Leadership - how does yours rate?

TODAY'S SPECIAL: 2 Chronicles 9-12; Psalm 73

TO CHEW ON: "Blessed be the Lord your God, who delighted in you, setting you on His throne to be king for the Lord your God. Because your God has loved Israel, to establish them forever, therefore He made you king over them to do justice and righteousness." 2 Chronicles 9:8


The fashion these days is to criticize leaders, not praise them. The Queen of Sheba's idea that God had blessed Israel by letting her be ruled by a king as wise as Solomon seems foreign to us — fed as we are by scandal-driven media features, negative news items and critical editorials about our leaders.

But maybe we should stop criticizing and complaining. Because our rulers are actually there by God's permission and authority as much as Israel's were (see Romans 13:1).

It helps, of course, to change our focus and instead of looking for mistakes, look for ways our rulers are a positive force in our nation, region and town. Political parties and preferences aside, there is much to appreciate and be thankful for in our democratic leaders.

Politicians aren't our only leaders. Churches, organizations, even families have leaders. If you are a parent, you are a leader.

What kind of leaders are we? Would someone exclaim about our church, club or family how fortunate they are because they are under our leadership?

PRAYER: Dear God, Solomon prayed for divine wisdom to lead Israel. I need similar wisdom to lead in my small way in my family and every other place where I have leadership responsibilities. Amen.

PSALM TO PRAY: Psalm 73 

MORE: Advice for leaders

Michael Hyatt, CEO of Thomas Nelson Publishing writes a lot about leadership on his blog Michael Hyatt - Intentional Leadership. Here are links to a few recent articles about leadership:

"Why Leaders Cannot Afford to be Easily Offended"

"Four Temptations Christian Leaders Face"

"A Tale of Two Leaders: Which Are You?" <— this is excellent!

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 Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

A challenge to us as followers

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Titus 1:1-16

TO CHEW ON: "For a bishop must be blameless, as a steward of God, not self-willed, not quick-tempered, not given to wine, not violent, not greedy for money." Titus 1:7

Those of us who attend church with pastor leaders are well aware of the hazards of such a position. Pastors get criticized for a multitude of things: their leadership style, their sermons, how organized or disorganized they are, the hours they work or don't, not visiting the sick and shut-ins or visiting too much, driving too big and fancy a car or looking too poor… and the list could go on.

Paul's letter to Titus deals with choosing church leaders and lists some of the qualifications they should have. Paul tells Titus to choose bishops (overseers) who are: (quotes in parenthesis are from the Amplified Bible).

• "blameless" ("of unquestionable integrity")
• "the husband of one wife" 
• good fathers whose children are described as "faithful … not accused of dissipation or insubordination" ("well-trained … believers … not  … loose in morals and conduct or unruly or disorderly")
• "not self-willed" ("arrogant or presumptuous")
• "not quick-tempered" 
• "not given to wine"
• "not violent" ("pugnacious, brawling")
• "not greedy ("grasping … for filthy lucre [financial gain])"
• "hospitable" ("loving and a friend to believers, especially to strangers and foreigners")
• "lovers of what is good" ("of good people and good things")
• "sober-minded" ("sensible, discreet")
• "just" ("upright and fair-minded")
• "holy" ("a devout man and religiously correct")
• "self-controlled" ("temperate and keeping himself in hand")
• "holding fast the faithful word he has been taught"
• "able… to exhort and convict those who contradict" ("able both to give stimulating instruction and encouragement in sound {wholesome} doctrine and to refute and convict those who contradict and oppose it [showing the wayward their error]")

Even though this list is over 2000 years old, it is still applicable to church leaders today. However, rather than using it as a yardstick to point out ways our pastors don't measure up, let's use it as a template for prayer that they do and will.

In their positions pastors and other church leaders are targets of not only us who are followers in their congregations but the watching world. Probably nothing makes the devil happier than when a prominent man or woman of God gets tangled in sin.

So with all our hearts, let's fill our months with intercession for our pastors in these many areas rather than criticism.


PRAYER: Dear God, I pray for my pastor and Your under-shepherds all over the world.  May these men and women stay pure and dedicated as they work as stewards in Your church. Amen.

MORE: Fourth Sunday of Advent
Today the church celebrates the Fourth Sunday of Advent. If there is a Christmas story character focus today, I'd guess it would be "Shepherds."

The Fourth Advent Sunday liturgy begins with this collect:

"Purify our conscience, Almighty God, by your daily visitation, that your Son Jesus Christ, at his coming, may find in us a mansion prepared for himself; who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen"

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New King James Version (NKJV) Used with permission. The Holy Bible, New King James Version Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.

Some scripture quotes are taken from the Amplified® Bible,
Copyright © 1954, 1958, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1987 by The Lockman Foundation
Used by permission." (www.Lockman.org)

Muscle and snew

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Acts 14:21-15:2

TO CHEW ON: "And when they had preached the gospel to that city and made many disciples, they returned to Lystra, Iconium, and Antioch, strengthening the souls of the disciples, exhorting them to continue in the faith, and saying, 'We must through many tribulations enter the kingdom of God.'" Acts 14:21,22

At the beginning of our reading today, Paul was in Derbe. It was practically the only city on this whole trip from which he wasn't run out of town.

But, spiritual father and pastor that he was, nothing could keep him away from his spiritual babies. When retracing his steps back to Antioch (his sending church - Acts 13:1,2) he went through Lystra (where he had been stoned and left for dead - Acts 14:19,20), Iconium (where he had been the object of abuse and near stoning - Acts 14:5,6), and Antioch in Pisidia (where the city leadership had expelled him - Acts 13:50). Would we have been so bold and brave?

On visiting the fledgling congregations he had 'hatched,' he built them up with a blend of realism and optimism. I love how Eugene Peterson puts it in The Message:

"After proclaiming the Message in Derbe and establishing a strong core of disciples, they retraced their steps to Lystra, then Iconium, and then Antioch, putting muscle and sinew in the lives of the disciples, urging them to stick with what they had begun to believe and not quit, making it clear to them that it wouldn’t be easy: 'Anyone signing up for the kingdom of God has to go through plenty of hard times'" - Acts 14:21,22 MSG  (emphasis added).

Jack Hayford interprets this combination of suffering and victory for our time:

"Triumph and victory may characterized the attitude of each citizen of the kingdom of God, and Holy Spirit-empowered authority is given to be applied to realize results. Yet God did not promise life without struggle.

"[…]The Bible teaches that suffering, trial, and all order of human difficulty are unavoidable; but God's Word also teaches that they may all be overcome. The presence of the King and the power of His kingdom in our lives make us neither invulnerable nor immune to life's struggles. But they do bring the promise of victory: provision in need, strength for the day, and healing, comfort, and saving help" - Jack Hayford, "Suffering, Tribulation," New Spirit-Filled Bible, p. 1518 (emphasis added).

PRAYER: Dear Father, thank You for Paul's example in suffering and tribulation. When problems come my way, help me to shun self pity, instead view them as a means to grow my faith and character. Amen.

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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations marked MSG are taken from The Message. Copyright © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002. Used by permission of NavPress Publishing Group.

You pastor's words

TODAY'S SPECIAL: 1 Thessalonians 2:9-3:5

TO CHEW ON: "For this reason we also thank God without ceasing because when you received the word of God which you heard from us, you welcomed it, not as the word of men but as it is in truth, the word of God, which also effectively works in you who believe." 1 Thessalonians 2:13

Do we consider the message our pastor preaches each Sunday the actual "word of God" to us? Do we welcome it as Paul's readers did? Or do we hear it with a critical ear and the intention to obey only the comfortable bits?

It might be a good idea to keep Paul's words in mind next Sunday as we listen to our pastor preach.

• We can ask ourselves is there something we need to hear?

• If pastor's sermon sounds like a repeat of other messages he's preached, we can examine our lives for disobedience. Maybe the reason God is impressing the same message on our pastor's heart week after week is because we aren't obeying.

• If we find it hard to concentrate, taking notes may help. We could write down his main points, statements that grab our attention, and Scriptures that he refers to so we can reread them later.

• We can listen with the goal of taking something practical home with us. We could look for a truth or principle to apply to everyday life or one change we could make.

• And one more thing: why don't we pray for our pastor throughout the week that he will hear from God for us, and have the freedom and liberty to speak what God impresses on him to preach. Let's not take lightly God's choice and anointing of our pastor as a means of building us up (His body the church).

PRAYER: Dear God, I thank You for my pastor. Please help him to hear from You this week, and to preach with confidence and conviction next Sunday. Amen.

MORE: Understanding your pastor's challenges

For us in the pews, it's easy to think a pastor's job is a piece of cake. After all, doesn't he just have to get his sermon ready each week and preach on Sunday? What can be so hard about that?

However, the reality is quite different. Kevin DeYoung, an author, blogger and pastor writes of the challenges of being a pastor:

"Ask any pastor who really takes his work seriously and he will tell you of the pressures he feels in ministry—people in crisis, people leaving, people coming, people falling through the cracks, people disappointed by the pastor, people disappointing to the pastor. In the midst of this work the pastor is trying to find time for study, prayer, preparation, and family. He’s trying to improve himself, train up new leaders, meet the budget, get to know a few missionaries, champion important program, manage staff, take care of administrative details, provide for deep, accessible worship and preaching, be responsive to new ideas, listen to new concerns, be ready to help when people are in trouble."

Read all of "Pastoral Pressure and Apostolic Anxiety."

May this insight into pastoral life add to our incentive to pray for our church's pastors and leaders.

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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Leaders are human too

Luke the Evangelist - by Andrea Mantegna

TODAY'S SPECIAL: 2 Timothy 4:9-22

TO CHEW ON: "Only Luke is with me…" 2 Timothy 4:11

Demas, attracted by worldly things, has left for Thessalonica, Crescens for Galatia, Titus for Dalmatia. I could use Mark. I'm cold, bring my cloak. I'd love the books and parchments. Alexander the coppersmith has done a lot of damage to me. At my trial, everyone deserted me… (my paraphrase of 2 Timothy 4:10-16)

This is hardly a list we would expect to read from the pen of the man who wrote: "I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength (Philippians 4:13); "Take up the whole armour of God" (Ephesians 6:13); and "For the kingdom of God is not in word but in power" (1 Corinthians 4:20).

It shows us that even our strongest and seemingly most invincible leaders have down days. They are not immune from feeling forsaken, lonely, persecuted, physically and mentally needy, and generally discouraged.

But there is a bright spot for Paul. "Luke is with me." Luke, the doctor who wrote the Gospel of Luke and the Acts of the Apostles stood by his beleaguered friend and leader, apparently unaffected by his downturn in fortune, his unpopularity and beaten-up spirit.

Our leaders have their ups and downs too. Do we realize this? Or do we put them on some sort of pedestal, expecting them to be always cheerful, upbeat, encouraging, energetic?

What do we do when someone bends our ear with a complaint about our pastor? Do we listen, sympathize and pass it on? Or do we defend him or her, and make sure the complaint stops with us?

Let's be Lukes who support and are loyal to our leaders through the good times and the bad.

PRAYER: Dear God, help me to resist any temptation to criticize and gossip about my pastor. Help me to remember that he is as human as I am, and to pray for him and his family regularly. Amen.

MORE: The Feast of St. Luke the Evangelist

Today the church celebrates Luke in the Feast of St. Luke.

Today's liturgy begins with this Collect:

Almighty God, who inspired your servant Luke the physician to set forth in the Gospel the love and healing power of your Son: Graciously continue in your Church this love and power to heal, to the praise and glory of your Name; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

The pastors and the people

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Philippians 2:18-30

TO CHEW ON: "Receive him therefore in the Lord with all gladness, and hold such men in esteem." Philippians 2:29

How do you view your pastor and other members of your church's ministry team? If you're a pastor, how do you view your congregation? Are you "buddy-buddy"? Or is there a bit of a gulf between the congregation and the leadership? This gulf could be there for a number of legitimate reasons:

- Pastors are also often our counselors. As such they know things about various ones of us they're not free to divulge. Their role demands discretion.

- If they are obedient to sharing God's word with us, it may not always be what we want to hear and, like the Old Testament prophets, our pastors may experience friendship fallout from the unpopularity of their message.

- The very position of leader needs some distance and objectivity. Leaders need to be fair and not seen to be favoring one group or individual over another.

In our reading today, Paul talks to the Philippians about their relationship with him and the members of his team, and vice versa. Some of the interactions he has experienced and hopes for are:

On the part of the pastor toward the congregation:

• They genuinely care for the state of the people, as Timothy does - Philippians 2:20.
• They serve Jesus' concerns and interests, not their own - Philippians 2:21,22.
• They are willing to travel as both Timothy and Epaphroditus are - Philippians 2:23,25.
• There is a genuine love of the team members for the congregation - Philippians 2:26.
• They are willing to extend themselves for the gospel and the church, e.g. Epaphroditus - Philippians 2:30.

On the part of the congregation toward the pastors:

• Paul hopes for openness between congregation and workers so that he can "know your state." He hopes to be encouraged by them - Philippians 2:19.
• The Philippian church has been concerned about practical things like Epaphriditus's health - Philippians 2:26.
• Paul asks them to offer joyous hospitality to visiting team members and to hold them in esteem - Philippians 2:29.

What can we learn and apply from the relationship of Paul, Timothy and Epaphroditus with the church members at Philippi?

If we're pastors or part of a ministry team, we can ask ourselves, do we genuinely love and care about our congregation? Are we willing to do what it takes of travel and other self-denying acts for their benefit? Or do we whine about their immaturity and other faults when we're with fellow ministers at, say, the local ministerial meeting?

As members of the congregation, are we hospitable toward our pastors? Are we aware that they are vulnerable to health problems like the rest of us? Do we hold them in esteem? Or are we standoffish toward them, with a type of "class" mentality?  Do we respect and honor them when they're not around, or gossip about and criticize them behind their backs?

PRAYER: Dear God, please help me to relate to my pastor and the ministry team at church in a way that pleases You, encourages then, and helps build up the body of Christ. Amen.
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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Equipped to work

TODAY'S SPECIAL: Ephesians 4:1-16

TO CHEW ON: "And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ." Ephesians 4:11-12

What is your perception of your pastor's purpose? Do you see him as someone whose job it is to entertain, educate and challenge you in his Sunday sermons, to encourage you, to visit you when you're sick and generally cater to you? Or in your mind, does his job description also include getting you ready to do some of those things for others?

Paul talks about the role of leadership in this passage in terms of equipping. Jack Hayford in his notes on Ephesians, comments: "Equipping implies: 1) a recovered wholeness as when a broken limb is set and mended; 2) a discovered function as when a physical member is properly operating" - New Spirit-Filled Life Bible p. 1650.

Paul's language here is quite clear about the role of church leaders. While one of their jobs is to care for us as in help us recover wholeness, another is to help us to discover our ministry role and equip us to care for others.

What others?

I would suggest all those whose lives touch ours in some way. This would include people we live with (family), the people we live beside, the people we interact with not only face-to-face but virtually through Facebook, and email. Even the writing I'm doing here is the fruit of my pastor's equipping in my life.

I see a couple of implications for everyday living:

1. If we're leaders (one of those apostles,* prophets, evangelists or teachers) one of our goals should be to equip our 'disciples' to do ministry.

2. As disciples / parishioners / church members, we need to realize that our pastor's role is not all about us—how entertaining he is as a speaker, how often he visits us when we're sick, how wise he is as a counselor, etc. Rather, it is to prepare us to take on some of those ministry responsibilities as we share the burden for the well-being of the body of Christ.

PRAYER: Dear God, help me to be a giver, not just a taker when it comes to responsibility in the body of Christ. And help my pastor and other church leaders as they work in their many roles. Amen.

MORE: Spiritual leadership

Bob Hamp, in a guest post on Michael Hyatt's blog says, "Not all leaders in religious organizations are spiritual leaders. This is not a criticism as much as a distinction. Distinguishing spiritual leadership from other forms of leadership can free people from unrealistic expectations of some leaders.

At the same time, making this distinction can help identify who the spiritual leaders in your organization are..." 

Hamp's observation alerts us to the possibility that we, as laypeople, can be spiritual leaders. His article goes on to give six characteristics of spiritual leaders:

1. They lead others into their own encounters with God.
2. They lead others to discover their own purpose and identity.
3. They lead others into transformation—not just production.
4. They impact their atmosphere.
5. They help people see old things in new ways.
6. They gain a following because of who they are—not because of a position they hold.

Read all of "6 Characteristics of Spiritual Leaders."

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* Apostles: Are there still apostles today? Many insist that office ended in the New Testament era. Jack Hayford, in his notes on Ephesians says:

"Beyond the distinct role filled by the original founding apostles, the NT mentions enough additional apostles to indicate that this office, with that of prophets, is as continuing a ministry in the church as the more commonly acknowledged offices of evangelist, pastors and teachers" New Spirit-Filled Life Bible, p. 1650.

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Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Should pastors get paid?

TODAY'S SPECIAL: 1 Corinthians 9:1-18

TO CHEW ON: "Even so the Lord has commanded that those who preach the gospel should live from the gospel." 1 Corinthians 9:14

Does your pastor earn a salary? Is he or she worth it?

Though we may consider such questions crass, here Paul takes on the issue of whether apostles (of which he considered himself one) and others who preach the gospel should be able to live from their efforts.

He gives three reasons why they should:


1. Society endorses such payment. Paul names soldiers, farmers and shepherds as those who profit from their own work and says that pastors should have the same right.

2. Moses' law supported such payment, even to the extent of caring for the animals, like the ox, who help with the harvest (1 Corinthians 9:9-11).

3. Jesus' own words to His disciples when He sent them out also supported the rightness of such remuneration (1 Corinthians 9:14; Matthew 10:10)

Yet Paul assures the Corinthians he is not insisting on that right. He isn't preaching for money but rather because preaching is something he feels he must do. He calls it a necessity and stewardship, and refers to the authority preaching the gospel with no strings attached gives him.

No doubt most of our leaders, pastors, and teachers feel the same way. I can think of few pastors who preach the gospel to get rich.

If you are a pastor, this passage is a good reminder of why you went into the ministry on the first place. It encourages you to face your monetary expectations and sort out, before God, any disappointments and shortfalls.

For us in the pews, it's an encouragement to affirm our pastors with an adequate salary. It also gives us the rationale to work in unpaid positions, volunteering in Sunday School, teaching classes, leading Bible studies in our homes for free "because necessity is laid upon me (us); yes, woe is me if I do not preach the gospel."

PRAYER: Dear God, thank You for my pastors. Help me to willingly give them both moral and money support. Amen.

MORE: What do/should pastors make?

"A Pastor's Salary" - an undated article on the Crown Financial Ministries site suggests:

"A good rule of thumb to determine how much salary pastors should receive is either to pay them the same salary as the average wage of the church ruling board, the average estimated wage of the families in the congregation, or base the salary on a proposed budget presented by the pastor to the appropriate financial authorities for their consideration." Read the whole article...

Setting Pastor Salaries and Pastor Compensation - is a 2008 article on the Dr. Salary site.

Pinched Paychecks - is a 2009 article published on ChristianityToday.com