Key Traits
of a Leader
In order to faithfully steward the giftings and responsibility of leading a ministry of the church, the following are characteristics that support the Paradox Culture of Worship and help us proclaim and display the glory and grace of Jesus, that all may sing! We will use these Key Traits to identify and cultivate healthy, faithful, and fruitful Leaders who treasure Jesus and are passionate about leading others to worship Him.
Healthy Leadership
Key Focus: We Treasure Jesus, We Shepherd First, Spirit-Led, Gospel-Driven, Joy-Filled
We want to cultivate a culture of Spirit-Led, Gospel Driven, and Joy-Filled worship in our own lives as leaders so that we might be shepherded, led, and dependent on God as we lead others. This means that we are known by our leaders, our teammates, and our community enough to share our burdens and be encouraged unto Christ. Healthy leadership starts and ends with healthy leaders, and health can only come by the Spirit, through Christ and his church as together, we behold the glory of God. (2 Corinthians 3:18, Matthew 11:28)
Clear & Consistent Communication
Key Focus: We Shepherd First, We Honor Each Other, Spirit-Led, Gospel-Driven, Joy-Filled
The foundation for good leadership is good communication. We want to clearly communicate any expectations and resources that we might have for our teams and ministries with time for them to execute what is needed. This means that we need to be prepared and attentive to the needs of the ministry and it means that we need to communicate early and often in order to ensure that our leaders, teams, and ministries are on the same page and ready to go. If you are tired of saying it, they are just starting to grasp it, so keep going! It’s also important that we communicate celebrations, critique, and next steps following events and projects as well. Our communication isn’t done until we have celebrated what God has done in and through our ministry work. This is where our ministries will see what we actually value and what we don’t.
Pro-Active Scheduling & Recruiting
Key Focus: We Shepherd First, We Honor Each Other, Spirit-Led, Gospel-Driven, Joy-Filled
We often don’t think of schedules as a shepherding opportunity, but it’s the shepherding of time that creates the space you need to faithfully and effectively lead others. Scheduling isn’t just an administrative task, it’s putting the right people in the right place to serve and build up the church. When you are leading and working with several other people to accomplish the same goal, scheduling and recruiting needs to be proactive, intentional, and timely. It serves no one to wait until it’s urgent or an emergency to do these things and it doesn’t honor those you lead and serve with if you don’t allow time for them to be process, prepare, and execute with excellence. It will only create a culture of stress, chaos, and poor execution, which often leads to disappointment and discouragement. But if we are proactive in these two areas it will create space to be spirit-led, gospel-driven, and joy-filled in all we do, for Christ’s glory and our joy.
Shepherding First
Key Focus: We Treasure Jesus, We Shepherd First, Spirit-Led, Gospel-Driven, Joy-Filled
In John 21:15, Jesus is having breakfast with Peter and asks Peter three times if he loves him. Of course, Peter says yes every time. Each time, Jesus responds by calling Peter to “feed” and “tend to his sheep” This is ultimately the call of those in ministry. Jesus is our chief shepherd, and one day he will return to his flock, but for now he has called us who love him to shepherd his people. We do this primarily through evaluating, encouraging, and equipping those who we’ve been entrusted with. The people you lead are not just “volunteers” who accomplish tasks for the church, they are the church. They are the bride of Christ, gifted uniquely according to his grace, for the building up of the church. And they are also sinners and sufferers who need the grace of Jesus to accomplish what you are calling them to. A simple way we communicate this is to say, “people over tasks.” We don’t use people to get tasks done, we use tasks to disciple people. A good shepherd’s primary goal is to lead the sheep safely to their destination. In our case, safely to Jesus. Consider what Christ might be doing in and through those you lead and lead with and help them to see it. This will take faithful presence in their lives. Always shepherding by example and encouraging them to hope in his word, depend on the Spirit, and exhorting them to worship Christ in all of it. And always remember, a shepherd never stands alone, make sure you are being shepherded by others as well.
Ministry Awareness, Vision, & Goals
Key Focus: We Fight for Kingdom Moments,We Dream Big
The ultimate win for M&A Leaders is to cultivate a culture of Spirit-Led, Gospel Driven, and Joy-Filled worship, that all may sing. This requires us to be attentive and know what needs or holes our ministry has. Whether you are directly responsible or not, we as a leadership team all are responsible for creating and cultivating this kind of culture. The best way to do this is to talk to God and talk to your teams. Ask the Lord to help you see what is needed. It might be super practical like some more XLR cables or administrative help, but it could also be more opportunities to be Spirit-led, cause we’re just going through the motions, or bigger dreams because we’re bored and complacent. In Psalm 37, we see that if we delight in the Lord, he will give us the desires of his heart. We should expect as we seek and delight in him to get a picture of where God wants us to go or grow. We want to be a people inspired by the ambitions of God, a people who aren’t afraid to go to outer space and explore worlds unknown. This means as Leaders, we will need to have our eyes and hearts open to what is happening. We need to be aware of every corner of our ministry, we need to have a vision for where God wants us to go or grow, and we need to have clear goals for how we will get there.