I had the opportunity to share with a group of college students who are preparing for ministry. I believe the class was called Leading a Christian Ministry. The professor wanted me to share something that I thought would serve them well. My first thought was Christianity is all about relationships.
Jesus said the greatest commandment was to love God and people. There are a lot of things the church will not be the greatest at (too many to mention), but this is one area where we are called to surpass everyone else. Many times, the problem is that we are trying to be great at something God never called us to be and we will never be. In light of that, we miss the very thing we are called to be great at and can definitely be great at – relationships.
That’s really what leadership is all about. I just heard it said that 70% of all pastors say they don’t have any close friends, which means that 70% of all pastors are not in community – a very dangerous place to be if you are leading, not to mention leading ministry; plus, not to mention that our main calling is to lead people into growing relationship with Christ and one another. “He must manage his own family well, having children who respect and obey him. For if a man cannot manage his own household, how can he take care of God’s church?” (1 Timothy 3:4-5). This all pertains to relationships.
I am blessed with a wife and four children, and guess what? They all have a different personality, which means I need to relate to them in different ways if I am going to have a healthy and growing relationship with them. And I challenge them to make sure they are personally working on their own relationships, because it plays a major role in whether or not they have a fruitful, fulfilling, and fun time leading in ministry.
