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4 Keys to Transform "Staffers" into "Leaders"

We are in a crisis of Biblical pastoral leadership. In my area eight pastors in mega-churches lost the staff person closest to them: each staffer had a pastor who made a severing kind of mistake in leadership. In another church, a pastor required the evangelism staff worker to produce two public professions of faith every Sunday. At that church two staff men in a row with that job resigned, getting divorced. The third worker resigned in time to save his marriage. The senior pastor never related the staff family breakups to his ego demands. Later, immorality and divorce ruined his ministry.

Why are leaders failing? Few leaders have had any training. Some leaders just wing it all their lives with constant staff turnover. Second, today’s leaders may lack the diligence to discern godly models. And, if found, they may not get the critical mentoring from these busy leaders. Many pastor-leaders try to copy large-church leaders, thinking baptisms, buildings, and budget successes equal Biblical leadership. Not necessarily. Many magnetic communicators, only observed from a distance, have private tragedies in their families and ministries when seen close-up. Also ministers often lack basic skills for common leadership demands. There is, lastly, the confusion over the conflict between secular and Biblical leadership values. Adopting many current business practices with staff people can guarantee tragedy.

The privilege of leadership is a high calling . . . and an adventure. Let’s see the mistakes and some practical answers to becoming Biblical leaders.

1. The Trap of Top-Down Authority Attitudes

People fall into this losing attitude for five basic reasons: It’s traditional . . . old dad did it, the army, and my boss. It’s by far the most common model people use. It’s the easiest for it takes little thinking, only threats. It comes naturally, for that is the way we are. And it certainly reflects the depravity of man. Satan began the problem, and he is called the deceiver still.
What is the model to counter top-down leadership? It is what some prefer to call servant leadership. The servant leader idea has been around in business circles since the 60’s, contained in a landmark work written by Douglas McGregor, Human Side of Enterprise.

Let’s illustrate. Instead of everyone in the organization there to serve the leader (and the Lord?), the leader is at the bottom of an inverted pyramid, with everyone resting on his shoulders. In his book, The Top Ten Mistakes Leaders Make, Dr. Han Finzel explains: “I spend countless hours helping others be effective by providing them the facts, the energy, the resources, the networks, the information, or whatever else they need to do an effective job. Most of my day is spent laying aside my own priorities to help others fulfill theirs.”

On the night he was betrayed Jesus showed his servant heart in the upper room washing the disciples’ feet. “I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you. I tell you the truth, no servant is greater than his Master.” (John 13:15-16).