A thought popped in to my head: is there anything that the President has in common with the pastoral leadership of the church? I'm sure someone has probably written a very elaborate book on this subject, but I turned to Yahoo Answers to see what others thought. Someone asked how the President makes his decisions and this was the best answer given:
A president has a group of his closest advisers--his cabinet--who advise him on what to do, each having their own specialty, each an expert in his or her own field. However, the final decision ultimately rests with him. And you'd probably be surprised what little power actually rests in the President's hands. He can suggest a bill to Congress, but so can you. He can pass or veto a bill from Congress, but his veto can be overridden by Congress. He can control the movement of troops for about 2 months, then needs Congressional Approval. He can appoint people to the Supreme Court--with congressional approval.
Okay, so the President is surrounded by people who gives him advice and information to help him make decisions. Then, he has to present that to Congress to get their approval as well. When he makes decisions, it's not just based on his opinion or what he feels is right - he seeks council. Now let's compare that to pastoral leadership. A pastor (senior, associate, youth, etc.) are the leaders of a particular group of people which make up the Church or body of Christ. One thing that I have learned over the few years I have been in one of those positions is that whenever you work with people, there is always going to be difficulties because we are all human. Just like the President, the pastor faces tough decisions all of the time. Some decisions are made in the public eye, while others are made privately.
Each time a decision has to be made, the pastor consults others. Usually it is other pastors or accountability partners, but most importantly the counsel of the Holy Spirit. That have be anointed and appointed by God to serve the people just as the President was elected by man to serve man. Hebrews 13:17 says "Obey your leaders and submit to their authority. They keep watch over you as men who must give an account. Obey them so that their work will be a joy, not a burden, for that would be of no advantage to you." Sometimes we don't understand why the President makes the decisions that he does and the same goes for the church leadership. But if God has placed them in the position, we must trust that they are following His leading, even when they mess up and make mistakes.
12 foundations of Christian leadership:
1. Relationship with God - your walk with God is your rock-solid foundation
2. Character - who you are is more important than what you do
3. Vision - you can only travel as far as you can see
4. Attitude - the mind you lead with will determine the distance you travel
5. Influence - you can only lead if people are following
6. Servanthood - the leader must serve before he is served
7. Multiplication - leadership with only one ripple is not leadership
8. Motives - the why of leadership is as important as the how of leadership
9. Maturity - your standard of leadership will result in respect for your leadership
10. Commitment - perseverance and consistency precede every great victory
11. Fruit - that which lasts the test of time is the true measure of leadership effectiveness
12. Eternal Significance - Significant leadership encompasses the significance of eternity
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