What is the one thing a leader needs the most to succeed? If we have the answer to that question, everything else falls into place. So here goes. The thing most needed for someone to succeed as a leader is a deep conviction that what they are attempting is God’s plan for them at this given moment. Sound simple?
Well, too many pastors I know try to lead a church wherever it wants to go rather than where God wants it to go. And many pastors get upset with me when I say “If you aren’t sure what God has called you to do in this particular place, you might as well quit.”
Too many pastors arrive at a new church with their only goal being to get the lay of the land and to find out what the people want them to do. In fact, many pastors don’t have a plan or a conviction as to what must be done for the church to thrive. So they ask the people what they think they should do. If they knew, the church wouldn’t be declining.
I asked a pastor the other day, what he intended to happen during his tenure at a new church. He said he had no clue. “Do you know why God put you there?” “No”, he said. Every successful pastor I’ve known had a plan for his or her new church from day one. Every successful pastor I’ve known went about doing what God called him or her to be and to do from day one, even if it wasn’t what the church leaders wanted. Leadership is the conviction that God has put you there for a purpose and having the conviction to follow through from the beginning.
Question: How did you go about finding your purpose – and thereby your leadership – in the place where you are now? Share your experiences in the Comments section below.
What if you know exactly what God wants you to do but your not the primary decision maker – an associate but not the senior? You work to “lead from the 2nd chair” but to little avail.
i thought i had responded. sorry. If it were me, i would either start my own church or move to a church where i could be the lead pastor. as long as you are in second chair you must support the lead pastor or leave. that is the only way it can work for the benefit of the church, even if the lead pastor is off base.
You can’t lead from the second chair, nor should you try. Undermining the key leader will hurt the church, not help it. Try to be an influence on the lead, but if you cannot, then learn all you can from him/her – they too have strengths in areas you may not have. Learn from their mistakes. And find a mentor in a congregation that’s faithful so you can learn from them. Then, when it’s your turn in the hot seat, you’ll be better prepared to take the lead.