Shaver's Razor

5 Keys

Two weeks ago, I turned over the keys to my office at the church. The new Middle School Youth Pastor at Smyrna Assembly stepped into the recently emptied office that was now his. We’ve known each other and worked together in youth ministry for years so it’s an understatment to say I was excited about his transition into leading the middle school ministry.

During the transitional period we sat down for numerous conversations on teens, parents, ministry, church policy…etc.

As I prepared to share with him key points for his transition into pastoral leadership, I realized these were also key points I would take with me to the next place of ministry wherever it may be. Maybe you can open a new door of leadership with these keys too.

Here are 5 keys

KEY #1. Youth ministry is about the parents as much as it is about the teens…maybe even more so. Never forget the family. Don’t try to minister to the teen alone because they don’t live with you. They have to return home to their family environment which projects more influence on them that their youth pastor. Minister to the parents and you gain allies while also tending to their spiritual needs. For more on this, see my earlier blog here.

KEY #2. Communicate not only vision but expectations to your team. Vision gives inspiration and direction to begin the race. Expectation tells us when to start running and how fast. Don’t forget to communicate either. You can read more about my shortcomings in this area here.

Key #3. Your greatest frustration/crisis/obstacle always has the potential to become your greatest achievement. Successful leaders can attest to this. In my own experience the change from one singular ministry for the youth at Smyrna Assembly to the split model of specialized ministries for the Middle School and High School seemed, at the time, an impossible transition. I had never led such a change in an organization and the deadline to implement seemed unattainable. But, I count it as one of my most successful seasons of ministry as well as when I felt most valued and utilized by my fellow pastors.

KEY #4. Never fail to give your team enough encouragement. In retrospect, I wonder if I gave enough encouragement to my team. An “atta boy” can go a long way to build up people. It can also give credibility to the times you need to correct/question/admonish a team member. And, those times will come. So be sure that  your hard words of correction aren’t the only words your team will hear from you.

KEY #5. Your personal faithfulness is …key. I’ve saved the best for last. Entire chapters of the Bible focus on faithfulness and so should we. Your personal character must develope into faithfulness that would make Our Father proud. No matter what slick team strategy you have rolling around in your head or what shiny toy you can pull out of your bag of tricks…the lack of faithfulness can kill it. But, the reward of faithfulness is that you will find that God is NOT on your side, but you ARE on His.

What are some keys you’ve acquired in leadership?