Pastor as Manager

In the beginning stages of ministry you're most likely to have a core group of believers who get along well. But the day will come when the ministry will grow and personality conflicts will arise and you'll discover that your calling to pastor is also a call to manage. For instance, how do you deal with those who are highly opinionated and very vocal with their opinions? How do you protect the sheep from their vocal opinions and still nuture the call of God in this person? Believe it or not we all come with our issues and we all fall into certain personality characteristics and yet God still calls us.

In addition to being a pastor my husband works a traditional 9-to-5. He is a supervisor at a very large corporation and has had the benefit of management training through the company. This training has served the ministry well. Because part of his training included understanding personality traits, managing people of various traits and getting them to work together for the overall goal of getting the job done.

How do you do this you ask?

Wisdom.

Pastor Chuck Smith said that wisdom is the implementation of knowledge. So knowledge gained through life experiences, Holy Spirit's teaching and even corporate training properly implemented is wisdom in action.

The first thing my husband told me was not to take any of it personally. You work for God Inc. if you will and represent your CEO. And like God told Samuel when the Children of Israel clamored for a king, it's not you they've rejected but me. You'll be able to think and respond clearly to any situation if you don't take any of it personally. The minute you do, your feelings get in the way, you start to make assumptions and you can't make a wise decision or hear Holy Spirit speak for that fact. Do not take any of it personally. This can be hard to do but it is possible and required if you want to effectively manage and lead the group God has given you. It is definitely a goal to aspire to.

While we don't believe or support zodiac signs there are personality traits that have been researched, categorized and written about to help those in management positions. These group studies help you understand just who you're working with and how to interact with them and most important how to get them to work together.

There's a personality trait called "The Sniper." This person waits for the right opportunity to unload a criticism, judgement in order to do the most damage. You never hear from them otherwise, but out of the blue they come with this one shot that's intended to kill! But no weapon formed against us prospers right? So knowing that you're not to take it personally, you know that this is the persons Modus Operandi, you can draw on your knowledge and respond in wisdom. Especially if "The Sniper" holds any leadership positions within the ministry.

Understanding personalities and how to work within them in order to get people to work together to support the vision of the house and advance the Kingdom is key for God Inc. managers (i.e. pastors).

There are many personality trait articles you can reference online. They're all pretty consistent and will benefit you as a pastor. Recognize these traits, learn the best ways to work with people who possess these traits and allow Holy Spirit to display wisdom through you in the most difficult or troublesome situations.

The person who successfully pastors understands those whom he leads and knows how to get God's best out of them.