What can you give your Senior Pastor for Christmas? How about making an effort in the New Year to do five simple things:
1. Assume unwanted responsibilities. Look for responsibilities that he or she dislikes or struggles to accomplish. Look for the things that crowd your pastor’s schedule, drain his or her energy, or things that they wish they could avoid. Stuff like organizing staff agendas, scheduling baptisms and baby dedications, meeting with parents, tracking hospital calls, and recognizing birthdays. Volunteer to help clear their plate.
2. Be a planner. Most pastors are not planners. Be proactive in mapping future events, creating implementation plans, setting goals, and tracking results. Maintain a calendar and help keep the pastor ahead of the planning curve, so that they are prepared for staff and Boards.
3. Anticipate change and prepare for it. Change is difficult to manage, as evidenced by the 100’s of books written about how to successfully manage it. When a ministry transition is coming-- staff, ministry execution, facilities, governance-- evaluate the situation and map out steps that will be required for successful transition. Every pastor can use help managing change.
4. Understand your pastor’s vision. One of the challenges in pastoral leadership is getting the staff to understand and coalesce around the vision. Pastors wonder, “Does anybody get it?” Sit down with your pastor and express your desire to be one of their greatest advocates in casting vision. Get to know how they feel and think so that you can accurately support them among staff and church members.
5. Make your pastor successful. That's going to look different in every situation. How can you help your pastor achieve success? Every leader values someone committed to their success. The role of the second chair is a supportive role. Be loyal to a fault. Make sure the pastor clearly understands that our goal is to insure the successful execution of their vision.
