Becoming a transformational leader is an ongoing process. Great discipleship only happens when we as pastors intentionally disciple our leaders. I heard someone ask once, “Are you managing tasks, or are you releasing leaders?” I want to be a person who builds and releases leaders who can reach others and draw them in to the family of God, don’t you?
Since transformational leadership doesn’t happen on its own, I want to share with you three keys to interacting with your team in a way that fosters discipleship, relationship, and responsibility.
Communicate with your team. Communication is important. It develops responsibility in those you disciple. To be a transformational leader, you have to have good communication. At Faith Family Church, we communicate on a weekly basis in team huddles. At every service, we get together, share encouragement, show we care about what’s going on in our team members’ worlds, and pray together. We also send a weekly email to our leaders that has a devotional element, a few hundred words that inspires and edifies you as a leader. We remind them how many people got saved last week. We show them how God is working here at FFC. Finally, we have a monthly connect, where we meet with our leaders and captains. The result of our time together is security and confidence among our leaders.
We never want any group to exceed five to seven people, so each leader or captain can truly disciple those they oversee. When groups stay small, team bonding and the distribution of specific responsibilities can take place.
Clear communication makes our people feel important. If we see people moving away from volunteering or leading, we can be proactive in building a more unified family that enjoys being at church. Of course, our services being good helps! But more than that, regular “family time” is the key. Some of the activities we do equate to having a family meal together. We laugh, we cut up, and we encourage each other to be better.
Our Executive Pastor, Tony Velasquez, has great wisdom on team building. He says that you can’t be “all feels.” If you’re too relational, you’ll never get anywhere with your people. They’ll all be happy, but they won’t reach their potential. They won’t grow and become more responsible. You have to be an intentional leader, one who brings clear instruction. Why? Because people want to be led well. They want to be given clear expectations. They want to do their part and participate in a team win.
Remember, Pastor, that just because there’s tension doesn’t mean you made a mistake in your discipleship. I know pastors sometimes take on too much responsibility, but we’ve got to remember we don’t live in a relationally-healthy society. More often than not, the tension we feel is the fact that the people around you are growing. Stay gracious with them. Keep setting a good example. Keep that paradigm of relationships and responsibilities in your brain. And keep maturing people and making things better.
Connect with your team. If communication brings responsibility, connection brings relationship. But connection can be hard because everyone is busy, and the enemy is quick to make people feel like they’re alone in their situation. Part of our job as leaders is to make sure each person knows there’s a God who loves them and a church family, a team, that’s there for them as well.
I read one time that Jesus spent about two-thirds as much time with His twelve disciples as He did in public ministry. This showed me that, first of all, we have to have time with God that enables us to minister publicly and be attractional. Secondly, we must recognize it takes intentionality to develop a discipleship church. Just as with plants, we have to pay attention to the people around you. You have to water them and nurture their growth. One of the things I do is I always try to give my team some practical advice in each connection. For the church, those connection points happen monthly in small group settings, intimate connection moments in your office. That’s where discipleship happens. And then we hold larger events with our leaders quarterly. We call them “Heart of the House” events. These are special times that include more of our leaders and allow us to bond and to download our church’s mission and culture of caring into our leaders, who will in turn share it with their teams.
In today’s world, you have to budget time for what matters. Since our leaders and captains are like family to us, we make time for connection. It’s a goal that we keep before us, and we’re intentional about fostering relationships and discipling our people.
Care for your team. When people go through difficult situations, they want to know who’s in their corner. Showing care is a powerful tool. It’s a lost element for a lot of pastors, which is why at Significant Church we’re working hard with our Local Connectors to develop a caring attitude. You can have a leadership manual and know your material, but unless you actually care about me, your knowledge isn’t going to be applied well. That’s how it works in churches. New believers need help.
We can develop a culture of care among our team by modeling it in our interactions with our leaders. Make it a goal to reach out once or twice a year just to say, “Hey, I want you to know I care, and if there’s anything I can do, I want this to be an open window for you to share it with me. I’m here for you.” That’s casting a big net for the church at large, but then also learn to ask similar questions and express your care in weekly team huddles.
At FFC, we have seven things we do as senior leaders of the church. We have First Strike Counseling, which is where we meet with people and talk to them about biblical perspectives and help them connect or tie into the church. Then, through the assimilation process, people begin to see what the church looks like first as a whole and then as a team they’re called to serve. We also have Bridge Calls, which is how we care for people through our captains and leaders. As a pastor, I may not be able to touch everybody, but if I can connect a mature leader that I know to the person in need, I can ensure we don’t miss a vital opportunity. Sometimes I feel like a hospital administrator. It’s my responsibility as the lead pastor to ensure people are getting the care they need at our church.
Now, the reality is, no one was just born a transformational leader. We all have to grow and go through the process to become one. Just keep the right perspective and make sure your team feels important by bringing real relationship, real responsibility into the mix. You can do it, Pastor! And all of us at Significant Church are here to help!
This blog was created using content from the webinar Three Keys to Becoming a Transformational Leader.
