Extract from Blueprint for Growth

Step Two: Consider Why You Went into Ministry

From time to time, I have encountered people who believe me to be against all church leadership. Their perception is that I frequently cast it in a bad light. Ironically, there is nothing further from the truth; I am extremely in favor of good church leadership. That being said, I have come across some very poor church leadership on my travels. If some of these leaders had instead been managing directors of secular companies, they would have either gone into liquidation or been fired by the board!

On British television, there is a genealogy program called “Who Do You Think You Are?” The format has also been copied for television in the United States. On the show, celebrities research their family trees and find all the skeletons in the closets. I like the title because it is a question I ask of church leaders. I ask, “Who do you think you are? What makes you think you can do a better job than those who have gone before you?”

I often have the privilege of meeting one-on-one with a church leader who wants help or advice. One of the first things I ask is why he or she went into church leadership in the first place. Below are some of the most common responses, which I have found rather interesting:

• God called me into ministry. • I’ve always felt this is what I should do. • I come from a family of preachers. • I have a yearning to see souls won for Christ. • I am God’s answer to the problems in this town. • I went to Bible college—what else should I do?

Before we continue, I would like to point out that every Christian is called into ministry. We are all called to spread the gospel, to evangelize and to make disciples of humankind. Every church leader I come across has a ministry. Examples include preaching, teaching, providing pastoral care, evangelizing, or leading worship (to name but a few). Perhaps you can identify with more than one ministry area in this list, or possibly you can even add to it. However, my question was not “Why did you go into church ministry?” but rather, “Why did you go into church leadership?”

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