4. “We resisted change too long.”
Change is coming. One way or another. Better to be on the side of change where you are the change agent, rather than being the agent that has to be changed. (If you get what I mean.) Over time, if change is ignored, change will be thrust upon you. And that’s never welcomed change.
5. “I tried to please everyone.”
When you do this, you really please no one. Your time management isn’t under control. You are pulled in so many directions you do nothing effectively. Instead of leadership, there is chaos. The loudest voices win and the silent ones you actually have a chance of leading somewhere disappear. And you end up one very tired, skittish, ineffective pastor.
6. “The momentum was allowed to die.”
Momentum is extremely difficult to get back if you ever lose it. It’s easier to shift momentum to something new through change than it is to rebirth it when momentum is completely absent.
7. “I neglected my family.”
Many pastors tell me they started to have problems at home when the ministry received more focus than the family. Three times in the past month, I’ve talked with a pastor who walked away from ministry—for how long I don’t know—because they realized they were going to lose their family if they didn’t. Sadly, too many pastors stay until it’s too late to repair the damage. Very sad.
That’s what I’m hearing—consistently.
What are some reasons you’ve heard that kept a pastor from leading well?
