4 Mistakes Ministry Leaders Make!

Posted by Scott Williams
4 Comments
July 14, 2009
Leaders | Leadership | Ministry | Pastors

mistakesThe spiritual gift of leadership is an amazing gift to have; not only for the individual that has the gift but for the organization in which that person is leading.  Each and every one of us have had experiences with good leadership and well let’s just say not so good leadership.  Many times leaders are not always measured on their wins or successes but rather their mistakes and failures.  A leader is supposed to have wins, which often times are overlooked; however those mistakes stick out like a sore thumb.

I have had the opportunity to work in leadership for public traded corporations, politics, corrections, ministry… and I have witnessed made and witnessed many leadership mistakes.  As I look at mistakes in the the context of ministry leadership, there are four mistakes that seem to be prevalent among ministry leaders: 4 Mistakes Ministry Leaders Make

  1. Blame It On Ministry- Ministry leaders will blame their unwillingness to make tough decisions on the fact that “It’s Ministry” or “I know they are not doing so and so, but we are a church.”  Yes it might be a church or a ministry role; however that’s no excuse for not holding people accountable, expecting excellence and demanding a high level of performance.  If secular leaders are expected to perofrm, shouldn’t ministry leaders be held to even a higher standard… Not only perform, but perform w/ intergrity! Don’t Blame It On Ministry!
  2. Copy Cat- Often times ministry leaders try to replicate what they see popular churches, ministries or pastors doing.  Don’t get me wrong it’s important to learn from individuals to learn from what successful ministries are doing and apply those ideas, concepts, practices, systems and theories contextually to what their ministry does.  The problem with Copy Cat’s is they listen to a pastor at a conference or see something another ministry is doing and try to 100% replicate it, without understanding the history, context and DNA behind those decisions, practices or systems.  Don’t be a Copy Cat!
  3. Only Learn From Within Christian/Ministry Circles-  Ministry leaders make the mistake of limiting their learning circles; they only learn from other christian leaders, christian books, other pastors, church leaders…  Ministry leaders should open up their arsenal to learn from what industry and major corporations are doing and have done.  As it relates to leveraging technology, leadership principles, HR practices, talent search, understanding the customer… industry is normally 10+ years ahead of the strategies/practices that ministries are implementing.  Industry, including the sports industry can teach ministry leaders a lot of valuable information; they must be willing to seek and learn.  Don’t Only Learn From Within Christian/Ministry Circles!
  4. Hire The Wrong People- Just because Johnny was successful at so and so church and has so and so seminary degree; doesn’t mean he or she is the person that is going to take your ministry to the next level.  Don’t limit your hires to individuals that only have ministry experience, don’t hire someone simply because they have a good heart, don’t hire someone because they were a good volunteer…  Every hire is of extreme importance to the success of the ministry; treat it like that!  Don’t Hire The Wrong People!

Share your experiences or thoughts on any of these 4 mistakes!   Add more to the list!

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  • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_0h7qyzeX40 Mike

    Scott, I’m struggling with your #3 point. I don’t think this is a mistake at all. It makes me wonder, “how on earth, then, did the church survive before corporate America?”

    I’m not speaking against using technology, marketing and other such aspects of modern culture. I’m speaking of when it comes to the fuzzy, non-technical aspects of ministry (i.e. the people aspect, the nurturing of souls). Why do we look to the God-hating world for leadership principles… to those who reject the things taught by the Holy Spirit (1 Cor 2:14)? We affirm the Bible by mouth, but what are our actions teaching? What are our actions saying about the sufficiency of scripture to equip us for every good work (2 Tim 3:16,17)?

    The church is not built on human ingenuity. I’m afraid we are too concerned with that, to our own destruction. The rulers and wisdom of this age are coming to nothing (1 Cor 2). I pray that our faith rests not on demonstrations of human wisdom, but on demonstrations of the Spirit and of power.

    These are just a few of many questions that run through my mind a lot lately.

  • http://jibbooo.wordpress.com/ Jibbooo

    Leaders who fail to seek or implement the plan that God gives them for their ministry. I’ve seen too many leaders get sidetracked trying to implement either someone else’s plan or a plan that has a proven track record. While that’s all well and good, I believe the Lord has specific plans for specific ministries.

  • http://www.zenstorming.com plish

    I really like this post. I totally agree on number 3 (sorry Mike).
    My reasoning is this:
    The Holy Spirit blows where it wills, it’s active within and without the church. If this weren’t so we could never connect with folks outside the church where the Spirit is working behind the scenes.

    So, by acknowledging the good we see in other places we’re not buying into the God-hating world but giving glory to God by acknowledging God’s work.

    I would also add a fifth point.

    *Don’t act like you have all the answers-it’s okay to look to your people for insight*

    The reasoning for this is similar to my previous statement. The people are living day to day where the rubber meets the road; very often they’re the ones that will have solutions or insights that they receive through prayerful reflection and living in their circumstances.

    Thanks for the stimulating post!

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