Leading By Example

As ministers of God’s grace, we have the extraordinary privilege of serving the body of Christ in our respective roles. It’s a complex, multifaceted, and often daunting task.

As I think of our surrender to the call of Christ, a number of descriptive words and phrases come to mind. On any given day our work can be humbling, rewarding, challenging, and exhausting. It can even be emotionally painful. On top of all this, it can be complicated by pressure. And one of the greatest pressures we face as pastors—both internally and externally—is the pressure to succeed.

What is success? In the ministry, success tends to be measured in terms of one of two things, either dynamic preaching and teaching or congregation size. We can all agree that a pastor should be a capable speaker and that numerical growth—at least in some respects—does reflect effectiveness in ministry. But is that the sum total of our contribution as representatives of the Gospel? I don’t think so.

In fact, I’d like to suggest that God judges success according to an entirely different standard, one that takes us to a much higher level. To be specific, I want to make the case that success in ministry should be determined primarily in terms of the Christlike example of those who lead.

The apostle Paul understood this crucial principle of leading by example. Not only was he humble, he also encouraged the Philippians to follow his pattern in this regard (Philippians 3:17). Writing to the Corinthians he said, “Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ” (1 Corinthians 11:1). And in his second letter to Timothy he praised the young church leader for developing his own ministry upon the model of Paul’s teaching, personal conduct, purpose in life, faith in God, patience in trials, love for those he served, and perseverance in persecution (2 Timothy 3:10; also see 2 Corinthians 2:17; 4:1).

Jesus took the same view. Knowing the tendencies of the human heart, He cautioned His disciples not to “lord” their authority over the church but to be examples to the flock (Matthew 20:25-28). Peter, writing to leaders within the church, echoes the same challenge, adding that pastors and overseers ought to serve willingly and not merely out of duty (1 Peter 5:1-4).

Of course, Paul was intimately familiar with the details of the life of Christ. He was probably also aware of Peter’s admonition. That’s why Paul made it a point not to strive for greatness or to compare himself with the so-called “super apostles.” Instead, he sought to be a servant to all by God’s grace and the working of His power (Colossians 1:23-25; Ephesians 3:7).

Paul writes, “Here is a trustworthy saying: If anyone sets his heart on being an overseer, he desires a noble task” (1 Timothy 3:1). And he puts forth an extensive list of qualifications, including details of personal character and the quality of a candidate’s marriage and family life, that “must be evident” for all church leaders (see 1 Timothy 3:2-7; Titus 1:6-9). This is not to say that desire, gifting, and talent are not important. They most certainly are. It’s simply to point out that being an example that others can follow is both paramount and non-negotiable in all areas of ministry.

Those of us here at Focus on the Family deeply appreciate the sacrifices that you have made and are making in your service to the Lord and His church. We are here to serve you and your family. Not only has the Lord blessed us with some valuable real-life experience in this area, but He has also placed within us a sincere desire to listen and help where we can. Literally thousands of ministry families have found us to be a compassionate, trusted resource. We look forward to having an opportunity to come alongside you in the same way.