LEADERSHIP

Introduction:
I do not offer these thoughts as the definitive or final words on the subject of pastoral leadership. However, these are the things learned during over fifty years in the service of the Master. Some of these things I consider to be good advice for every young pastor and others are those things which have, after trial and error [and sometimes heart-break] worked best for me. Others have found their own solutions and methods which have worked for them.

It was a great temptation to fill this manuscript with nostalgia and sometimes, I fear, I succumbed. However, the real purpose has been to search out Scriptural answers to the problems which are common to those who step out in the Lord’s service in Gospel Ministry.
How well this has been done, or if it has failed, I now leave up to you, the reader.
Whether you adopt any of the thoughts or not, I leave to you and simply pray that Our Lord will be as gracious to you as He has to me over the years.

It is impossible for me to recall all those to whom I am indebted for their encouragement in this endeavor. The one person , without which it could not have been done, is my faithful companion for many years, my wife, Edwina. She has put up with my quirks and failures with grace and has suffered far more than I in physical deprivation and sacrifice for the sake of my ministry. After all, I experienced a divine call into the ministry and could find satisfaction in no other life. She, on the other hand has had to rely on her dedication to the Lord, her commitment to the marriage vows, and her love for her husband. True, I had all these too, but above these there was always that call which could never be ignored.
Surely, there will be a special crown for preacher’s wives !


CHAPTER ONE

Principles and Principals of Leadership
Since most leaders learn to use catch phrases, slogans and maxims to great advantage, we may as well begin with one; the average person follows PRINCIPALS while leaders follow PRINCIPLES.

One dictionary defines principle as a first or basic truth and principal as a chief, prince or leader. In any group or situation the principal (leader) will follow certain principles. The people will then follow the principal. The principles that guide the principal may be morally right or they may be wrong or even evil, but they are always present. He may have as his guiding beacon an inordinate desire for fame, glory, power, wealth or, sad to say, even the fulfilling of his own lustful desires. It is to be hoped, however, that his guiding principle will always be the welfare of those he leads. Whatever guides him, without PRINCIPLES he can never be a PRINCIPAL.
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