Ruling or Leading

I just read a tweet that set apart leading from ruling. The President made a speech last night. I guess that's the reason for the tweet.

But it causes me to think about my role as a pastor. I must confess that there have been times in my 32 years of ministry that I have tried to rule rather than lead. I apologize for that! People are much more receptive to leaders than to rulers. (Should I remind you that the President made a speech last night?)

The Bible refers to pastors as shepherds. God's people need to be led toward fulfilling the Great Commission, to confess sin, to love one another, to live moral lives, etc. I could stand in the pulpit (sadly, I have) and demand action and response. That almost always results in no response or the opposite response I was demanding. But shepherds lead the sheep. Once the shepherd gains their trust the sheep will follow him anywhere. They trust him to be looking out for them and leading them to the right places.

A church will follow a leader much better than obey a ruler.

Years ago I worked as a training manager for call centers. One of my trainers was a bit of an independent type. She was a good trainer but not so much a good employee. Finally, I had to sit down with her to develop an action plan based on her misconduct. I had a couple of options. I could call her in my office and tell her what the rules were and demand she toe the line or else.

Instead, I chose to sit down in the training room with her. I had a blank piece of paper on which we would outline the action plan. In my mind I knew what I wanted to write on the paper and usually I would have already written it down. But as we talked about the situation, the company's policies, and the expectations for employees, she crafted an action plan that was almost identical to the one in my mind. By asking questions and getting her involved in the problem-solving process we walked away with a plan we both owned.

I felt like I had been a good leader.

People in your workplace, school, family, club, or church will follow a leader. They might rebel against a ruler. (Remember the speech last night?)

OK, I'm headed to Google to find articles on effective pastoral leadership.