I’ve taught seminary students now for 26 years, and I’ve worked with hundreds of graduates in doctoral programs or local church events. I always want to know what leadership issues pastors wish someone had taught them. Here are twelve I hear often, in no particular order:
- How to oversee a budget – Because financial issues often create tension in a church, the battleground is not the best place to learn about budget preparation, proper budget percentages, spending policies, etc.
- How to lead a meeting – One reason people don’t like meetings is that they’ve never seen one led well. A poorly conducted meeting is a waste of everyone’s time.
- How to interview potential staff – More than one of us have conducted interviews that were incomplete at best, borderline illegal at worst. That happens when no one trains you in recruiting and interviewing.
- How to prioritize family while also ministering to the congregation. Trying to find this balance isn’t easy—and most leaders have had to learn it on the fly. They want role models and prayer partners to help them.
- How to manage staff and church conflict – For some church leaders, the only remedy they know for addressing deep conflict is to leave the church. Usually, the conflict remains.
- How to develop and cast a vision – Knowing the importance of a vision is not the same as knowing how to develop and cast one. Too many visions go nowhere simply because the leader is a poor, untrained vision-caster.
- How to evaluate “success” – If numbers are the only way to evaluate success, many church leaders are failures. On the other hand, to ignore numbers is to invite an unhealthy inward focus. Most leaders need help in finding the best way to evaluate “success.”
- How to manage personal finances – It’s hard to count the number of pastors I know who simply didn’t know tax laws for clergy, missed the benefit of a housing allowance, or planned poorly for retirement.
- How to fire a staff member – Terminating a church staff member is difficult unless he or she has committed some flagrant offense. Many church leaders tolerate mediocrity among staff because no one ever taught them about lovingly helping unproductive staff members move on.
- How to counsel without getting overwhelmed – Meeting all the needs of a congregation can quickly become overwhelming, especially if no one has ever taught pastors how to counsel briefly while leaning on other counselors for longer-term help.
- How to enlist and motivate workers – The church is essentially a volunteer organization. The problem is that many church leaders have never learned how to enlist and motivate beyond pulpit announcements.
- How to know when it’s time to leave. I can’t tell you how many times pastors have asked me this question—usually when they’re already considering that possibility. It’s better to think about this issue before the issue is a hot one.
What would you add to this list?
This is a great post! Will you now take each one of the “How to’s” and make it it’s own post where you unpack each thought with 5 helps with the specific “How to?”
I second the note from Bill. Some how to’s could be a great help… maybe starting with something as simple as leading meetings well. I think these could be great help.
Thanks. I’ll follow up with your suggestions.
Good list. I would like to add.
How to recognise suspected abuse and know when you must report it to law enforcement.
How to recognise and handle the unofficial power structure.
How to talk to people you don’t like and who may not like you.
How to relate to people you don’t know and who may not trust you.
How to defuse an argument.
Johnny Deal
I would add: How to teach and train their members how to share their faith.
Including taking them out to model Jesus’s methods. Evangelism and courage are caught more than taught.
If pastors don’t have “in-house teacher-trainers,” Evangelism Explosion can come nationwide, as little as for one day. What if most churches did this for its members? 2 Corinthians 5:17-20, if anyone is in Christ, he is new, the old is gone, the new has come! God gave us the ministry of reconciliation: God has committed to us the message of reconciliation. We are therefore Ambassadors, as though God were making His appeal through us. That’s our identity, though most Christians do not know their identity or role of witness, nor how to witness. What if most churches would train its members, an army of God, how to witness? A drastic step, but it seems the only way to reverse the trend of plateaued and dying churches as well as to seek and save the lost. Without healthy Southern Baptist Churches in America, NAMB and IMB will suffer. But most importantly, as you know, that won’t happen until we’re at least doing it out of obedience.
While i agree that we need it, what you listed was taught in seminary though. The list was things that weren’t taught, or not taught well.
Johnny Deal
I would add: How to teach and train members, how to share their faith.
If pastors don’t have “in -house” teacher-trainers,” Evangelism Explosion can help nationwide, as little as for one day. What if most churches did this for its members? 2 Corinthians 5:17-20, if anyone is in Christ, he is new, the old is gone, the new has come! God gave us the ministry of reconciliation: God has committed to us the message of reconciliation. We are therefore Ambassadors, as though God is making His appeal through us. That’s our identity, though most Christians do not know their identity or role as witness, nor how to witness. What if most churches would train its members, an army of God, how to share the gospel?
A drastic step, but it seems the only way to reverse the trend of our plateaued and dying churches as well as to seek and save the lost. Without healthy Southern Baptist churches in America, NAMB and IBM will suffer. But most importantly, that won’t happen until we’re at least doing it out of obedience.
1. How to reproof a church member.
2. How to rebuke a church member.
I agree with bill and jason
breaking these out as separate posts would be great