We believe in one God,
the Father almighty,
maker of heaven and earth,
of all things visible and invisible.
Nicene Creed
I believe in God, the Father almighty,
creator of heaven and earth.
Apostles’ Creed
The creeds teach that God is the creator of all things.
What effect does this have on how you lead?
Care for God’s creation is certainly an important issue for churches and their leaders. But that’s not my focus in this post. Here I want to consider how creation impacts our heart attitudes and daily rhythms as leaders.
In a previous post, I wrote about how belief in God as our almighty Father affects how we lead our churches and organisations. We are accountable to him and must learn from him how to love his people. That is true, but it carries an inherent risk. Leaders sometimes forget that they are created beings with God-given limitations.
Several authors have explored the implications of the leader’s created nature for how we live.(i) A helpful starting point is to recognise that, unlike God, we are not almighty. Four truths follow from this observation.
Unlike God, we don’t know everything.
Unlike God, we can’t be everywhere.
Unlike God, we can’t do whatever we want.
Unlike God, we can’t go on endlessly.
These might be the most obvious statements ever in a blog post! But bear with me, because I’m convinced that grasping the implications of these truths can make you a better leader.
YOU DON’T KNOW EVERYTHING
God is omniscient. He knows everything. You don’t. That’s not a limitation you can overcome through training, reading, attending conferences, or watching videos. It’s a God-given limitation for your good and the good of those you lead. So, don’t pretend that you know everything. You are a learner, and you will be throughout your lifetime. Let those you lead know this.
Preach like a learner, not a master. Pastor like a disciple, not a lord.
As a leader, you may often be the person with the greatest knowledge of Scripture and theology. You might have the qualifications to prove it. But remember that ‘knowledge puffs up while love builds up’ (1 Cor 8.1). Don’t use your knowledge to impress or control others. Share it and use it to build them up. And remember that you have a lot to learn from those you lead. They have knowledge from study and experience that you don’t. ‘Be quick to listen, slow to speak’ (Jas 1.19).
When it comes to tricky pastoral situations, be extra careful to listen well. Don’t assume things or jump to conclusions. Hear both sides of the story. Consider all the angles. And listen to God as well as people. What does his Word say about this matter? What is the Spirit saying to you as you wait in prayer? And be careful about what you say. Don’t claim certainty about God’s purposes beyond what he has said.
Remind those you lead that life is not a series of questions to be answered and problems to be solved, but a journey to be walked step by step with the Lord who loves us.
The same goes for when you are challenged or questioned. Even when we feel that an accusation is unfair, there can be an opportunity to learn something. Stay humble and learn. At the same time, be wise to distinguish between the clear teaching of Scripture, which we must hold firmly, and our best attempts at theology, which we should hold more lightly. Accept that you won’t understand God’s purposes fully this side of glory. Seek unity in what is central to the faith. Trust the Lord as he’s revealed himself to you, and as he leads you, even if there are many questions you can’t answer.
YOU CAN’T BE EVERYWHERE
God is omnipresent. He is everywhere. You aren’t. You can’t overcome this limitation either. Yet leaders are sometimes expected to exhibit this aspect of divinity! Some people expect you to be at every meeting and event. When they’re in need, only a visit from the pastor will do. If you give in to such pressures, you will end up never truly being present anywhere. You’ll become so hurried that you’ll be somewhere in body, but all over the place in your mind.
Leaders need to prioritise. They have to manage their diaries.
People sometimes call this ‘time management’. Strictly speaking, that’s a misnomer. You can’t manage time. But you can manage yourself. You need to decide what your priorities are, and then live by them. In that way, when you’re with people, you are truly present, in mind as well as body.
If you don’t manage your diary, the demanding and the urgent will replace the important. You won’t spend quality time with your family. You won’t schedule enough time for the most important pastoral visits. Sermon preparation will be squeezed. Prayer might even be pushed out of your life. So, make sure you put the most important events in your diary first, and ensure that you leave margins around them with sufficient time for prayer and reflection. Leave slack in your diary for the unexpected. Block out time for family and prayer. Set a reasonable amount time for sermon preparation, fully aware of your tendency to need more time. Especially if you’re a perfectionist.
YOU CAN’T DO WHATEVER YOU WANT
God is omnipotent. He can do anything he desires (consistent with his nature, of course). You can’t. I’m sure you’re conscious of many things you can’t do, even if you wanted to. You have limits. But God has given you certain gifts. Your responsibility is to use those gifts for his glory. If you have several gifts, you may need to prioritise some of them above others.
How will you use the gifts God has given you?
As a leader, what will your priorities be?
We have to be careful, of course. There will be tasks in our jobs that are outside our ‘gifting sweet spot’. Servants shouldn’t dictate what they will do. Sometimes there’s a need and no one else is available. Don’t turn an awareness of your gifts into an excuse for selfishness. Instead, make it an opportunity to appreciate the gifts of others. It’s a wonderful thing to see someone else doing something better than you.
That is how God has designed it. He specifically says in his Word—1 Corinthians 12—that no one can do everything. He has created the church as a body in which everyone has a part to play. Your role as a leader is not to do everything, but to equip others to do what God has given them to do—as the apostle Paul puts it, ‘for works of service’ (Eph 4.11-13). This also means that you need a team to lead alongside you. Whatever the structures in your church or organisation, you should find a way to work with people whose gifts complement yours. At times, they may be similar to yours; at other times they may be different. But they are all given by God’s Spirit ‘for the common good’ (1 Cor 12.7b).
YOU CAN’T GO ON ENDLESSLY
God is eternal. He never runs out of steam. You do. God has made you to need rest. You need to take regular breaks throughout a working day. You need to sleep every night, most likely between seven to nine hours. You need to have a day without productive work every seven days (a Sabbath). You need longer periods of rest in the year (a holiday). Rest is important for your health and it’s also a reminder that you are not God.
Perhaps one of the reasons many leaders have unhealthy rhythms of life is because they do not really trust that God is almighty. They have not accepted that God works when they do not and that his most significant work in people’s lives often happens when they aren’t there.(ii) We cannot rest if we won’t trust, and we cannot trust if we won’t humble ourselves.
We are created to need rest. Don’t deny it.
So, creedal leaders, ‘We believe in God, creator of heaven and earth’.
As a leader who lives in light of this important statement in the early creeds, acknowledge your God-given limitations. Learn to live within them. Trust your creator; don’t fight him.
You don’t know everything. He does.
You can’t be everywhere. He can.
You can’t do whatever you want. He can.
You can’t go on endlessly. He is eternal.
So, rest in him, and bring worship to your God who is almighty in every sense of the word.
Make this your confession today: ‘I believe in the Creator’.
(i) Christopher Ash’s Zeal Without Burnout (2016, Good Book Company) and David Murray’s ReSET (2017, Crossway) are highly recommended on these themes.
(ii) On this subject, see also Melinda’s post from last week.