PHILOSOPHY OF

LEADERSHIP
TABLE OF CONTENTS

Table of Contents........................................................................................................................... i

Introduction.................................................................................................................................. 1

Weaknesses.................................................................................................................................. 1

Overdriven ......................................................................................................................... 1

Overly Optimistic of People’s Ability ...................................................................................... 2

Strengths ..................................................................................................................................... 2

Connectivity ........................................................................................................................ 2

Shared Leadership .............................................................................................................. 3

Leadership Style ........................................................................................................................... 3

Purpose .............................................................................................................................. 3

Preaching ........................................................................................................................... 4

Proportion .......................................................................................................................... 4

Leadership Development ............................................................................................................... 4

Final Thoughts .............................................................................................................................. 5

Works Cited .................................................................................................................................. 6

i
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To write about the concepts and strategies of others without honest evaluation of myself as a
leader would be only part of the issues relating to my philosophy of ministry and how it relates to the
great commandment, the great commission and a great church. Every leader introduces, by natural
and spiritual endowment, a certain level of competence into the equation. Likewise, the lack of
giftedness in certain areas is equally important, as no human being is perfect and whole in terms of
leadership. Not an attempt at narcissism, this self-analysis is the recognition of the hard-wiring God
has created in me and, by extension, the necessity of other gifts to compliment the deficiencies that
present themselves.
As given in my philosophy of ministry, my mission statement is “through the empowerment of
the Holy Spirit, equip the saints for ministry to the world and each other by intentional and strategic
discipleship motivated by love for Christ and His will.” This provides the foundation for my leadership
style.
Weaknesses
It seems logical to present weaknesses first because these areas require constant
maintenance. Additionally, keeping your weaknesses at the forefront, if in healthy balance, keeps
you humble. “My grace,” Jesus said to Paul, “is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in
weakness” (2 Corinthians 12:9). Additionally, these weaknesses truly remind me of my own
humanity and need for grace.
Overdriven
If, as stated in my philosophy of ministry, the “Super-Hired Holy-Man-Syndrome” is a
“dangerous virus”1, then my overdriven nature is just as dangerous. It is not an issue of expecting
others to work themselves to illness, as a taskmaster would. Nor is it a lack of ability to delegate
responsibilities. Instead, when a project is assumed or a vision is cast, sometimes there are not
people equipped to immediately implement this project or vision. I tend to take these on myself
while training people. This self-imposed standard, if left unchecked, would result in burnout.
The best methodology I use to balance this is my wife. Patty is very quick to tell me when my
“work” has interfered with too much family time and I need to put it down. This balance not only
helps me prevent burn-out, it maintains the relationship at home, while also making me better able
to serve the church. Another methodology is accountability. As I hold others accountable to taking

1
Darrell W. Robinson, Total Church Life: How to be a First Century Church in a 21st Century World. (Nashville, TN: Broadman
& Holman Publishers, 1997), 84.
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days off and not “burning the candle at both ends”, so they have the right to hold me accountable for
the same.
Overly Optimistic of People’s Ability
I am an optimist. That optimism, while being a pleasant outlook on life, can make me myopic
to the inabilities or lack of preparedness of others. This serves as a problem for the individual on the
receiving end of this weakness as they may be thrust into a position before they are equipped with
the basic skills necessary to thrive in that position. I truly want to believe someone has enough
“potential” to succeed but in reality, this is not always true.
To counteract this tendency, I surround myself with people to help provide a balanced
perspective. These fellow leaders help prevent personal feelings toward someone from pushing them
into a ministry field without them being prepared. If they do agree the individual has potential, they
can keep me from accidentally “throwing them to the lions” before they are ready. A second
methodology employed is the use of checklists. These checklists allow the subjective to become
objective while also helping people see their progress of growth and preparedness.
Strengths
“But, ‘Let him who boasts boast in the Lord.’ For it is not the one who commends himself who
is approved, but the one whom the Lord commends” (2 Corinthians 10:17-18). As stated in the
introduction to this section, the strengths listed here carry the same stipulation as the weaknesses: it
is an acknowledgement of the natural and spiritual skills the Lord Himself has orchestrated.
Connectivity
A dear brother in Christ recently commented, “I know that you really care about me—not what
I can do for you, not my talent or my money, but me.” Another sister in Christ adds, “You are a
shepherd.” I deeply desire to know the flock under my care. Knowing the hurts, habits, hang-ups,
celebrations, joys, and reasons to celebrate are very important. People are not valuable because of
what they can do for the church. They are valuable because
“People are not valuable
they are made in the image of God, Jesus died for them, and
because of what they can do
they have a uniqueness that has never been or ever will be
for the church. They are
duplicated. This connectivity certainly comes with two edges: valuable because they are
a hug for those who are down and a warning for those made in the image of God…”
straying too close to the edge.
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This care and connectivity also extends to those outside the church. A man named Don has
become a friend. He is not a Christ follower, and knows that I am and yet there is a connection
between us. He knows I am not talking to him just because of his abilities nor am I talking to him so
I can add “another notch for my soul quota” (his words). Again, Jesus said “By this all men will know
that you are my disciples, if you love one another” (John 13:35).
Shared Leadership
A team can accomplish more with greater efficiency than an individual can. With shared
responsibility, there is greater effectiveness and ownership. Other members of the team are not
merely administrators, although some may have that giftedness and work better in those areas than
others, but “all join in shepherding the church.”2 This is not to say I remove myself from my
leadership responsibilities, but a team truly out-performs an individual in any situation. This is the
essence of how I lead.
I am described as a “strong leader” and my approach to leadership is to surround myself with
capable people and allow them to do what they do best. I simply do not need to be involved in every
decision of the church. Although I am aware of marketing campaigns (and may contribute to their
creation) or am aware of accounting practices, I certainly do not pretend to be an expert. The
capable leaders in these areas, while keeping me “in the loop”, should certainly be empowered to do
their jobs.
Leadership Style
Purpose
“A church must have a purpose,” Rainer contends, “it cannot wander aimlessly and hope to
make a difference for kingdom.”3 Too often, churches possess, at best, an amorphous methodology
to ministry and this haze leads to wasted energy and resources and, ultimately, ineffectiveness for
the Kingdom. An effective leader provides clarity and direction. Throughout my time in ministry,
God has blessed me with clarity of purpose. It is only by His grace and mercy that He has shown me
the way to go and given others the peace to follow. This clarity and direction begins in the study of
the Word.

2
Robinson, 59-60.
3
Thom Rainer, Surprising Insights from the Unchurched and Proven Ways to Reach Them (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan,
2001), 65.
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Preaching
If Rainer’s research is correct and more than 90% of American pastors observe two hours of
preparation time for each message presented, it is no wonder why so many churches exist in
apathy.4 By contrast, I prepare for at least fifteen hours for each message presented. In addition to
preparation time, an additional four to five hours is spent recording, listening, editing, and
familiarizing myself with the message. The importance of time in the Word must not be
compromised. Andy Stanley is quoted as saying, “Devoting a little of yourself to everything means
committing a great deal of yourself to nothing.”5 A church must understand this importance (often
through being taught) and reinforces it through protecting and valuing that time. Leading through
the authority of the Word of God is the best method a pastor can employ. As such, this needs to be
his primary focus. The pulpit, which is where the teaching pastor should excel, carries a powerful
influence and one would find it difficult to produce a better method to equip the saints, share the
vision, empower the laity, feed the sheep, and lead the church.
Proportion
The tasks of administration of the church and issues of pastoral care, while being very
important, can consume every minute of every day for a Senior Pastor. God has designed another
way: proportional care. Administrative duties and care can be accomplished through the
aforementioned team approach to ministry. The senior pastor does not need to do all the care
ministry. Nor does he need to do all the counseling. As previously stated, his primary focus must be
on teaching the entire flock. Therefore, the other pastors must serve in these administrative and
shepherding roles as well. This also allows them to develop their skills that in turn, further serve the
Kingdom of God.
Leadership Development
The question has been around a long time: are leaders born or made? The answer is equally
as old: both. Some people grow up with their kindergarten classmates following their lead while
others never seem to be the leader. Some people walk into a room and somehow command it while
others—even hosting it—can feel like outsiders. This is the natural part of leadership. This is the
part that God has created in certain people and on top of that their spiritual giftedness augments this

4
Ibid., 67.
5
Andy Stanley, 7 Practices of Effective Ministry (Colorado Springs, CO: Multnomah Books, 2004), 100.
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natural ability. Even with this raw ability to attract followers, leadership skills must be developed in
order to control them. Unbridled leadership skills can quickly lead to manipulation.
I take Ephesians 4:11-13 very seriously. In my history and present, there are leaders the Lord
has given me in order to develop through the Word and my
“Too many leaders have
charged forward without any own “dumb taxes”. Leaders must be trained. They must

training only to march to their learn how to lead people in a healthy way. They must
own demise.” understand the complexities of consensus and compromise.
Too many leaders have charged forward without any training only to march to their own demise.
Therefore, I utilize a system of training for leaders in various roles. This system is simple,
although not easy. Using a checklist, these leaders must handle certain situations and take certain
classes (in-house or close by if at all possible) in order to proceed through the training. Any leader at
any level of leadership must be trained. The specifics of these systems are always drawn up by a
team which helps determine the essentials verses the extras. Using this method, the Lord has
blessed me by seeing many leaders take the reins of leadership from others and succeed.
Final Thoughts
Cast the vision and allow those who catch it to take the mountain. What these fellow leaders
most often need is to see which mountain to take, not necessarily the path to it. Through a collective
leadership, the entire church is strengthened as more leaders are empowered for greater ministry.
My philosophy of leadership, then, reduces to three irreducible ideas:
• Biblical vision is a necessity.
• Teach the Word.
• Empower the people.
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Works Cited

Rainer, Thom. Surprising Insights from the Unchurched and Proven Ways to Reach Them. Grand
Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2001.

Robinson, Darrell. Total Church-Life: How to Be a First Century Church in a 21st Century World.
Nashville, TN: B&H Books, 1997.

Stanley, Andy, et al. 7 Practices of Effective Ministry. Colorado Springs, CO: Multnomah Books,
2004.