Tag: church leadership

5 Huge Differences Between Leaders & Managers

“If leadership practices in the Church are not drastically different from the corporate world, the Church’s influence on the world will cease reflecting the person of Jesus.”

For the sake of this post, let’s define ‘managers’ as task-oriented individuals in high positions who’s only goal is to get results at any cost…and ‘leaders’ as people-oriented individuals in influential positions who’s goal is to accomplish objectives with their teams.

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Managers say, “You will get this done.”

   Leaders say, “We’ll get this done together.”

Managers tend to delegate tasks to those in specific positions.

   Leaders give tasks out to those team members best equipped to handle them. 

Managers lead others out the office they occupy.

   Leaders lead out of relationship which earns them influence.

Mangers make decisions out of what makes sense and seems logical.

   Leaders realize the importance of prayer, thinking ‘outside of the box,’ and involving others in decisions.

Managers tend to protect their position until they are offered a chance to move up the corporate ladder.

   Leaders do their best to bring one or two others along and mentor them to replace themselves one day.

 

That’s my list.  Would you add anything?  I’d love to hear your thoughts.  Leave a comment below.

 

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The One Commandment Most Church Leaders Break Often

Church leaders are some of the worst examples of modeling healthy rest.  I wrestled with this for years!

God even commands us to do it……yet we don’t.

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…the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work…  Exodus 20:8-11

Now, I’m not talking about a legalistic approach to the Sabbath, which includes checking off a ton of boxes to show we are ‘keeping the law.’ The deeper purpose of the Sabbath is so much more.

Taking one day every week and giving it Sabbath consideration does two things.

  • It proves to God that we really do care about what He tells us.
  • It forces us to create healthy margin in an increasingly busy society.

So…why do church leaders constantly struggle with taking a full day of rest?

Guilt | This is especially true of senior leaders.  “The church is paying me to be the Pastor at all times.”  No they’re not!  You are in your leadership position to lead the congregation in healthy relationship to God.  That means letting others see in you how to live the life God has called us all to live.

Poor time management | “There is work to be done every day of the week.”  Yes there is, but it can be done in six days.  Pre-plan your studying, phone calls, meetings, appointments, and regular tasks to fit into 5 or 6 days.  This is what ‘keep the Sabbath holy’ means.

Savior complex | Can I just shoot straight on this one?  If you think you can’t take a literal day of rest because someone in the church ‘might need’ you, there’s a problem.  What eventually happens here is people in the church learn to lean more on us as pastors and less on their faith in Jesus.

May I offer you a challenge?  Take one of your regular days off and give it Sabbath consideration.  For me, that day is Monday.  Sunday is church and leadership…that’s work.

Be sure to check out my post on ‘4 Tips To Having A Good Day Of Rest.’

If this helped you, I’d encourage you to share it with someone else who could use it today.

Join the discussion.  Leave a comment below.