"I'm the Leader, Now What?"
Leith Anderson
Pastors who lead effectively must be willing to risk the ship repeatedly for the sake of the gospel.
—Leith Anderson It was May of 1969. I had just crammed three years of seminary into two and couldn't wait to reap the rewards of surviving my education: full-time ministry. The church I had been serving part time asked me to become their associate pastor. My wife, Charleen, and I were ecstatic. By the end of that summer, the senior pastor had resigned, and I was named his successor. At age twenty-four, I was handed the reins of a local church. Most of my training prepared me for the one hour on Sunday morning. The first few months, I studied and planned until lunch. After lunch I headed for home. With my parishioners working during the day, I had nobody to visit, so at first I took afternoon naps or caught up on the soap operas! I returned to work in the evenings, visiting or attending church meetings. A lot has changed since then—I now work afternoons. But regularly I'm faced with the same question: as a leader, exactly what am I supposed to do? This is especially relevant for the first days of a new pastorate (or during the transition into a new chapter of church life). What should I do with my time? Where exactly should I lead the church? And what are the first steps I should take to lead them into the future, whatever that might represent? Recognize your swirling emotions
I enjoyed baseball as a boy. Once while playing catcher, I stood up to grab a wild pitch. As I stretched for the ball, the batter swung, hitting me on the back of my head and laying me out across home plate. After that, I became a reluctant catcher. Pastors can also feel reluctant to stretch in a new direction, fearful of risking their neck in the process. ...
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