The Leaders' 7 Responsibilities to Their People

Many leaders are Type A individuals at first and think they would do a much better job if it weren't for all the problem people around them. The joke is that the ministry would be great if it weren't for all the people. The problem with jokes is that those who think they are funny think they are pretty close to the truth.

Type A leaders are often lifted up as the ones who build great ministries because they are efficient. While many great leaders begin their work aggressively, getting the job done at all costs, the best leaders find that people are the target and not the problem. Beginners unconsciously see talented people as tools to build something for the glory of God and weaker people as dead weight who need to get with the program. These novice leaders think much more about the responsibility others have to them than the responsibility they have to others.

The big problem with this way of thinking is that we are commanded to live for others (Heb 13:17/Phil 2:4). Fortunately, somewhere down the road it becomes apparent to all leaders that they can't do what God has called them to do without help. This desperate need for help causes leaders to obey the command to look on the things of others. The need for help causes leaders to care how well others are doing in their race because it affects how well they can do. Needing help is therefore a win-win situation and not an excuse for failure. Because a leader cannot afford to try and go it alone the Lord shifts their attention to those around them.

I think the Lord probably set things up this way to force us to include others in our thinking. Without the great need for help we would likely continue to center our thoughts on what we are doing for the Lord, and we'd never grow into caring how others are doing. By forcing our attention to others, God teaches us to care for others.

The best leaders understand that they have several responsibilities concerning the people in their ministries. A few of these responsibilities are as follows:

1. See Them and Seek Them

People are important to God and they should be important to those who hope to please God. Leaders are instructed to follow the example of Jesus and have a personal relationship with those they lead. Leaders are to know the people by name, know what they need, and make sure the people know they are first and foremost loved, and then know where they are going and what they need to do. (John 10:3-5)

Leaders are to go and get the sheep (Matt 18:12&13) and put them on the right path. Yes, people have a responsibility to do what is right, but we who are leaders are to commit our lives to the process of developing them into what they are to be for Jesus. We should see them and seek them.

2. Shake Them

Once we begin to develop a relationship with people we need to shake up their world and let them know they can do far more through the ministry of the One in them than they ever dreamed. We should build a fire in their heart through the preaching and teaching of the Word of God and letting them see the power of God all around them. (1 Cor 2:4&5) This verse says that their very faith will be built upon seeing this power verifying the promises of the Bible, and not on empty programs, new fangled practices, and positive thinking. People will never be inspired to work through God's power if they never see God's power working through their leaders.

People not only need to be set on fire, they need to be kept in that state. People are afraid and they need to be given courage. Courage leaks out of the heart almost as soon as it goes in. Our job is to continually show people the power of faith and the constant involvement of the all- powerful God in the work they have embarked upon in His behalf. People need to be stirred and we need to lead them to be stirred. Never forget that the power of God is wrapped in our humanity and we need to keep the focus on what's on the inside. 2 Cor 4:7 "But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us." Once people see that God wants them to let Him do the work through their body they will be less afraid of failure and more apt to attempt greater things.

3. Steer Them

We should always be thinking about our people and what we can do to accelerate their growth. We need to suggest ministries and events for them to get involved in. The wise leader will enlist the help of others to eyeball his people and help him steer people to things that will help them grow. Leaders should also use the influence of trusted people outside the lifelines of their church/ministry who can help their people figure out what they are supposed to do, and what they need to do to get better at it. Hook people up and send them to conferences, pass sermons and books to them that have helped you. Remember, you are probably spending more time seeking God's face about where you need help and who you think God wants to plug in to that need than are people who are ultimately going to fill the need. You need to steer them to where God is telling you and see what happens.

Nothing is more effective than personally meeting with your folks privately to check on them and adjust their course. Set up a plan for them and systematize that plan for them and schedule feedback. What I mean by systemization is develop a model that works, where you plug things in to and they go down the list accomplishing parts of the plan. After doing this for a while, you will develop and compile a large set of resources to steer people to that seem to help people discover what they are good at, and to see what God seems to bless for them. Once they discover what general areas God wants them to work in they can focus their efforts on things that make them more effective.

Lastly, remember we are to steer them-not drive them. This means pointing them and not forcing them. We are helping them go where God wants them and they need to be in control of what they do. We can fire them up and help them see how exciting the work is, but we can't do the work they are to do. Our biggest contribution to the process is the eyes of our experience, our love for the individual, and the eyes of our faith in their behalf.

4. Show Them

When I was in the Navy we had a See One - Do One training methodology. Through the years this has proven to be a very valuable tool. When I start a new ministry or launch a new event, I find someone to follow me around and I tell them everything I am doing. I show them how to do it. The next time that function is done I have them do it and I watch and give feedback.

Let the nature of the task control the nature of the training. Complex tasks are broken into pieces and turned over to the new guy one piece at a time. If the task requires several people doing the same thing, systematize how things are to be done. When I train people to pastor people, I give them written instructions on how to make a first time personal home visit, what to say on the phone, and how to make a hospital visit, etc.

An important part of this process is to train people to do this for you. Pick a few of the best people you have and invest your time in them. Once they are up to speed, pick another set of folks to work on. This is how you will spend the rest of your life helping people learn how to do what they are supposed to do.

5. Shape Their Heart

When training people one of the most important things we must do is develop the soft skills that will keep them in the work for the rest of their life. We need to equip them with the right heart, the right ministry philosophy, and the right view of what they are doing. Spending time doing this will help them to stay sweet, avoid burnout, and help them to not get frustrated and quit. It will also help them keep their eyes on the Lord and to know why they are doing what they do, and who they are doing it for. Teaching people a great work ethic is important, but the people who end up shipwrecked are normally the ones who work the hardest.

6. Set Them

1 Cor 12:18 "But now hath God set the members every one of them in the body, as it hath pleased him." We are the ones the Lord uses to accomplish this. We need to help them find their spot on the team. Once this is done we need to do a few more very important things.

First, we must set them free once they have been set. We need to supervise but we do not need to smother. We need to understand that God wants them performing that function-not you. They are called of God to do it and you are called of God to help them find their spot and then back off. You must have faith in God and faith in the person to do the job. After a while they will do a much better job than you could. It will be their specialty, they will become the expert, and you need to let them do it.

Second, you need to help others see that the person God set in place is the one who is now the expert. You must help establish them in their spot. We have been given authority and we are to use this authority to accomplish the will of God. Often, someone else may think they are supposed to be in that spot, but you must help them see the will of God and understand that they need to let God set people where He wants to set them and to stay out of His way. This can be done kindly when they know that you love them and are working to help them find their spot.

Lastly, we all need to remember that the work of God is a holy thing with eternal consequences. When the ministry has the right people in the right spot who are working together in love and unity, we are promised that the ministry will increase with the increase of God. (Col 2:19) That's a lot better than the increase of a bunch of talented people!

7. Support Them
Finally, we must give people what they need to succeed. We must help them build the influence they need, we must fund the things they are to do, we must give them access to the people they need access to (including you), and we must help them access the knowledge they need to succeed.

We cannot properly support them if we do not know what they are doing. Therefore, it is imperative for the leader to build a system of contact and counsel. I highly recommend face to face meetings in small groups. I have worked in churches large and small and the ones who meet get things done and the ones who don't normally only sputter along.

We started this entire discussion by saying that people are important. If we are too busy for people, we are too busy and have the wrong priorities. God is far more concerned with people than He is with the size of your ministry. He formed the local church because He knew it was the most efficient way of caring for people and reconciling them to Him. When people are in agreement with God and doing things His way, they bring Him great glory.

God personally cares for all His people and so should we. Our form of leadership should emphasize care for people. Leaders should be known for their care of the sheep more than they should be known for accomplishing great deeds.

We are in the people business! We are to personally know our people and lead them from the front instead of driving them from behind. Our personal connection helps us gain influence and commitment from the people we are leading and it allows us to guide them as Christ would have them to be guided. Our responsibility to other people is second only to our responsibility to God.

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