The Leadership Pyramid

The first question anyone asks when writing a book on leadership is, “Why another book on leadership should be written?” The answer to this question is not simple. First, this book is a result of years of concern about pastors or those in pastoral roles, such as chaplains. God placed this passion deep within my heart many years ago.

God called me from the life of an international evangelist and church planter to active duty as a US Army Reserve chaplain, assigned as the deputy command chaplain, US Central Command

(CENTCOM). As the deputy command chaplain, I had the responsibility for religious support throughout Iraq. It was my during my first trip to Iraq that God revealed the depth of struggles chaplains and pastors face, often alone.

When I arrived in Iraq with my chaplain assistant, we went to visit a unit headquarters that had been involved in intense fighting as the unit moved from Kuwait to Baghdad. The unit was occupying a partially destroyed building. As I sought out the chaplain, a chaplain assistant brought the chaplain out to meet us. When I saw that chaplain, God fixed within my heart a desire to help ministers in desperate need.

The man standing before me as the chaplain of this unit was simply a shell of a man. It was clear that this chaplain had gone through some of the most difficult fighting with his unit. He showed me his vehicle, which contained numerous bullet holes sustained as they moved through different firefights.

Although they are considered noncombatants, chaplains travel with the units and often come under fire from the enemy. As noncombatants, chaplains do not carry any type of weapon. This chaplain had found himself without a weapon in some of the most intense firefights while traveling from Kuwait to Baghdad. At that moment, God placed in my heart a deep desire to help the chaplains and pastors who find themselves caught in the crossfire of intense firefights.

After more than eight years of duty as a chaplain with CENTCOM, I returned to my home state to find some of the same challenges facing pastors. While pastors may not be shot with bullets, multiple attacks destroy them. One of the greatest attacks pastors face is that of going it alone—the “lone ranger syndrome.” Pastors face the attack of isolation. Isolation left unchecked will often lead to pastors deciding it is no longer worth the effort. Unfortunately, this has resulted in the (often unrevealed) decision of a pastor to commit suicide.

Pastors often find themselves attacked by the congregation they are called to serve. There are a variety of reasons members of the congregation may turn on their pastor and begin their attack. These attacks may evolve from some indiscretion of the pastor, or they may stem from some personal challenges of the members. Whatever the reason for these attacks, the forced termination of the pastor is the end result.

Pastors often find themselves not clearly understanding their roles as leaders within their local congregations. Being a leader is a complicated and seldom understood aspect of pastoring.

Leadership involves more than trying to get people to do what you want them to do. Experts in leadership tend to agree that leadership is influence within a process. Influence contains the two elements of power and authority. This gives rise to three questions:

1. What can a pastor influence?

2. Where does a pastor derive power and authority for leadership?

3. How does the process of leadership work?

First, what can a pastor influence? A pastor influences some of the same things leaders in all organizations influence. When an event happens within the world or society, people within the church turn to the pastor for interpretation of these external events. Pastors serve as the individual who influences objectives and strategies within the local church. Through business meetings, pastors influence the allocation of resources to the various activities and objectives of the church. Pastors are considered as one of the primary influencers in the development of the skills and confidence of members, especially concerning their spiritual lives. The pastor influences the learning and sharing of new knowledge in spiritual things. The pastor very much influences the shared. The pastor is a leader.

The second question is not an easy one to answer: Where does a pastor derive power and authority from? This book is a starting point to answer the question about power and authority. The idea that a pastor is a leader does not settle well with some pastors. However, there is no room for false humility as a leader, especially as a pastor who is a leader. This book is intended to start this conversation—not provide the authoritative, definitive answer to this question.

Third, this book does not present a step-by-step design for every pastor to follow. It is not a book on leadership behaviors or traits. Instead, what this book provides are ten foundational elements that should be present in the formation of each pastor’s leadership style. Like the adage that it is better to teach people to fish rather than giving them a fish, this book should serve as a guide to teaching leadership to pastors.