Matt Farina - Tech / Faith / Life

Have you ever listened to a leader and thought, "You just don't have it right"? Have you looked at the world around you with all of the different types of leaders and wondered what makes a good leader? I have been asking myself both of these questions for the last couple days but rather than look at what a good leader isn't I decided to look at what a good leader is. Abraham Lincoln is considered, by scholars, to be the best President in US history so I decided to look at his leadership style for insights into what I should look for in leaders locally, in the church, and on a large scale. What I found was somewhat amazing and was left wondering if Lincoln wouldn't get booed out of office if he lived today.

Ministry startups fail on a regular basis. Even with some of the best people and great ideals there is a point where things can go sour and more often than not do. In the end there is a failed ministry and a bunch of people standing around in the aftermath wondering what happened. Over the past few years I have been involved with and watched several ministries crash and burn. Here are 7 mistakes I have seen these ministries make that have helped them crumble.

Leaders are only one part of successful ministry. A far larger part, in number of people, is the volunteers and workers. These are the people that carry out the work of the ministry most of the time (God steps in occasion and parts seas n' stuff). Let's dive into what can be done to help them be a success.

First, as in all things ministry related we have to put God first. We need to pray for the people God wants working in the ministry, for God to send the people He wants working in it, and for God to lead them in this.

Now, on to the other maybe not so obvious things....

Being a ministry leader isn't easy. There is so much going on, so much to organize, so much to remember, and so much energy to have and share. Over at the Project Management Source blog they have come up with a list of "101 ways to organize your life".

While some of these tips make me go "duh", they are a great and gentle reminder of simple little things we can do to help ministry along from a leadership point of view. And, as I wrote about yesterday, A leader is a key part of any successful ministry.

Successful ministries are hard to come by these days. It's not that God isn't backing ministries, it's that our sin keeps getting in the way and killing them. This doesn't have to be the case. We don't have to let that happen. Here are a few key elements that can help a God backed ministries be a success.

God Backed

The first thing one needs is the ministry to be God backed. It has to be something God cares about. If it isn't, then why do it? At the same time God calls us to do certain things in certain places at certain times. This is a theme through the bible. It's not about what we want to do when we want to do it, but about what God wants how and when God wants it. We should respect that, pray to God, follow scripture, and let God lead us.