Jen Taylor, a marvelous Christian writer, and thought catalyst blogged after seeing the acclaimed film – Moneyball – that there was really good news. “You don’t have to spend any more money on leadership conferences, training seminars, books, videos, or Successories posters,” she said. “Just see Moneyball!”
She extracted such “takeaways” as:
(1) Don’t back down from conflict, (2) encourage input, but don’t cater to the majority opinion out of fear, (3) look people in the eye and tell them the truth, and (4) stay on message and communicate that one vision at every opportunity. Good stuff.
She prompted me to reflect on nearly 40 years as a pastor/leader, and it resulted in my “baker’s dozen” of the best practices that effective pastoral leaders tend to exhibit consistently. I’d love to read your enhancement and refinement of this list.
From my perspective, the best church leaders consistently tend to…
- … remember what it was like before they were ministry leaders.
- … truly believe in the development of their team members.
- … praise while correcting.
- … always be in a learning posture.
- … listen.
- … model servanthood.
- … replenish themselves.
- … exhibit respect with their actions and attitudes.
- … avoid letting technology be the “tail that wags the dog.”
- … enrich their relationship with Jesus.
- … practice strategic pastoring.
- … know the job is not done until leader multiplication occurs.
- … model generosity.
