Pastoral Leadership – 8 Traits of Great Leaders

key to church growth

Pastoral Leadership

The single most influential factor to growing a church is great pastoral leadership. The difference between a growing church and a stagnant church is – great leadership versus average leadership. Great leaders build great churches that are vibrant and healthy while average leaders build average churches that often become sluggish and stagnant.

That being said every pastor, regardless of how effective they are as a leader is extremely important. However, you can be a great pastor, but a poor leader. Pastoral care and pastoral leadership are not synonymous. You can be a great preacher, yet not a great leader. You can be a confident pastor, but an insecure leader. The bottom line is for a church to grow numerically and spiritually the pastor has to grow as a leader.

If you’re a pastor, the single most important thing you can do to help grow your church is become a better leader. I have identified 8 traits that set great pastoral leaders apart from the average leader. If you will work on developing these 8 qualities you will become a better leader and as a result your church will become stronger and healthier.

While the 8 traits I’m about to share are what set great leaders apart from the average they are not in lieu of the Biblical qualifications of a pastor. Every pastor needs to be a person of character, integrity, committed to prayer and the word, dedicated to their family, and diligent in their study. In no way am I minimizing or replacing these very important qualities of a pastor. Without these qualifications you are disqualified as a pastor and leader and the 8 qualities of great pastoral leadership become irrelevant. However, if you are not excelling in these 8 areas the effectiveness of your pastoral leadership will be limited.

Also, every church regardless of the size and growth or lack of is extremely important and valuable to the kingdom. The size of a church does not always equal greatness. There is nothing wrong with a church of 100 or 200 or 500 or 1000 or 2000 or 5000. Churches of every size are valuable, however it is important for every church to be growing in some way. As a pastor and leader the question you have to answer is what has God put in your heart to do and what are you willing to do?

I want to help those who want to grow their churches, but have hit a lid, if you’re struggling to break the next barrier of church attendance and your willing do what it takes – I can assure you the issue of leadership is the key for you to break through to the next level. Leadership is more important to growth than any other church growth strategy. (read my article on the myths of church growth CLICK HERE) Regardless of where you are and what your goals are if you will take time to study these 8 traits and work at becoming better at them you will become a better leader and your church will grow and become greater in many ways.

8 Traits of Great Pastoral Leadership

I have worked with and for pastors and leaders of large churches over the past 30 plus years of ministry. During this time I’ve observed several qualities that are common among these great leaders. Here are 8 of the most significant of these traits needed for great pastoral leadership;

1. Great Tenacity

According to the Merriam-Webster online dictionary, “tenacity is being: persistent in maintaining, adhering to, or seeking something valued or desired. Tenacity is that “stick with it” quality when things get difficult. Other words similar to – tenacity are; Persistence – Perseverance – Backbone – Determination – Resolve – Intestinal Fortitude And… True Grit.

This may be the one trait that sets great leaders apart from the rest more than any other. There is no quit in great leaders. They see difficulties and challenges as opportunities. They are not easily discouraged. They quickly bounce back from any set backs. They know how to positively handle criticism. They are able to push past the pain and hurt of disappointments and failures. They use what most see as stumbling blocks as stepping stones. They have GREAT tenacity!

To become a great leader you have to have GREAT TENACITY. Tenacity is having an unwavering commitment to what you believe in. You keep picking yourself up, dusting yourself off, and continue towards the goal. Work on developing a mindset of tenacity. Don’t let one “no” stop you. Don’t let one hundred “no’s” stop you. Don’t let a thousand “no’s” stop you. Stick with it and watch God work in and through you. Great tenacity is a trait of great pastoral leadership!

2. Great faith.

Great leaders have unswerving confidence in God. While they may occasionally doubt their own ability, they never doubt God’s faithfulness and ability to do the impossible. Great leaders don’t limit what can be achieved by looking at only what is seen and known. Great leaders lead toward what is not yet seen and what is not fully known yet. They are committed to doing everything that can be done in the natural, but have an unwavering trust in God for the supernatural. If you want to become a great leader you need to become great in faith. Jesus chastised His disciples for having little or no faith. He commended those who had great faith.

You can never fully accomplish what God has for you in your own strength or ability. Great pastoral leadership is not something done just in the natural. Make it a priority to develop your faith. Faith comes by hearing the Word of God. Faith is developed by doing the Word and doing what God tells you to do. Faith can move mountains. Faith brings the impossible into the possible. Faith sets great leaders apart from average leaders. Great faith is a trait of great pastoral leadership.

3. Great focus

Great leaders are laser focused. Most leaders can tell you what their priorities are, but surprisingly few stay focused on them to the point of accomplishment. Distraction is lethal to leaders. You can’t do everything, but if you do the most important things first, you will see incredible results.

Great leaders stay focused on the important. They don’t waste time and resources on the unimportant . They are able to discern between what is urgent and what is truly important. They are able to keep the unimportant from becoming a distraction. It’s amazing how many of the less important things don’t even need to be done.

It requires laser focus to be a great leader. Great leaders stay focused on the task at hand and make sure it is the most important task. To all the people who take great pride in being multi-taskers, juggling multiple balls at the same time, I have bad news for you. You can only do one thing well at a time. Great leaders focus on doing one thing at a time. Great focus is a trait of great pastoral leadership.

4. Great Communication

Great leaders are great communicators. Communication is more than just talking, it is a process. Average leaders can give good talks or give good speeches and sermons, yet not be great communicators. Great communicators are great listeners. They are more focused on how people are receiving and processing what is being communicated than the message itself. The old saying, “People don’t care what you know until they know you care”, is at the center of being a great communicator. Great leaders genuinely care about the people.

Pastors who think people will listen to their every word and act just because they’re the pastor are living in the past. Great leaders develop relationships with those they lead and open the lines of communication. Average leaders tend to communicate through corporate types of communication – emails, staff meetings, letters, etc. Great communicators have organizational conversations – they think dialog not monologue. Here’s the thing – the more personal and engaging the conversation is the more effective it will be.

Great communicators realize being simple and concise is always better than complicated and confusing. Great communicators are skilled at transferring ideas, aligning expectations, inspiring action, and imparting vision. Great communicators are honest and authentic in their interaction with the people. If you want to be a great leader work on becoming a better communicator. Being a great communicator is a trait of great leaders.

5. Great Decisions Making

Great leaders are great decision makers. They understand how to balance emotion with reason and make the right decisions. They understand what is best and are willing to make the tough decisions. Great leaders are never indecisive. They’re never unclear and uncertain. They are able to quickly arrive at their decisions and communicate the goals to others.

Great leaders know how to be led by the spirit. Inquiring of the Lord is always part of their decision making process. They seek input from Godly counselors and make sure to get all the facts. They are able to ignore public opinion when it gets in the way of principle. On the other hand average leaders are often easily influenced by the crowd. The crowd is seldom right.

Average leaders often make decisions on some form of democratic process. They opt for the popular decision. They let ego and a the need for affirmation and approval blur their decisions. These type of decisions ultimately fail. While great leaders make decisions and then build a consensus for the decisions being made. That’s part of great leadership. However, great leaders when they need to are able to make unpopular decisions. (read my article on “Making Right Decisions” click here )

If you want to become a great leader invest the time and work needed to become a better decision maker. Great decision making is a trait of great leaders.

6. Great Accountability

Great leaders are in a place where they are held accountable. Of all the traits included in this list, this is probably the most controversial. It is the one leaders often push back on and the last to be fully embraced. However, great leaders become great when they are accountable for there decisions, actions, life style, and results. Leaders who are accountable allow themselves to be exposed to criticism, checks and balances, and to be subjected to the consequences of their actions. Great leaders not only take ownership of their own actions they assume ownership for the performance of their teams. In other words they take responsibility. They understand “the buck stops here” words found on the desk of the late President Truman.

As pastors and ministry leaders, we need accountability. “Iron sharpens iron, as one man sharpens another.” (Proverbs 27:17) The lack of accountability in many Christian ministries and independent churches has resulted in the failure of some very strong leaders. They never became great leaders because they lacked accountability. If you truly want to be a great leader take an honest look at the structure of you organization and ask yourself if you are a leader that is a place of real accountability. Great accountability is a trait of great leaders.

7. Great Humility

When you talk about the traits of great leaders humility is not one that usually comes to mind. However, humility is the hallmark trait of great pastoral leaders. Humility is defined as the quality of having a modest view of one’s importance. Charles Spurgeon said, “Humility is to make a right estimate of oneself.”

Jesus tells us very clearly humility is the key to greatness. Jesus said, “The greatest among you will be your servant. For those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.” Being a great leader is being a great servant. Being humble doesn’t mean you’re weak, timid, or unconfident. It means you are fully aware that your life, abilities, giftings, brains, strength, etc. all come from the Lord and He gets ALL the glory for any and everything good that is accomplished.

The opposite of humility is pride and arrogance. Proverbs 16:18 warns us, “Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall.” The moment we think its all about us and what we’ve done we move into a danger zone. James 4:6 tells us, “God resists the proud, But gives grace to the humble.” I don’t know about you I need God’s grace to help be lead and I definitely don’t want Him opposing me. Great humility is a trait of great leaders.

8. Great Learners

Great leaders are lifelong learners. They love to learn. They look for any and every opportunity where they can learn. They are teachable and coachable. They don’t assume they know everything. In fact, when I’ve had the opportunity be with great leaders I’ve been amazed how they would ask me questions trying to learn something themselves. I was wanting to learn from them, to get some insight or key to their success in ministry, but they didn’t want to miss an opportunity to possibly learn something themselves.

Great leaders do not believe it is a weakness to learn from the people they lead. They’re not afraid to say they don’t know something. Why? Because they are great leaders and they want to become better! They have libraries filled with books and are always reading something. Learning can take a lot of different forms depending on the individual, but regardless of their learning style great leaders are committed to continuously expanding their knowledge base.

Leadership is not a destination. When you’re put in a potion of leadership it doesn’t mean you’ve arrived. It’s important not to just sit there and become stagnant. You need to grow as a leader and to grow as a leader you must always be learning. Learning is a choice, but it’s not a choice for great leaders it is a requirement. Being a great learner is a trait of great leaders.

Pastoring is a calling. We are called by Jesus to serve Him and the people He assigns us. We must never forget that JESUS CHRIST is the head of the church, not us. The purpose of great leadership is to more effectively fulfill that calling. The apostle Peter reminds us of the focus of our calling. We are to “shepherd the flock of God which is among you, serving as overseers, not by compulsion but willingly, not for dishonest gain but eagerly; nor as being lords over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock; and when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that does not fade away.” (1Peter 5:2-4) The 8 traits of great pastoral leadership in this article will help you be more effective, efficient, and fruitful in fulfilling your calling. Keep at your pastoral leadership it’s needed in the kingdom- to His glory!

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