5 essential characteristics of a leader
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Our church has been in a process of looking to fill three crucial staff roles within the next year or two. We have been saturating this process in prayer and in His Word.
Hiring can be such a challenging task for churches. Depending on the church background it comes from, many churches often put a search committee together from the body and begins to discuss and talk through who could possibly be the best fit for the position!
Why is this difficult? After putting in so much time, talent and treasure, hiring a wrong person that does not fit the culture of the church can cause heartache and havoc. As a result, feelings are hurt and relationships are challenged. The costly mistake can last for more than a decade to be healed up. Yes, been there done that!
As I have been meditating and thinking on this, here are five things everyone is looking for when they make a hire or recruit volunteers.
1. Calling: Do they feel called by God?
More than even the calling to preach, shepherd or lead the church, is the individual confident in his/her own personal calling as a child of God? Is the person swayed by people's opinions? Or are they a confident, convictional leader?
Close to the hills of the person's calling is, does the spouse also sense the calling into moving to the next role? Is the family on board as well moving forward to the task set before them?
When calling references (which sadly many churches simply dismiss) or a close network of colleagues, do all sense the calling is legitimate and evident within the person's life?
Do they see this as a calling or simply a job to make income? How can you tell if this is the case? If in the first interview or conversation the person asks question such as, "Well, how much is the salary package? Would I get health insurance? Would there be a bonus?" rather than, "What is the vision of the church? What are the needs? How can I/our family contribute to the community?" then you have found the issue.
A person who does not have calling to be part of the ministry will simply coast through by going through the motions, rather than creatively wanting to innovate to better the organization and go along with the vision and mission of the church.
2. Character: Do they have integrity?
Too often, this can be missed on job descriptions with churches or parachurch organizations. Rather than going for "a young, hip, cool pastor" of cultural elevated values, churches ought to look for 1 Timothy 3 quality shepherds.
Are they humble enough to be teachable? Or are they puffed up with pride and are full of themselves? When the individual is not humble enough to be trained or taught, most likely the relationship will not succeed in the long run.
The bottom line is, does the person have integrity—do their words match their lifestyle? Is their private worship consistent with their public worship? Is their inside life consistent with the outside life of ministerial setting?
Skills can get you into ministry, but only integrity will keep you in ministry.
3. Competence: Do they have the right skill set?
Competency does truly matter, but character matters even more.
However, the person's gifting and skill set also matter. Just the order of importance is crucial. Competence ought not to trump calling and character.
I have seen this over and over again within churches. Most churches hire people based on competence and have to terminate an individual not based on competency but based on character flaws.
4. Consistency: Do they have steadfastness?
It doesn't matter they have the greatest gifts a person can have, but are they steady in the good, bad and ugly of life? Are they able to function properly under a certain stress level, even in the midst of difficult situations? Do they have a steady rhythm of life in order to soar through the longevity of ministry?
Are they committed and reflect biblical qualities throughout the storms of life? Are they disciplined enough to maintain effectiveness in ministry?
As Spurgeon said, "By perseverance the snail reached the ark."
5. Chemistry: Do they get along with others?
This is not based on race, ethnicity, nationality, gender or socio-economic status. But at the end of the day, the team needs to get along!
Church is not a solo or spectator ministry. In order for churches or even para church organization to flourish, it must be a team effort. When the individual's competence is identified and instilled in the organization, but the person is a toxic, negative person, this can corrupt the team's chemistry.
Chemistry of the team is so much more than clicking and just liking each other, which is always helpful! But the team's chemistry is gelling together and having a core commitment to the same shared valued structure and streamlined belief system.
At the end of the day, church is not a building, but it is the people. Being in church means we are in the people business! If the person cannot connect and love others, having the greatest character and competency could still jeopardize their effectiveness in ministry.
 | Dr. Jonathan Hayashi earned his B.A. from Moody Bible Institute with a double concentration in Pastoral Ministry and Biblical Studies; a M.A., in Congregational Leadership from Moody Theological Seminary, and Doctorate of Educational Ministry in Biblical Counseling from the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. He presently serves on the Executive Committee at Southwest Baptist University (Bolivar, MO) and serves on the Board of Trustees at Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. He served as Senior Pastor at Northern Hills Baptist Church Holt, Missouri from 2020-2022. Learn More » |
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