Explore the library
Preaching, teaching, shepherding, and leading overlap, but they are not the same competencies. Churches can easily mistake visible preaching ability for pastoral competence—and pastors can make the same mistake about themselves. Faithful stewardship requires leaders to recognize their personality propensities, develop what must be developed, delegate what should be delegated, and make sure the people entrusted to them are actually being shepherded well.
Generational succession is far more than replacing the person at the top. It is the intentional transfer of wisdom, character, knowledge, relationships, responsibility, and authority to leaders capable of carrying the mission into a future the present generation will not lead. Done well, succession becomes one of leadership's highest acts of stewardship.
A leader can be completely forgiven, genuinely repentant, and deeply loved—and still not be competent for the responsibility he holds. A practical ten-step framework for extending grace without surrendering the stewardship of the people entrusted to our care.
Some church leaders are not harsh, abusive, or obviously destructive, yet the people around them know something important is missing. This article examines leadership by omission, personality blind spots, leadership development, character, trust, shepherding, and how an ordinary leadership deficiency can become a destructive pattern.
It can be easier to lead, encourage, and hold other people accountable than to consistently do those things for yourself. But every other expression of leadership rests on a more fundamental responsibility: learning to faithfully govern the person you will lead for the rest of your life—you.
The moment you step into leadership, start developing other leaders. You may have no employees and no title, but you can lead up, sideways, down—and you must lead yourself. Growth eventually requires multiplication, and multiplication requires leaders.
Fear is not always the enemy. It can warn a leader that something important is at risk. But when fear moves from adviser to executive, leadership becomes self-protection. Courage does not require fear to disappear. It requires the leader to identify the next faithful action—and take it.
Carl leaned forward, rested both hands on the conference table, and looked around at his leadership team. “I want complete honesty,” he said. “This…
