight where we need to improve. Ask others their opinions, seek counsel with denominational or business leadership. Leaders need to work towards balance in every area of life, not just in the office or boardroom. Family, health, and relationship with God cannot suffer for the sake of “leadership” excellence. Truthfully, the unbalanced leader exhibits little overall excellence.

2. Resolve to continue to learn and develop.

A disciple is, by definition, a lifelong learner. Leaders should never tire of learning, developing, and growing. Finished with formal education? Audit a course. Ready to write a book? That doesn’t mean that you can stop reading them yourself. Set some reading, learning, and professional development goals for yourself in the coming year. I believe that one of the issues with the church in America is that most of its believe that they are above being taught. Make strides to ensure that you are not counted among that number. Many leaders complain that those they lead don’t want to learn, or think that they know it all…make sure that they aren’t learning those habits from you. A wise person once told me that when a leader stops growing, those they lead stop growing.

3. Resolve to be counted among the servants, not the served.

Jesus, in Matthew 23, admonished the Pharisees for desiring Moses’ seat at tables of honor. The rulers of the synagogue, the ecclesiastical leaders of the time, perceived themselves to be those who deserved to be served due to their title and position. Sadly, there is a trend in contemporary Christianity that implies that clergy leaders are a different class of Christian. This class of leader deserves the service and adoration of those they lead. This line of clergy worship couldn’t stray further from the ministry of Christ. This year, let us all resolve to serve, rather than be served. If you don’t already, esteem others higher than yourself. Recognize that the cincture that girds the waist of a cassock represents the servant’s role of the minister. A minister is, by definition, a servant. To be called servant was good enough for Jesus, and for centuries it was good enough for those called to lead within the church. Now we have the proliferation of titles such as bishop, elder, overseer, and even apostle. Whatever your title, resolve, that in the new year, you will be known by the name…servant.

4. Resolve not to compromise integrity for the sake of growth.

Recently, I listened to John Piper preach a sermon, in which he admonished a group of leaders not to sell the gospel. By this he meant that they should not compromise the integrity of the gospel message for the sake of crowds or cheap growth. Believe it or not, we do not get to determine, as leaders, when growth occurs. We do not control growth. God gives the increase. The Lord prepares the harvest. What a leader does control, is whether all the elements of healthy environments for growth are present. We get to ensure the integrity of the soil and the seed planted. We get to be faithful in our nurture of the seed. But the increase, the growth, is in God’s control. In the coming year, allow the discernment of the Spirit of God to reign. Say no to shortcuts that undermine the truth that is in the gospel message. Don’t follow the crowds into the use of the latest ministry techniques that promise to grow your attendance. Expose heresy, by shedding light upon it. The lines of one of my favorite hymns gives us a lead…”How to reach the masses? Men of every birth. For an answer, Jesus gave the key. And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me. Lift him up!” Lift Jesus up…still he speaks from eternity!

Above all else, I pray that we all, in this coming year, continue to grow in the grace, peace, knowledge, and likeness of our Lord. Stay blessed.

 

The Blizzard That Never Was, and What It Should Teach Us About Pastoral Leadership

As I write this post, I sit holed up in my home, fireplace ablaze and the coffee maker filling the house with the scent of its hazelnut brew. With plenty of leftover delicacies from Christmas dinner, my family and I were prepared to remain sequestered as the first blizzard of the winter approached. Frankly, I was gratefully looking forward to the snow, and my gratitude was increased because it had held off until Sunday morning worship service was completed. It is this point, which is the crux of this post.

Pastors up and down the east coast of the United States were frantically or worriedly watching weather reports over the past twenty-four hours, wondering if they would need to cancel Sunday morning services on the day after Christmas. Many faced the promised storm with bravado, feigned or otherwise, proclaiming that nothing could or would prevent them from holding service on Sunday morning. I listened to some, and read the responses of others, as many publicly professed what they were going to do. As I observed, only periodically adding my opinion, I remembered where I used once stood philosophically.

When we began Harvest Christian Fellowship, nearly four years ago, I was full of the zeal and bravado that I heard and read from many of my contemporaries in pastoral ministry. There wasn’t a thing that would prevent me from opening the doors of the church on Sunday morning. It couldn’t rain, snow, sleet, or hail enough to dissuade me from leading that merry band of saints in worship, praise, and adoration of our Lord. There was a “word” from the Lord, and neither “devil” nor force of nature would prevent me from getting it to the saints. The additional, hinted to, and sometimes painfully obvious companion reason was a financial one; Sunday was our chief, nearly sole, giving opportunity. If Sunday service was canceled, how would the church survive. I am able to be transparent and admit that this was going through my mind. I am able to also pull back the veil and say that I believe much of the bravado and “by any means necessary” pastoral declarations have much to do with this as well.

Last winter put my philosophy to the test. There was over a foot of snow in December 2009, another major storm in January 2010, and then finally the blizzard of February 2010. In December 2010, I waited until the last possible moment to cancel Sunday service, and worried that church finances would suffer. They didn’t; men and women brought their tithes and offering to the church during the week, or the next week. When January weather threatened to force cancellation I again waited to make the decision, although with less angst. The outcome was the same. By the time the blizzard arrived in February, my philosophy had changed, and the decision was simple. What changed? I, through the message of the gospel, gained an even clearer picture of what it means to be a pastoral leader.

A shepherd lays down his life for the flock that he is charged to keep. Our model for this is Christ. To his detriment, he thought of us first. So it should be in pastoral ministry. I began to reflect on the influence that we, as servants of Christ, are given in the lives of those we serve. There are, I came to understand more clearly, people who will “go” simply because the pastoral leadership has said that it is the right thing to do. That means that there are a number of families, however small the number, that would clean off their cars and attempt to make their way to church just because the pastor said the doors would open. I was confronted with answering this question to myself…what would I do if even one of those families were injured on the way to or from church because our “proof” that we were zealous for God was to venture out in bad weather? I would feel horrible, and rightly so. Jesus came to deliver us; he arrived to lead us away from harm. His Spirit came to continue to do the same, as he sanctifies us and keeps us holy. By extension, pastoral leadership is called to have the best interest of the people in mind.

God is not impressed that we keep our church buildings open in snowstorms or blizzards. He doesn’t care that a few hardy souls put on snowshoes or drove snow mobiles and made it to church. The fruit that glorifies God are transformed and holy lives, and these are lived throughout the year. I would encourage pastoral leaders to reevaluate why we do what we do, as it pertains to bad weather closings or ministry offerings. Bragging rights as the bravest or most committed to preaching in bad weather aren’t impressive credentials in the end. Did you put the wholeness and welfare of God’s people above yourself? An affirmative answer to that question is far more impressive. By the way, the blizzard that was threatening to cancel service yesterday morning has been downgraded to four to six inches. The time sequestered with family was still priceless.