Effective shepherding and good leadership go together

HOUSTON—“Leadership is embedded in the very definition of being a pastor,” said Eric Geiger, vice president of LifeWay Christian Resources’ church resource division, in a session moderated by Pastors’ Conference President Gregg Matte, pastor of First Baptist Church in Houston and joined by Jack Graham, pastor of Prestonwood Baptist Church in Plano, and Rodney Woo, senior pastor of the International Baptist Church in Singapore.

Geiger said pastors who delegate leadership or fail to develop it do so at considerable risk. Effective shepherding and good leadership go together, he said, while also noting that God will hold pastors accountable for the well-being of their flock.

Shepherding is not without the conflict and criticism that come with the role of leadership, and Geiger advised to keep it in perspective since the pastor serves the entire congregation, not just the one complaining.

Woo was pastor of a declining Houston-area church and faced dissent as he worked to draw multi-ethnic neighbors into the once-Anglo congregation. When criticism arises, he said, take it in stride, consider the source and filter the complaint through Scripture and godly lay leaders.

But never discount it, Woo said, noting, “When the critics speak, listen.”

Woo said the most effective advice offered during the transition to a revived and ethnically diverse church came from a critic. The man—a friend born and raised in East Texas, an area still struggling with racism—suggested that Woo take the transition slowly. Doing so would help the church’s remaining Anglo members acclimate to the changes taking place instead of prompting an exodus from a congregation they no longer identified with or recognized.

Matte asked the pastors what spiritual disciplines best served them in their leadership roles. Woo said he was prompted by an otherwise boring seminary pastor to devote more time to reading Scripture. Since then he has committed to reading through the New Testament once a month.

Graham said humility of character is essential, while attitudes of entitlement or entanglements in worldly affairs “make us unattractive as leaders.”

“You can’t be a pastor without leadership,” Graham said.