Hebrews 12:1 "Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us,"
The above text verse likens our earthly ministry to a race that we are all to run. Everyone knows that sin will take us off the right path and keep us from winning our race. However, there are some things that are not necessarily sin that can keep us from doing our best. These are the weights Paul is referring to. If God has placed you in a position of leadership, your race is to be the best leader you can be.
Most of my articles have focused on what to do to be a better leader. I like to dwell on the positive, but there are a few negative things (weights) I need to warn you about that can kill your ministry no matter how many good things you do. The sad thing is that some of the things that hurt you the worst are self-inflicted wounds; things you do that hurt your ability to do a good job leading. It's like shooting yourself in the foot and then trying to run the race at full speed; it just isn't going to turn out very well for you.
Seven ways people called to lead can shoot themselves in the foot:
1. Over Promise and Under Deliver. Ecclesiastes 5:3 For a dream cometh through the multitude of business; and a fool's voice is known by multitude of words. Some leaders are always coming up with a new plan that they promise will save the day and take the ministry to a new level. While the idea may be a good one, they never seem to get the job done. They start out like a ball of fire, but after a few setbacks the new plan just fades away without a funeral. The leader really wants to make a difference and see growth, but for one reason or another the wheels come off the new idea and nothing lasting happens. The problem here is two fold: They fail to research and get advice and they fail to establish a workable plan to reach an obtainable goal. When I talk with folks like this I often find that they do not have a clear vision of what their goals are and they cannot explain precisely how the steps to the goal are measured. You must know what success is before you can hope to succeed.
2. Do Nothing Proverbs 29:18 Where there is no vision, the people perish: but he that keepeth the law, happy is he. People need a reason to show up. Too many churches/ministries have nothing going on and wonder why the crowd doesn't grow. I once attended a church that only had two visitors in two years. The preaching was good, but they had no outreach ministries, no special days, or anything that might create a little excitement. They just went through the motions of having church. A former prime minister of France once said, "Great dreams attract great people, and little dreams attract little people. Little people cause all the problems. Without exercising practical methods of reaching the lost and developing programs that create mature Christians your ministry will dwindle and die. Those who want to see God work will go elsewhere and you will be left with no one but people who start trouble.
If people have no reason to come they will stop coming.
3. Break Trust Proverbs 17:9 He that covereth a transgression seeketh love; but he that repeateth a matter separateth very friends. Ministry leaders must work to win people's trust. We work with volunteers. We are not in business and can't use money to control people. We are not the military and we can't order people around. Our currency is trust. We gain trust when we keep promises and don't betray people's confidence. We lose trust when we repeat a matter, lie to, mistreat, betray, discourage, or use people.
4. Stay Ignorant James 1:5 If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him. You do not need to be born with brains. You can borrow them. It would surprise you to know how many preachers there are that tell me they don't know how to lead. I'm not talking about youngsters; I'm talking about men who have been pastoring for years. They really want their ministry to grow but they are afraid to try anything great because they don't feel they can lead the ministry they dream about building. If that sounds like you, never fear! There is plenty of help available. You can visit churches that are currently going through your next step or have just moved through it. Our staff is always drafting off another ministry that has figured out what we need to do next. Hey, you are reading this newsletter. That shows you are reaching out and trying to do a better job. Just keep reading, visiting other ministries, reading your bible with leadership in mind, and asking questions. I promise that most pastors will bend over backwards to help you learn what you need to know.
5. Beat the Sheep 1 Peter 5:3 Neither as being lords over God's heritage, but being ensamples to the flock. (see also Luke 12:45&46) The bible is full of examples of people who took a great group of people and ran it into the ground by scattering the sheep. King Saul moved from building his people, to blaming his people, to beating his people, and he ended up losing his kingdom. Solomon's son Rehoboam took Israel at their greatest and split the kingdom in just a few days by being harsh and mistreating the people.
6. Be a Glory Hound John 7:18 He that speaketh of himself seeketh his own glory: but he that seeketh his glory that sent him, the same is true, and no unrighteousness is in him. Nothing turns people off faster than a leader who thinks he is God's gift to mankind. These leaders are innately insecure and feel threatened if the Lord blesses anyone but them. I met a pastor once who attended a preachers meeting I was speaking at who castigated me for trying to help the men in his church become leaders. He said, "If I did like you are saying my men would take my church from me." After thinking about it for a while, I had to admit, he may have been right. When leaders seek all the glory for themselves two things happen: 1. God does not get the glory, and 2. people stop trying to please him because he is afraid to encourage them.
7. Be Absent Zechariah 11:17a "Woe to the idol shepherd that leaveth the flock!..." One of the realities of being a leader is that we have to supervise ourselves. I have met some leaders who have very little discipline and spend most of their days and nights pursuing personal goals and consequently neglect their flock. There is nothing wrong with leaders traveling and preaching in other churches, so long as the ministry is not neglected. In fact, in many cases it is a good thing, because it broadens your knowledge of how different people solve problems you are facing, and it deepens your understanding of what is possible. It may also serve as a way to stay fired up for the Lord because you get the chance to hear other men preaching that you may normally not hear. What we must watch is that we don't allow ourselves to become lazy or apathetic toward the ministry we lead just because there is no one looking over our shoulder telling us what to do. I heard it said that if you leave your ministry it will leave you. We need to diligently seek to grow our ministry and our flock must be the primary focus of our life. If it is not we should find something else to do.
Biblically speaking, leaders are people who are charged to help people abide in Christ and help them reach spiritual goals they do not know they can reach. To do this we must remember our battle is in the spiritual realm. We lead people by leading their heart. We are responsible for creating an environment that encourages people to step up to the plate and attempt big things for God. To be effective there are many tools found in the Word of God we must employ; but as we search for the right tools, let us remember that sometimes the best thing we can do is leave a tool in the box. As the title of this article implies, learning to be a better leader means we must learn what not to do as we search for what to do.
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