The world speaks of successful leadership. But what is success? In the Christian realm, I like to speak in terms of Fruitful Leadership. Scripture speaks of bearing fruit. The Great Commission is about bearing fruit. John chapter 15 is a fruit bearing chapter.  

One of the tenets of Fruitful Leadership is Persistent Engagement. Persistent; continuing firmly in a course of action in spite of difficulty or opposition. Fruitful leaders understand the importance of persistent engagement with their constituency. Persistent engagement keeps a leader actively connected in the labor and development of the people he leads regardless of other demands of his time.

Fruitful church leaders understand the importance of being engaged in not only ministry, but also in the personal lives of your congregation. Not to be intrusive but engaged in conversation about more than the Sunday morning worship experience.

Discovering why some churches excel and others do not often will be determined by the engagement of the leaders of the church. Not only paid staff, Persistent Engagement is required of all lay leadership too. Each one must be committed to the full authority of Christ and the mission of the church.

In any area of life, your ability to lead well is contingent to your level of engagement.

This does not insinuate that as pastor/leader you must be in every meeting, every class, for every decision made, every day of the week. Therefore, build a culture of fruitful leaders beyond your current leadership team.

Ways to stay engaged can include;  

• Engaging in personal conversations. Find out about those you serve.
• Listen to the opinions and concerns mentioned in meetings or conversations. Do not mentally cut off someone. Hear them out. Focus on the heart of the concern, not your opinion.
• Be the last to speak in a conversation or meeting. When the pastor/leader speaks, most others in the church will become silent. It is great to allow everyone else to speak first. This builds confidence and unity. Speak last.
• Don’t try to always be the smartest person in the room. Listen, gain an appreciation for the opinions and suggestions of others. Then explore as a team.
• Always shoulder responsibility and pass the credit to others. In a worldly view the leader takes the credit, even if he did nothing to contribute. This is demotivational and leads to an exodus. Always shoulder the responsibility, even if you had nothing to do with what went wrong. Always pass the credit to those following you, even if you did the bulk of the work.
• Practice deeper listening skills – listen to more than words alone. Words make up only 7% of what is communicated by everyone. Our natural inclination is to begin forming our response within the first three sentences as someone speaks. Doing this we miss the root cause of the need being presented. Wait patiently, listening intently without forming a response,

Persistent engagement requires your physical, mental, and spiritual presence. As spiritual leaders we must diligently practice the art of being present in body, mind, and spirit as we engage.

George Yates is an Organizational Health Strategist and coach, assisting churches, organizations, and individuals in pursuing God’s purpose for life. Click here to receive this blog in your email inbox each Tuesday.