Pastoring isn’t easy. Pastors make and take tough calls. They hire people, fire people, marry people, and bury people. They work to save marriages that are falling apart, decide when it’s time to repaint the choir room, and make difficult finical decisions, all while preparing one or more weekly messages that are supposed to life-changing, encouraging, inspiring, entertaining, convicting, enlightening, refreshing, and exciting.
In the midst of their regular duties, they are the ones who show up in the hospital at 2 a.m. to comfort a young couple through the loss of their infant when they have 8 a.m. meeting with the treasurer of the church board.
To combat the unending hectic pace of a pastor’s job, they hire men and women to share the load of the ministry. Often, these people are just as busy. A ministry staff can seem like a scattered, unstable atom. Emergencies, activities, special events, and family commitments keep team members running in all directions.
Time is limited. When the demands for time increase, the time we spend with our staff decreases. However, it’s during seasons of hurried activity that our souls become stagnant and our spirituality grows stale. As leaders, our souls should be stirred with the love of God and we should be growing spiritually.
Successful church leadership teams invest together in exploring, planning, and refining the health of both their ministries and their souls. They set aside key moments to work together to re-envision their ministry and renew their souls.
Embrace Jesus’ model of discipleship. He was mission centered and vision focused, but He did not neglect those closest to Him. He knew they were important to the plan of God, and each member of your leadership team is important to your ministry’s success.
Jesus asked questions when He wanted people to learn or grow. He knew questions forced people to face reality and change.
Here are nine questions to ignite discipleship conversations with your staff:
1) How is your soul?
2) How is your marriage?
3) How can I pray for you?
4) When is the last time you looked at pornography?
5) Are you the parent God wants you to be?
6) How is your family?
7) Who do you need to forgive and why? (or) Who have you just forgiven and how did you do that?
8) What are some ways you can tell you’re growing spiritually?
9) Where is your spirituality growing stale?
How would you answer these nine questions?
