Steve, a young man who had been doing youth ministry for four years, came to my office, tired and exhausted. Through a pastoral change at his church, he took it upon himself to step down from youth ministry to take a break. But he felt a bit guilty. The new pastor needed help and asked Steve to stay on, but he just couldn’t.
When I asked Steve how his quiet times were going he said while he was in ministry, his devotional times were consistent, but since taking a break it has gone downhill. He considered going back into youth ministry because then he might be more consistent. Additionally there were some students who were asking him to come back. One student actually left the church because Steve wasn’t around anymore and Steve felt a bit guilty.
But Steve had no more to give. I could see the droop and exhaustion in his eyes. He hardly made eye contact with me. He shook his head many times. He looked up to the ceiling as he talked, then would look down at his shoes with a heavy sigh when he finished his sentences.
This is a scenario I’ve seen many times with those who have faithfully served in the church but at some point feel like giving up. They don’t want to give up on God, but they want to give up on serving, and sometimes the church, because it’s just too difficult.
I once had a teaching pastor in one of my classes who had just resigned from the pastorate because he was completely burned out. When I said, “God is not done with you yet,” he replied, “Oh yes He is!” This man was completely spent with no more to give and no motivation to move forward. Although he hadn’t given up on God, he felt God had given up on him.
Why are there leaders who don’t last for the long haul? Why do some leaders finish poorly? Is this a solvable situation or are some destined to not finish the race?
If you take a look around at today’s ministry landscape, similar scenarios like the ones above could be happening right around you without you even knowing it. A co-worker in the ministry may be here today but gone tomorrow. Why aren’t there good leaders who last?
Dr. J. Robert Clinton says only one out of every three leaders will finish well. What does finishing well mean? It means at the end of one’s life, he can look back and say he accomplished all the Lord wanted him to accomplish with no regrets, and still walk vibrantly with the Lord. Two out of three won’t get to this point. Why not?
As I’ve been studying leaders and leadership principles for the past twenty years, here’s my theory: we don’t have good leaders who last because we don’t have good disciples. I believe if we have good disciples, we will have good leaders. So why don’t we have good disciples?
Part of the reason is because some of the leaders we have today don’t have a strong foundation. Most who come to Christ are put into some kind of ministry. The ministry at first may not carry many responsibilities but it’s ministry nonetheless. Over time, if this person has been faithful, more responsibilities are given. Given more time, this person will be made a leader and be over others who serve. But there’s an inherent problem. This person did not have a solid relationship with Jesus. His Christianity was based on service, not on intimacy with Jesus. When that solid foundation is missing, the person may last for a short time but not for the long haul.
What has happened is the church has emphasized leadership over discipleship. I’ve heard many times, “The church rises and falls on leadership.” But does it really? Over the next few weeks I’ll be exploring this issue. We’ll look at my theory of the history of modern-day leadership development. We’ll see the results of emphasizing leadership over discipleship in the church. And we’ll look at the solution to make sure we have leaders who finish well.
Questions to Think About:
Think back on those you ministered with but are no longer around. Can you think of 4-6 people? Why aren’t they around anymore?
Can you relate to Steve the youth pastor or the burned out teaching pastor? How so?
© Gary Lau 2013
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