Most books on leadership focus on what a leader is and what a leader can do to improve
himself or herself as a leader. After 50 years of pastoral leadership in various capacities as a
Lead Pastor, Executive Pastor, District Superintendent, Adjunct College and Seminary professor,
Conference Speaker and Consultant I have come to the conclusion that the most important
aspect of leadership is how the leader engages and serves his/her ministry colleagues and the
larger church constituency. Transformative leaders have the uncanny ability to relate well to all
levels of leadership in the church, the staff, governing board, ministry leaders and congregational
members. Most pastors are good theologians; many, however, suffer from a lack of knowing
how to engage with others in a relational capacity that reflects the clear teaching of God's word.
They know and preach with their heads, but their hearts are unresponsive to the biblical and
significantly practical truths that are essential for building a strong team of motivated colleagues.
In working with governing boards, pastoral staffs, and churches in trouble, I've discovered that
many church leaders and pastors do not know how to put the interests and passions of their
ministry colleagues before their own interests and passions. A lack of valuing the passions and
gifts of other staff/lay leaders keeps pastors and churches from reaching their full potential.
Improving the way we interact with one another as a ministry team may address the current crisis
in many evangelical movements where more than 20 churches close every day, 15 pastors leave the
ministry every day and 80-90 % of many long-established churches are plateaued or declining.
Unfortunately, Covid 19 has exacerbated this downward trend. Other-centered Leadership is my
attempt to call church leaders back to the biblical basics of leadership that many well-intentioned
leaders tend to forget or worse yet, refuse to practice in their relationships with fellow team
members. Our relationship with God and the way we treat our ministry colleagues is a mirror into
our heart's motivations and desires. My prayer is that these simple principles gleaned from God's
word and interaction with hundreds of leaders will stimulate a new generation of pastoral leaders
who will "treat others better than themselves" for the glory of God.
