If you lead any organization–from family to church to a government–you are concerned about how to get things done.

I spend a huge amount of my time trying to understand leadership principles and how to effectively lead my family and my church to be the best we can be.

Of all the things a pastor deals with, leading the church to be effective in ministry is the most difficult of all.

How do you get things done? How do you make changes that will be effective in leading your organization?

I was blessed to be mentored by a man who knew how to lead a church. His name was Bobby Brown. I watched him work with my father who served as a deacon in my home church.

Though I never heard any of these principles from my pastor, I believe this is how he worked to lead the church.

First, involve as many people as possible in the decision making process. I watched Bobby Brown talk to my dad a number of times about things that needed change or adjustment at church. Brother Brown would visit my dad at his business and the conversation would go something like this: “Donald, I’ve been thinking about finding more parking spaces. What do you think about this?”

Immediately, he let my father be a part of the process rather than an outsider looking in. You can do the same way in a family meeting. You can say, “we’re having a hard time getting the dishes washed, what do you think we can do?” (Solving the dish or laundry problem may be more difficult than leading the church but you get the idea!).

If you would like to see another article about how Bobby Brown blessed my ministry, you can read it here. http://waylonbailey.com/2014/03/04/in-appreciation/

Second, give people time to consider the need. Some problems need to be solved immediately but most can be solved better by giving people time.

Pastors are notorious for thinking and praying about something for months and then expecting the church to adopt it in fifteen minutes. My rule of thumb is to give people the same time to consider a proposal as I took to consider and pray.

Third, listen to other suggestions. God has gifted the church. In that gifting, we have people who pray and seek God’s guidance. They are well-equipped to help you with new plans.

Even better than listening on the back end is consulting with those people on the front end (that’s what my pastor practiced).

Finally, plan for the long term. If you get changes that take longer but also last longer, you have been successful. It’s much better to win the war than the battle. Seek to lead changes that will make a difference for the future.

Sometimes you can get your way, but you ultimately lose. Shoot for the long term solutions and you will get the right things done the right way.

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