You Need A Leadership Pipeline

If you are in ministry, I will almost guarantee that you are either (a) doing too much, (b) have done too much in the past, or (c) don’t really do anything at all because you’re a student pastor. (Just kidding, student pastors. I walked among you once. Much love. Put down that water pistol.)

The problems with (b) and (c) are things we’ll leave for another time, but (a) is a really big deal, because scripture commands us not to have a “do-it-all” approach to our ministry. Ephesians 4:12 says that as ministers, part of our primary role is to equip the saints for the work of the ministry.

We equip. They minister. We minister to them by equipping them to be ministers. It’s a bit countercultural and almost seems counterproductive, especially for know-it-all control freaks like the one who stares back at me from my mirror every morning.

But if our job is to equip the saints, how do we do that? I believe it starts with a process and a clear path forward. Good leaders want to be good followers, but we need to give them something worth following.

That’s why I’m really excited to be a part of LifeWay’s Leadership Pipeline Webinar next week. The Leadership group at LifeWay has been cranking out some great content in recent weeks. Todd Adkins’ new e-book Developing Your Leadership Pipeline is a must read, and last week’s one-a-day podcasts set a fantastic foundation for even more content that’s on the way later this year.

In next week’s webinar, I’ll be covering the question of the volunteer in your ministry – specifically, how do you turn volunteers into leaders? We’ll talk through the following:

• The why, where, and how of serving
• The local church’s role in churning out leaders
• The importance of defining opportunities, roles, and on-ramps
• How to identify potential leaders
• Training, evaluating, and promoting leaders

The best news is, it’s completely free. Free, y’all. (I’m also okay if you call it “priceless,” but y’know.)

I hope you’ll join me next Thursday, March 17th, at 11 AM Central Time. The webinar will be hosted by the lovely and talented Barnabas Piper and Todd Adkins, and they’ve even promised to toss in a helpful Q&A at the end. Sign up here.

(click for photo credit)