Developing Organizational Leaders

In a previous post, I wrote about developing disciplers and shepherds, which accounts for much of the leadership that most churches need. In this post, I turn my attention to describing organizational leaders – and how we can develop them from our own congregation:

Exploring the start of the problem

Lets take as a starting point, that most pastors have no formal training in organizational leadership. Some of them, however, are great organizational leaders. In my conversations with leaders of churches, I have discovered that most learn to lead and manage organizationally by doing. When they got their first pastorate, it came with the expectation that they would be the leader, the executive, the decision maker, the planner, the organizer, the coordinator. Most learned by trial and error. Continue reading “Developing Organizational Leaders”

Leadership Activities

As I said in the initial post in this series on developing leaders, organizational leaders differ from other leaders in ministry because of the activities that they are responsible for.

What do organizational leaders do?

1) cast vision or mission (at some level) for the future activities
2) establish goals
3) create plans
4) recruit and develop staff (including leaders)
5) encourage/influence others to invest (mentally/emotionally) in the vision/mission
6) execute plans
7) achieve goals
8) develop other leaders Continue reading “Leadership Activities”

Leaders or Board Members?

I want to write this post to reflect that ministries require leaders to accept different roles and responsibilities, and people gravitate toward one set or type. God has gifted and talented each of us with a somewhat unique set of qualities and strengths that makes some roles easier and others harder. While there is significant overlap between major role groups, passion is often the determining factor of this gravitation. Continue reading “Leaders or Board Members?”

Developing Leaders

Leaders are different animals. Don’t have leaders if you don’t want to be lead.

Some people lead reluctantly, they are content to be do-ers, but God thrusts them into leadership. Others are born leaders, God has baked leadership into their personality. Still others can be leaders when asked, and can let others lead and be content being contributors.

So how do you develop leaders? What does that mean? What do you mean by a leader? Continue reading “Developing Leaders”