Today I had the privilege of attending two separate worship services focused on thanking God – one at Piedmont Church and another at NorthStar Church. NorthStar’s wonderful pastor Mike Linch made an interesting observation about his church, “People say everyone gets along here… You are the friendliest, nicest church in the world.”
As I thought about Mike’s comments, it makes complete sense. Mike is the friendliest, nicest pastor (and friend) in the world. The church and its people are merely a reflection of its leader.
This led me to several more observations:
- If a church is going to be a friendly church, it must be led by a friendly pastor.
- If a church is going to have a heart for its community, the pastor must have a heart for the community.
- If a church is going to love lost people, the pastor must love lost people.
- If a church is going to have a passion for the Scriptures, the pastor must have a passion for the Scriptures.
- If a church staff is going to be committed to excellence, the pastor must be committed to excellence.
- If a church staff is going to have a strong work ethic, the pastor must have a strong work ethic.
- If a church is going to value the next generation, the pastor must value the next generation.
- If a church is going to have a culture of generosity, the pastor must model generosity.
- If a church is going to be a house of prayer, the pastor must be a person of prayer.
- If a church is going to value its volunteers, the pastor must value its volunteers.
So goes the leader, so goes the people. The speed of the leader determines the speed of the team. The direction of the leader determines the direction of the team. People do what people see. Like attracts like. People are a picture of the leader. These six statements are leadership fundamentals.
NorthStar Church does many friendly and nice things. For example, it gave away 800 Thanksgiving meals to the poor and under-resourced last week. But first and foremost, NorthStar is “the friendliest, nicest church in the world” because its pastor Mike Linch is “the friendliest, nicest pastor in the world.” NorthStar is merely a picture of its pastor.
Similarly, your church is merely a picture of its pastor. So I ask, what type of church are you?
A final word, if you are not listening to Mike’s podcast Linch With A Leader, click HERE and sign up TODAY. The recent guests include Andy Stanley, Dr. Tim Elmore, Shannon Bream and Jason Romano. It is one of my go-to leadership resources.
Click HERE or on the image to the left and as a free gift for subscribing to this site, you can receive my new Ebook 1269 Leadership Quotes: Timeless Truths From 2016’s Top Christian Leadership Conferences. Featured are the Johnny Hunt Mens Conference, ReThink Leadership, Orange and Leadercast Conferences among others. If applied, these insights will make you an exponentially better leader. Enjoy!!!