Check Yourself in the Three Key Areas Every Pastor Needs
According to the Bible, each pastor needs to possess three sets of skills to lead well. These three areas of the pastor’s acumen and ability determine how well the church will do.
The three sets of skills are:
- Personal – your own direct relationship with God – “elder”
- Interpersonal – getting along well with and caring for other people – “pastor/shepherd”
- Organizational – leading a group of people, an organization – “overseer, bishop, supervisor”
These sets of skills come from the three words the Bible uses to describe the office of pastor.
1. Elder
Elder describes a person who is mature in the faith. And, the good news is anyone can learn the skills necessary for maturity.
As a leader, 1 Timothy 5:17 says, “Let the elders who rule well be considered worthy of double honor, especially those who work hard at preaching and teaching.”
So, part of the maturity of the leaders shows in those who “rule well”. Paul also tells us to pay (financially) the pastor. The book of Acts identifies elders as the leaders.
Elders considered matters, along with the apostles (Acts 15:6), led in making decisions with the apostles (Acts 15:22), and are mentioned, only secondarily to the apostles (again) in Acts 15:23 and Acts 16:4. Notably, this term also describes them as church leaders in 1 Timothy 4:14. Further, John The Apostle calls himself an elder in 2 John 1 and 3 John 1. By the same token, the Apostle Paul gave Titus authority to appoint elders in every city (Titus 1:5), as “I directed you.” Additionally, those who are sick call for the elders (James 5:14).
2. Pastor
Every expectation means a skill set is required. Consequently, the church leader must pastor well. This word is interchangeable with the word “shepherd”. Furthermore, it includes caring for and loving people. Learnable and achievable, all local church leaders carry the expectation that they will care for others the way Jesus did. We can also see this link in how the word “pastoral” means “of, relating to, or composed of shepherds or herdsmen” Many use this term to describe the leader of the local congregation, while others may use the (entirely legit) term “elder”. Ephesians 4:11 shows the “pastors and teachers” tasked with equipping i.e. leading others. All uses of “pastor” involves working well with others.
3. Overseer
This third required skill set means leading a group of people. From “episkopos”, overseer literally means to “see over”. Further, the prefix “epi” means over or above. And, in the word “skopos” you can see telescope, periscope or microscope. The “scopes” see what cannot be seen with the naked eye. Interestingly enough, the other English word that means the same as oversee is “supervision”. Superscipt (“super”) describes a letter or character “above the line”. So, the first part of the word means “over”, while the second part of the word sees.
As can be seen, this lead position in the local congregation possesses supervisory responsibility, in addition to the personal and interpersonal requirements. Acts 20:28 tells us the Holy Spirit made us “overseers”. Similarly, Paul addresses the book of Philippians to the saints, “including the overseers and deacons”. 1 Timothy 3, in the clearest and fullest passage about the requirements of the key local leaders, calls it overseer in verse 1 and verse 2.
Furthermore, each of these three describe expectations for the leader in the local church. And, you probably see your own giftedness in one or two. But, for the church to be and do all God desires, all three require high levels of intentionality.
The church accomplishes more when the local church leader shows personal, interpersonal and organizational skills.
Rich Halcombe
Deny or avoid any one of them to the detriment of what God calls us to do as pastors over a local church. This also holds true for ministers over a particular area within the church.
For whatever organization or department you lead, working on these three areas will improve your leadership. That means addressing them will increase your organizational results and your impact in the world, along with your personal walk with Christ and your relationships with those around you.
Where Are You?
To see where you are as a leader, take the following assessment to see where you are strong, and where additional help is needed:
A couple of things:
- If your responsibility is for the entire enterprise, use the organization/church as a whole to rate the statements. For ministry area/departmental leaders, answer as to how it currently applies to your department/area.
- Please rate yourself on a scale from 1 to 10 for each item below. So, indicate “10” when the statement is definitely true for you. A “1” answer would be not true for you.
PERSONAL
1. I pray daily.
2. I give the first 10% of my income to the Lord’s work, through my church.
3. I journal regularly and/or engage in a regular Scripture memory program.
4. I participate in a small group where we share the Christian life.
5. I regularly participate in corporate worship.
6. There is no unconfessed sin in my life, no “pet sins” that I excuse for whatever reason.
7. I continually strive to learn more through reading books, attending seminars or using my own personal growth plan (Proverbs 2:1-5).
8. I maintain a consistent exercise, rest and replenishment cycle. I follow my health numbers (blood pressure, glucose, resting heart rate, weight, vision, cholesterol levels) and consciously seek to move/keep them in a healthy range.
9. I forgive people who have done me wrong. And, I avoid murmuring (under the breath) and complaining (Philippians 2:14).
10. I think positive, God-honoring thoughts. And, when I find I have thoughts not honoring God, I change them.
11. I have a clear, written purpose for my life. I use it to make decisions, schedule priorities and determine what success means for me.
After rating each item listed above on a scale from 1 to 10, determine your total points for the personal section.
TOTAL PERSONAL __________
INTERPERSONAL
For each item below, rate yourself on a scale from 1 to 10.
1. Problems are addressed quickly (meaning, when they become known) and resolved.
2. In conversations, I ask myself, “What is this person really saying?” and not thinking about what I am going to say next.
3. I can “lean in” when people discuss painful issues and not change the subject. Furthermore, I have dealt with my own emotional wounds so I can help others deal with their areas of hurt.
4. I can defuse volatile situations and have done so. My interventions reduce or resolve problems.
5. Before speaking to another person, I think about the best way to say something based upon the other person’s frame of mind, what’s going on in his/her life and what that person is currently experiencing.
6. I recognize every word someone speaks is chosen, either by their choice or something going on with them that they may not even know. I know there are no throwaway words. (Luke 6:45 “…the mouth speaks what the heart is full of…”)
7. I readily see patterns of behavior and can generally project what is likely to happen.
8. I avoid gossip. If someone around me is gossiping, I either address it, change the subject or remove myself.
9. I don’t react defensively when criticized.
10. I don’t anger easily. Likewise, I am patient even with difficult people. (Fruit of the Spirit)
After rating each item listed above on a scale from 1 to 10, determine your total points for the interpersonal section.
TOTAL INTERPERSONAL ___________
ORGANIZATIONAL
For each item below, rate yourself on a scale from 1 to 10.
1. My area has a clear mission statement. All of our key leaders can say it – and they use the exact same words. Everything we do clearly connects to our mission. As a result, we know how the event, process or regular ministry fits with and supports the mission.
2. My area has a clear leadership development process in place. Therefore, people know what is required for each level of leadership.
3. We have our 5-year vision committed to writing and our leaders participate in it. This means they either provided input for it, joined our team after it was clear or are working it.
4. We conduct regular (at least monthly) sessions for our leaders. We review our progress towards our mission/goals, reinforce core values, provide leadership development and plan what’s coming next.
5. Our area possesses clear core values that define how we act, think and live. When someone violates a core value, the behavior is quickly addressed and personally handled by a leader.
6. We measure what we do. We know, at any given time, how well/how much we are accomplishing our mission.
7. I can generally predict how the organization will react to a new initiative.
8. We change something regularly, even if it’s not a big change. The people in my area are accustomed to things changing and there is very little pushback to new initiatives.
9. My church/organization possesses a sense of momentum and positive interpretation about the future. Things are going well and getting better.
10. I attend the meetings I schedule, showing up thirty minutes before they start to greet people and set the tone for the room. I create an agenda and follow it for meetings I lead.
After rating each item listed above on a scale from 1 to 10, determine your total points for the organizational section.
TOTAL ORGANIZATIONAL ___________
Tallies:
Personal ___________
Interpersonal _________
Organizational ___________
Total Score: _____________________
Any of the three areas:
0-60 – Whether it’s from past hurt or lack of giftedness or experience, this area significantly hinders what God can do.
61-80 – You possess a solid foundation to build on. However, some areas need more intentionality and development to improve your leading and your results.
81-90 – You see some good things, but results may be spotty. More attention here will reap dividends beyond what you now see to move you and your organization toward consistent growth and impact.
91-100 – This is definitely an area of strength for you. Continue to build on this.
Total Score:
100-199 Your motivations may be strong, but more of these elements need to be translated into actions to produce palpable results.
200-249 Good strength overall. But, be careful not to get comfortable with your current results. Giving attention to the underperforming areas will move you and your organization to new levels of impact.
250-300 You enjoy success in your personal sphere, with others and in your organization. Keep up the good work while continuing to hone and improve your skills.
So, what was your strongest area? Share with us on Twitter @leaderincrease .
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