Life Habits of a Spiritual Leader
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You decided to give yourself to the ministry! Pastor, missionary, teacher, evangelist, credentialed worker in the church or parachurch organization serving the Lord and His people and reaching the lost. What is the reality that you will remain on this path? According to statistics with the Assemblies of God over sixty percent of new credential holders allowed their credential to lapse in their first year of ministry. The majority of new ministers will not be in ministry beyond five or ten years. What can a person do to maintain this path for a lifetime of service to the Kingdom of God and still be fulfilled and satisfied in their personal life?
Engaging on the path of ministry is noble, good, and anointed as well as difficult, challenging, and destructive to emotions and family while peppered with spiritual warfare that will make your head spin. Don’t give up! Don’t quit! So many have chosen to avoid this calling for fear of being dissatisfied with life if they do. However, Jesus asked us to lose ourselves for the sake of the kingdom of God.
There is a pathway to victory in following the call of God on your life, a pathway you will need to tend and maintain for optimum effectiveness and fulfillment in your own life. This pathway also requires good boundaries, so you don’t traverse off trail when in the most dangerous parts of the journey. The habits and boundaries you set out to form from the beginning will determine a healthy ethos in your personal and ministerial life that will allow you to endure to the end and find joy in the process.
Leadership Demands Preparation
Leadership Demands Preparation
3 A voice cries: “In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord; make straight in the desert a highway for our God.
4 Every valley shall be lifted up, and every mountain and hill be made low; the uneven ground shall become level, and the rough places a plain.
3 For this is he who was spoken of by the prophet Isaiah when he said, “The voice of one crying in the wilderness: ‘Prepare the way of the Lord; make his paths straight.’ ”
2 As it is written in Isaiah the prophet, “Behold, I send my messenger before your face, who will prepare your way,
3 the voice of one crying in the wilderness: ‘Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight,’ ”
4 As it is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet, “The voice of one crying in the wilderness: ‘Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.
5 Every valley shall be filled, and every mountain and hill shall be made low, and the crooked shall become straight, and the rough places shall become level ways,
6 and all flesh shall see the salvation of God.’ ”
23 He said, “I am the voice of one crying out in the wilderness, ‘Make straight the way of the Lord,’ as the prophet Isaiah said.”
John the Baptist was the forerunner for Christ, preparing the way for the ministry of Jesus on this earth. All four Gospel writers reference this prophetic word from Isaiah, and only around five times do we see each Gospel writer reference the same passage.
The message is to make preparation for the ministry of Christ the Messiah and all He brings. It illustrates it as road construction that fills valleys, straightens curves, smooths paths and levels hills.
The ministry to which the Lord calls a minister, spriitual leader, is the presentation of CHRIST THE MESSIAH!
I say this because preparation for that ministry is important and the most important preparation is the heart and spiritual formation of the man or woman of God who will be used to lead others on the path of salvation. Your path must be prepared and maintained so that others who follow you will see a straight path to Christ and salvation.
When your path becomes cluttered, obstructed, dangerous, it will effect others ability to see and follow Christ. So the outset of ministry is when “construction and maintenance skills” must be developed with the determination to keep the path secure, stable, smooth for others to follow your leadership.
Leadership Demands Character
Leadership Demands Character
Leadership has demands that followers will not understand, not be required of, and that can become pitfalls to the testimony of our leadership.
The ancient Greeks had an understanding that communication took place on three levels —- leadership is an act of communicating truth for others to follow, and it is not isolated to one vain of these three communications, but all three to be effective. I am going to use the three Greek concepts with a Christian/Pentecostal perspective.
LOGOS - The truth and knowledge of the Word being communicated. How important for us to rightly divide the Word of truth and understand the depths of what we preach and teach.
PATHOS - the passion and conviction we present those truths with. Anointed by the Holy Spirit and conveyed to the listening ear and watching eyes.
ETHOS - the behaviors and life that demonstrates those convictions in the life and character of the communicator (otherwise it is hypocrisy).
My desire is that through this class you will learn principles, ones I have learned through trial and error, that you may not only start the path of ministry but finish and finish strong.
Ministry will stretch you like nothing else. You will see the worst in people’s character, you will experience lies, betrayal, accusations, hatred, loneliness at the hands of those you have fed, nurtured and helped to develop and disciple. It will seem unfair what others can get away with, enjoy, experience blessing that seems to be held from your life.
The flip side is you will have power, control, and blessings others do not experience that can equally lead to pride, arrogrance, and temptation.
We want you to FINISH STRONG the ministry and work the Lord has called you to and what He has started in your life.
Philippians 1:6
“And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns.”
Consider Moses who faithfully led the people out of Egypt through the wilderness, who dealt with all their “garbage”, sinfulness, lack of trust, complaints and murmurings. Then near the very end he has what we might call a “human” moment between himself and a rock and stick - striking what was intended to be spoken to, and striking it twice.
1 And the people of Israel, the whole congregation, came into the wilderness of Zin in the first month, and the people stayed in Kadesh. And Miriam died there and was buried there.
2 Now there was no water for the congregation. And they assembled themselves together against Moses and against Aaron.
3 And the people quarreled with Moses and said, “Would that we had perished when our brothers perished before the Lord!
4 Why have you brought the assembly of the Lord into this wilderness, that we should die here, both we and our cattle?
5 And why have you made us come up out of Egypt to bring us to this evil place? It is no place for grain or figs or vines or pomegranates, and there is no water to drink.”
6 Then Moses and Aaron went from the presence of the assembly to the entrance of the tent of meeting and fell on their faces. And the glory of the Lord appeared to them,
7 and the Lord spoke to Moses, saying,
8 “Take the staff, and assemble the congregation, you and Aaron your brother, and tell the rock before their eyes to yield its water. So you shall bring water out of the rock for them and give drink to the congregation and their cattle.”
9 And Moses took the staff from before the Lord, as he commanded him.
10 Then Moses and Aaron gathered the assembly together before the rock, and he said to them, “Hear now, you rebels: shall we bring water for you out of this rock?”
11 And Moses lifted up his hand and struck the rock with his staff twice, and water came out abundantly, and the congregation drank, and their livestock.
12 And the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, “Because you did not believe in me, to uphold me as holy in the eyes of the people of Israel, therefore you shall not bring this assembly into the land that I have given them.”
13 These are the waters of Meribah, where the people of Israel quarreled with the Lord, and through them he showed himself holy.
The first incident of striking a rock for water came with the first generation of Israelites at Rephidim, and the strike was a command from the Lord to show his might.
This second occurence God wanted to display His might and willingness to provide the second generation preparing to enter the promiseland. Moses was commanded to SPEAK not STRIKE, and after declaring that he and his brother Aaron had bring water to the people he hits the rock not once, but twice - demonstrating his focus on his ability and expectation of the Lord to perform from a place of pride - he was not leading the people well in this moment, but from his own reserves and arrogance. It is followed by judgment. YES, God met the needs of the people, but to leaders there is a lesson that even though God meets your people’s needs, He will hold you accountable, and for that reason Moses was not permitted to enter into the Promise Land.
This is an example of the demands upon a leader that even when those who follow us are being horrible, God expects us to lead in humility so He gets the glory.
My humanity gets upset that after all Moses did the Lord would withhold the Promise land from him. He dealt with these compaining and ungrateful, faithless people. He defended them, interceded for them, led them, and loved them and took their abuse. At the end of the day it is still about GOD’S GLORY and not our own!
Today’s influencers and social media stars have brought an era to the church of persuasive leadership fueled by prideful gain and entitlement, but what the Lord wants and needs is humble servants focused on His glory.
Is it possible for leaders to rise to this level of leadership? We generally see the failure of about every human leader in Scripture, and I am not saying any of us will be perfect, however, with the anointing of the Holy Spirit and our surrender in humility to HIs presence we can lead an effective ministry rooted in HIs presence and finish strong. The key is to put boundaries to our path, to smooth out areas that are rough, to level hills and fill valleys in our lives and to have a maintenance plan to carry us to the end of the journey on the road the Lord lays out before us.
In December of 2024 I sat down with the director of the Called Initiative for the Assemblies of God, John Zick and asked him about the concerns in our movment and new ministers. One of the concern is that when over 60% of those receiving a credential would not renew after the first year. He expressed there was no shortage of young people being called into the ministry, but there was a glitch between being called and being prepared and released to minister. This same thought was echoed by other leaders from District officers, our educators, and in general by many ministers spoken to over the course of two years.
Everyone desires to be compensated for their work, which is Biblically accurate, but the idea of high compensation, status, and influence has outweighed the call to serve, go unseen, and trust the Lord for what the local church may or will not provide. The expectation to be worshipped, befriended, and followed as a leader has begun to resemble the social media memes “what i thought I was getting and what I got” and the real life experience of those entering ministry quickly gives way to starry eyed expectations with a harsh wake up call.
Add to this the river of fallen leaders from populace ministries and large crowds and the scandals keep coming as a sign that pride and selfishness has no place to those who take on the trusted call to spiritually lead others. There is more required of a leader, the Bible calls this into account with its descriptions of bishops and deacons, and even how kings and prophets were held responsible for both their personal actions and their dutiful responsibilities. The two are inseparable.
In the words of Joshua I want to challenge you to determine now the path you will chose.
15 But if you refuse to serve the Lord, then choose today whom you will serve. Would you prefer the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates? Or will it be the gods of the Amorites in whose land you now live? But as for me and my family, we will serve the Lord.”
58 So, my dear brothers and sisters, be strong and immovable. Always work enthusiastically for the Lord, for you know that nothing you do for the Lord is ever useless.
23 Work willingly at whatever you do, as though you were working for the Lord rather than for people.
4 They will reject the truth and chase after myths.
5 But you should keep a clear mind in every situation. Don’t be afraid of suffering for the Lord. Work at telling others the Good News, and fully carry out the ministry God has given you.
15 Work hard so you can present yourself to God and receive his approval. Be a good worker, one who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly explains the word of truth.
24 But my life is worth nothing to me unless I use it for finishing the work assigned me by the Lord Jesus—the work of telling others the Good News about the wonderful grace of God.
The choice to succeed in ministry begins before the ministry does! Long ago my spiritual leaders taught me the time to prepare for trouble is not when trouble strikes, but in advance so you know what to do. Determine in your heart those things you will not do before the temptation stands in front of you. Then stand with integrity against the spiritual battles that seek to destroy your ministry and those who are following you.
