Author: thinkingoutsidethetextbox

Continually Collect More Tools of the Trade

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If you have ever worked on a car or built a deck, you know the value of a good tool. With the right tool the work becomes easier and you see better results. The same is true for a pastor. We benefit from having good tools to help us.

Some of you may immediately think of tools like a good commentary or online study tools. These are great and we need those, but I’m thinking more along the lines of the ideas and questions we come across in our reading and study.

Sermon Tools

Over the years I have gathered many questions that I use regularly to help me better dig into the scripture I am preparing to preach. Referring to my pates of collected questions and processes has enhanced my sermon preparation. These are questions like:

  1. What does it say?
  2. What does it not say?
  3. Could it mean what it says?

Sometimes I move through these three questions quickly, other times, if it is a difficult or controversial section of scripture, I tend to slow down and make sure these questions help clarify what God’s Word is truly saying.

One question that I have found helpful to me, especially because I am usually preaching to a congregation of all ages is:

4. “How will this sermon engage with a 12 – year – old boy?”

I want to preach to everyone, but if I can get a pre-teen boy to be engaged, I will most likely I will engage with the rest of the congregation as well.

Here are a sample of a few more questions:

  1. How does this speak to unbelievers?
  2. What is the audience’s thoughts, feelings, emotions, struggles, needs – relating to the big idea of this teaching segment or message?
  3. What are some practical steps the listener can take?

One process I use is a diagram that helps me to move through a scripture passage in a way that moves my study from the text, to historical context, through the Biblical theology, to how it is fulfilled in Christ, and then to how we need to apply the scripture today. Following this process keeps me from taking a shortcut and miss an important step in clearly understanding what the scripture text is saying.

Prayer Tools

I have come across some great ideas for prayer, whether personal or corporate. In his book, The Hour that Changes the World, Dick Eastman suggests praying for an hour i12 periods of 5 minutes. I try to use this prayer plan about twice a week. The forms of prayer are: 1. Praise and worship 2. Waiting on the Lord 3. Confession 4. Praying scripture 5. Watching 6. Intercession 7. Petitions 8. Thanksgiving 9. Song 10. Meditation 11. Listening 12. Praise

I have used this one-hour prayer plan many times for myself as well as for a prayer group.

Pastoral Tools

One of the “tools” I need to remind myself of occasionally is to “move slowly through the crowd.” It is easy for me to have things on my mind and things to do, but there is benefit of moving slowly through the crowd prior to or after the Sunday morning service because it gives me opportunities to connect with people, or for them to stop me with a question or comment. It helps me to be more present in the moment and available to people.

I don’t know what tools you have gathered over the years that have helped equip you to improve your ministry and leadership, but I hope you have many. I would love to hear from you about the tools that help you. Send me an email to share some of your tools with me.

Keep looking up,

Andy Wiebe

5 Ways to Personally Leverage Slow Seasons

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Most churches experience seasons in their ministry. There are times that are slow, times that are steady, and times that are extremely busy. Summer is often a slow season for many churches. The church I’m serving right now has Vacation Bible School at the beginning of July, and then only a monthly prayer meeting and Sunday morning services for the rest of July and August. How can we use the slow times in a beneficial way?

  1.  Slow down yourself.

Maybe you can adjust your vacation time to have shorter days in the office and spend extra time with your family. Maybe you can take an extra day off to enjoy a long weekend doing something fun with your kids. Or just take some time to focus on a personal hobby. Allow yourself time to slow down a bit. I’m not sure that taking vacation in the summer is the best plan. Sometimes we need to save that break for in the middle or just after a busy season. Enjoy the time at home with your family without a bunch of commitments for you or them, to distract you from each other.

2. Take a personal retreat.

    Maybe you can go camping by yourself or go to a local retreat center for a day or two to spend time with God. Talk with God about what has been happening in the last year and ask God for direction for what is next. I have benefited from even a half day retreat out of the office to just spend time with God.

    You might want to ask God to help you plan your next preaching year. Pray through what God is asking you to preach on. Start by choosing which books of the Bible to preach on, or consider if there is a topic that your church needs to address scripturally. Do a rough summary of the texts that you identify and how many sermons you might need to fully preach through the topic or book so you can start plotting them on a calendar for the year ahead. These opportunities to plan a preaching year have been of great benefit to me when I have been in the middle of busy seasons. It has been very helpful to have a plan in place already.

    3. Read a book or two.

    I have been greatly encouraged through reading good books. You probably have a list of books, maybe even a pile of books, that you have been meaning to read. This is the time. Or maybe there is a topic you would like to know more about. Maybe there are certain trends or cultural issues that are affecting your church and ministry.

    Look for a book that addresses that issue. Ask around for recommendations from others for a book that speaks to your church’s needs. I recently enjoyed some great books by Preston Sprinkle on issues of sexuality and gender.

    4. Connect with friends.

    Summer may be a time to connect with leaders or members in your church, but it may also be a time to connect with friends who are not involved your ministry. It may be a pastor down the road, or a friend in another part of the country. Good friends can be very encouraging and may be worth a trip to meet up with. Do a road trip with your family that includes the opportunity to connect face to face with your friend.

    5. Enjoy nature.

    Our slow time for many is summer. Summer is a great time to enjoy God’s creation. Go for a walk with your spouse. Go camping if that is your thing. Take a day trip to nearby waterfalls or into the mountains. Enjoy a picnic by a lake. Maybe catch a fish and fry it up for supper. Allow yourself to breathe some fresh air and slow down in God’s creation.

    We all have busy times. Sometimes we feel like we are running to just keep up. So take the time to slow down during the slow times. Your health will benefit, and so will your relationship with your spouse, with your family, and with God.

    Keep looking up,

    Andy Wiebe

    Four Suggestions for A Good New Start

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    While beginning a new job is both exciting and overwhelming, it is important to take time in the midst of the busyness to identify your values in the new role. The duties of the job can quickly fill your schedule and begin to pull you in a direction you may not necessarily want to go.

    What is important to you that you do not want to ignore as the demands of your new position grow? What do you need to schedule now before your schedule fills up?

    1.  Get Your Family Settled

    When moving to a different community for your work, make sure you take adequate time to get your family settled. Unpack as quickly as you can so that your family can see familiar photos on the wall and fridge that help them feel somewhat at home.

    Help your family get settled in school and in other sports or community activities that will help them get connected to the community and to new friends. The more settled your family feels, the more settled you will feel.

    Schedule important family dates onto your calendar before the job demands overwhelm you and you forget special days. 

    2. Be Clear on Your Personal Priorities

      In the process of accepting a new role, you have an opportunity to review the job description that will define your responsibilities. But you most likely have some personal values or priorities that you hold. If you, as a new pastor, want to spend regular time in prayer, schedule it into your calendar. If you love mentoring others, you might already be looking for whom to mentor. If you want to keep on growing in your skills and personal development, you might want to determine a plan that will work in this new setting and will not interfere with the responsibilities you agree to when you accepted the position.

      Make sure you know the requirements of your new role. Begin to plan and dream and schedule dates as you look at what you need to work on.

      3. Begin New Friendships

      When you begin a new position in a church, there may not be a lot of demands on you at first as you begin to make your way into your new role. Because you do not have many projects to work on at first, focus on getting to know people. Get to know the people you will work closely with. Get to know your board. Get to know other staff. Get to know the leaders who volunteer in the ministries of the church. You can do this on your own, or if you have a spouse or family, meet together with couples and families.

      Good friendships will help your job to be an enjoyable experience.

      4. Develop a Schedule That Fits the New Role

      While your new job may be similar to what you have done before, each new role comes with various changes that affect how you fulfill your new role. Each new job comes with different expectations and different schedules. Because of the expectations of your new role, you may need to take a different day off than you have before. Maybe you are better off coming to work earlier and going home earlier in the afternoon as well. Figure out the schedule that will work for you now.

      It can be a lot of fun starting a new job. I believe you will have a better start if you can follow the suggestions above.

      Keep looking up,

      Andy Wiebe

      Responding To An Audience That Doesn’t Like Your Sermon

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      What do you do when you receive negative feedback on a sermon?

      First, do not feel personally attacked. It may be that the sermon was clear and accurate to scripture but the hearer didn’t like what God’s Word was saying. When I hear a negative reaction to a sermon – or to even decisions I make – I ask myself some questions to clarify the situation. Was I at fault? Or is the negative reaction in response to scripture says?

      Is it true and accurate to scripture?

      As preachers of God’s word, we need to be careful to say what scripture says. We need to be careful that we don’t misrepresent what God is says or misuse scripture to make it say what we want it to say. This means doing good research and study to ensure you are clear on what scripture says.

      Did I present it correctly?

      As we preach what scripture says, we also need to make sure we present this truth correctly. This could be ensuring we do not omit sections or aspects of scripture that we disagree with or do not like. We also need to remind ourselves that all of scripture speaks into the sermon of the day. Is there another side to the issue? Are there other scriptures that give a fuller view? Is there another scripture that needs to be referenced in order to give a complete picture of what is taught?

      Did I explain the situation it was addressing?

      There are times when it is helpful to give the background to the context of the scripture we are preaching on. It can help the listener first understand the message correctly, and secondly, figure out how to apply it to his or her own situations correctly. The historical background can give some meaning to why the author is addressing what he is addressing.

      Was I wrong?

      I ask myself this question sometimes because I want to make sure that I did not say something that was wrong or even hurtful. Yes, I need to present scripture accurately in a sermon, but I can choose what I say about it, or how I say it. If I did say something wrong, then I need to admit it. If I misrepresented God’s Word then I need to correct it.

      Is a follow-up or clarification needed?

      One sermon I preached brought a lot of response from the church members. Some who responded to me were thankful that I had said what I said. The sermon clarified something that they had been wondering about. The same sermon also brought responses from some who were pushing back against what I said. They did not like how I had interpreted what the verses said. Others were wondering how what I said fit with the rest of scripture. I began to realize, from both the negative and positive responses, that this was a topic that needed some more clarification. I decided to use the next Sunday to spend more time on the same scripture and the same topic, digging in a little deeper to explain how this fit with the rest of scripture and how I had come up with the interpretation and application of the verses that I did.

      I was serving this church as a Transition Pastor, so it was a great opportunity to remind the church that their next Lead Pastor may occasionally teach something they disagree with and understand scripture differently than what each member personally thought. I tried to use this situation to encourage the church that their new pastor would likely have different opinions on some things and that was okay.

      As preachers, we will occasionally say things that our audience doesn’t like. If their push back is against what God’s Word says, then it is an issue between them and God. If it is about something I said, then I need to make sure I was saying what was correct, and if not, apologize and correct myself.

      Preaching God’s Word is a privilege. We want to handle it correctly.

      Keep looking up,

      Andy Wiebe

      Preaching With Boldness

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      All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.

      2 Timothy 3: 16-17

      Recently, I began a sermon with this statement: “I am going to talk to you about something this morning, that is very hard for us.”

      I was preaching through 1 Peter. This morning we were looking at 1 Peter 2: 13 – 3: 7, which is all about submission. Not submission to God, but submitting to governing authorities, to masters, to husbands and wives. This is not a topic I would have chosen to preach about, except that it was in the middle of the book of the Bible that I was preaching through. Submitting to the government is not a popular topic among many church people, yet that was exactly what God’s Word was talking to us about in that scripture. Because it was God’s Word, and not my own ideas, I could preach it with confidence.

      If 2 Timothy 3: 16-17 above is right, then we know that there will be scriptures that rebuke and correct, not just encourage us or make us feel good. When the preacher makes sure to preach what God’s Word says, then the preacher can speak with confidence and boldness.

      I remember a person commenting after a sermon I preached that they thought I was brave to preach what I did. It actually surprised me a bit. I had preached on money, teaching what scripture said. I didn’t consider it brave. I was just preaching what God said, but this comment revealed the reality that there are certain scriptural truths that people do not want to hear. There will be people who are upset with you when you preach biblical sermons that challenge their personal beliefs, or even the beliefs and practices of their church.

      Scripture occasionally points out where we come up short and need to make corrections. As a preacher, I can preach boldly as long as I clearly say what scripture says. It is God’s Word. If the Bible says it, God says it. I should have no problem teaching it with confidence.

      At the same time, we need to preach with gentleness. When we teach about how God created people male and female, and only male and female with no other options, we can teach with gentleness in light of those who are personally struggling with this or have family who are.

      We can preach about money and giving to the church, but also recognize that some are struggling to make ends meet.

      We can preach on the importance of forgiveness even as we recognize that some people have been hurt deeply and personally in a way that is hard to move on from.

      God calls us preachers to preach the whole truth of His Word. We cannot pick and choose only the things that people want to hear. This is one of the benefits of preaching through a book of the Bible. We come across passages that we might not have chosen to preach about.

      If we are careful to preach what scripture says we can preach with confidence. We don’t need to be embarrassed to preach counter-cultural truths. We don’t need to be afraid that people won’t want to hear what the scripture says.

      If we are preaching something that scripture never said, then we better hesitate to say it. Yet we can preach with confidence when we know that we are saying what God said. Let’s continue to declare God’s truth with clarity and confidence.

      Keep looking up,

      Andy Wiebe

      The Privilege of Being a Pastor #3: Making Disciples of Jesus.

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      One of the unique opportunities of a pastor is to walk with people as they take significant steps in their journey with Jesus. It is humbling to think that God allows me to be part of these times when people are making decisions that will impact their eternity. Let me share a few stories.

      I remember a teenage girl who was searching for answers. She came from a difficult home situation and loved the acceptance she was experiencing in the youth group and church. Her friend brought her to me and together we introduced her to Jesus! She knew there was something better than what she was experiencing at home.

      One young man had gone through many hard things. You could tell, just by looking at him, that life had been hard on him. I got to know him and tried to help answer his questions until the day that he asked to be baptised. Just as we headed to the washrooms to change for the baptism, he pulled out a cigar and handed it to me. What a fitting gift! He was so excited about what was about to happen and wanted to celebrate it with a gift for me.

      I love the excitement of those preparing for baptism. One teenage girl was determined we would have an outdoor baptism in the river near the church even though it was fall already. The special day arrived, and there was already a skiff of snow on the ground, but she was not backing down. We made sure to have plenty of extra towels to wrap up after and went down into the cold river for the baptism. It was one of the quickest baptisms I ever did!

      I remember reading the Bible with a new friend. He didn’t know the Bible but wanted to just read it together. This was not a Bible Study or in-depth lesson. We just started by taking turns reading in the Gospels. As we read the stories of Jesus, we stopped when he had a question or clarification was needed, and then kept going. I loved seeing his responses to a story that I was so used to but was brand new for him!

      I have preached many sermons in my life. There are many I have forgotten, but others stick in my mind because of how people responded. One Sunday, I preached on receiving the Holy Spirit from the book of Acts. I pointed out that sometimes people had leaders lay their hands on them and pray for them to receive the Holy Spirit. I made it clear that there was nothing special about me, but if there were any who wanted to have me lay hands on them and pray for them, to come on up as I closed. One man actually ran to the front! Then others started coming up. There were so many  people who wanted to receive more of the Holy Spirit, that I had to recruit a couple of elders to lay hands on and pray for people with me. What a joy to see people respond to God’s word!

      Working on vision with church leaders is one of the things I get excited about as I serve as a Transitional Pastor. I love seeing leaders begin to hear God together and get a sense of how God is leading their church. I served one church where leaders put in two planning and dreaming sessions of five and six hours each, working together to hear from God on His direction for the church. It was amazing to watch as they listened and heard from God together, coming up with the right words to describe who the church was and where the leaders felt God calling them as a church. The time of prayer and listening and discussing together brought a clear sense of direction that guided the church moving forward. What a privilege to coach the leaders through this process of listening to God.

      Walking with people as they make decisions to follow and honour Jesus has given me opportunities to develop some great friendships. One friend and I spent many hours together in the church and serving in the community and just doing life together. It was a joy to eventually baptise him as he said yes to Jesus. Another friend was struggling with a desire to be holy and feeling he was far from it. As we walked through this time together, not only was I able to encourage him to continue to follow Jesus and go deeper with him, I also found a great friend.

      I hope these stories show you what a gift it is to walk with people as they make big spiritual decisions and take steps in spiritual growth.

      Keep looking up,

      Andy Wiebe

      The Privilege of Being a Pastor #2: Walking with Families

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      One of the joys of being a pastor is getting to know the people in your congregation. Often, this happens during very personal and intimate moments as you walk with them through these significant milestones.

      Babies and Child Dedications

      In my experience, it is not unusual for the pastor to be one of the first ones outside the family to be welcomed to the home of new parents. Sometimes my wife and I have even visited the new parents and baby at the hospital to meet the baby and pray for the family before they are sent home. What a special privilege!

      Often families arrange with the pastor for a Child Dedication Ceremony. I love being able to hold the child and offer a prayer of blessing on the child and the parents. What a profound moment as we ask God’s blessing on the young life – and I get to do that!

      Conversion and Baptisms

      Many parents have been excited to share with me that their child prayed to surrender their life to Jesus. Then later, I get to walk them through a baptism class and baptism. Often the family invites me and my family to join them for a celebration with their family and friends after the baptism. They want us to participate in the celebration!

      Weddings

      This is a fun one! I love to walk with young couples as they prepare for their wedding. I enjoy the conversations my wife and I can have with the couple as we teach and encourage them and help them prepare for this new journey they are beginning. It is a lot of fun to celebrate with them and their families on that special day.

      Sickness

      While this is not a fun one, there are times when families face serious illness and long hospital stays. It is a privilege to visit them in the hospital, to be there as a friend and a representative of God. It is good to be present with them, and to pray with them. And it exciting when we see God give them restoration and new health.

      Funerals

      One of the hardest things to do as a pastor is to walk with a family I have known for a long time as they cope with the death of a family member. I may be able to give a hug or an encouraging word, but most of all, I get to point them back to God and to scripture.

      Some pastors have been at the same church long enough to walk through a few of these, or all of these special moments with the families they serve. Now they are marrying the same adult they dedicated as a child years ago.

      As a pastor, I get the privilege, very often with my wife, to be part of some significant moments in other families lives because they love us and want us to be part of their family celebrations. What a joy to walk with people during some of their best and their worst times in their lives!

      It is a privilege to rejoice with those who rejoice and weep with those who weep.

      Keep looking up,

      Andy Wiebe

      The Privilege of Being a Pastor #1: My Personal Joys!

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      I have enjoyed and still do, this wonderful role of being a pastor serving a local church. I want to share a few posts about the privilege of being in this role. Some will be more practical, others more spiritual, but I hope these couple of posts encourage pastors or potential pastors.

      As I work with churches during their transition times from one lead pastor to the next, I am very aware that there are not as many people out there looking to serve a local church as there used to be. Less young people are pursuing a role as pastor, and many pastors are leaving the position.

      While there have been some very difficult times in my pastoring career, overall, it has been a good life for me and my family.

      1. I have received respect and love as the person in this role.

          Some pastors no longer want to be called by the title of “Pastor,” yet there are still many churches and members out there who respect the role and want to honour you in it. For them, it is a term or respect for your calling and you as a person. People value your input into their lives because they see you as a professional called by God to serve as their leader and teacher.

          2. I have experienced kindness from church and community members because of my role.

            My family has experienced many acts of kindness from our different churches. One church asked for a specific Christmas list for my wife and I and our two daughters. Because they asked, we gave them a list with options. They didn’t choose, they got us everything! Others have given us financial love offerings at Christmas.

            People want to pay for my lunch. Just the other day, a member walked past my table in a restaurant as I was finishing my lunch and grabbed the bill the waitress had left on the table. And I hardly know him! I recognized him but don’t remember his name because I haven’t spent any time with him yet.

            We have been blessed with many gifts, including a grocery shower, a side of beef, a portion of a pig someone just butchered, and all kinds of garden produce. Many people have invited us to their home to share a meal with them.

            3. The role has given me freedom.

            The flexibility of my schedule has allowed me to coach my daughter’s soccer team. Most men couldn’t take time off work to coach a 3:30 pm practice or game, but I could.

            4. I have travelled, often with expenses paid.

            I know not everyone gets to experience this, but I have been able to travel a bit because of my role as a pastor. When I was a Youth Pastor, I got to go to the Philippines to scout out a possible missions opportunity for my youth. I was asked to officiate a destination wedding in Mexico for my niece, at no cost to me. I worked with a few other pastors to establish a Rural Church Pastors Network. As the leaders, we had an opportunity to go to North Carolina to check out a rural ministry program that ran out of Duke University serving United Methodist churches. Again, no cost to me.

            I have attended many Pastors Retreats with our denomination in Banff and Lake Louise! What a privilege to enjoy retreats in these great settings.

            5. Working with my wife is a joy.

            As a pastor, I have had many opportunities to work together with my wife as we have served churches. Lynnette and I have been able to work together in ministry in ways that many other jobs do not allow. We have worked on projects for the church together, led many worship services together, and enjoyed many visits with church members together as a team.

            The joys of pastoral ministry have outweighed the difficulties. God has given me wonderful opportunities to serve him and an enjoyable life in the process. If you are considering pastoral ministry, realize that it can give you great joy.

            Keep looking up,

            Andy Wiebe

            Fruitful Leadership #9: Self-control

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            We conclude our look at fruitful leadership with the fruit of the Spirit called “self-control.” Galatians 5: 22-23 gives us a list of nine fruits that should be evident in every believer. As a Christian leader, these fruits should be portrayed in the leadership of our church or organization.

            Self-control is about mastering one’s self, controling one’s self. It could be used to mean self-mastery, or self-restraint.

            When someone is overwhelmed and expressing their emotions, whether in anger or in sadness, we might say, “get ahold of yourself.” Someone who does not know how to control their anger may be describes as “flying off the handle.” These phrases describe the need for the person to gain some control over themselves. Self-control is needed when our emotions take over and we act in ways that we would not if our intellect was in charge.

            People who give in to addictions are described as lacking self-control. They seem to be controlled by outside forces that make them act in ways that they themselves say they do not want to act. Others may say they just couldn’t control themselves. They are lacking self-control.

            It is interesting to find this characteristic in a list of spiritual fruit. Self-control implies that each person needs to take personal responsibility for their actions and master their body. Yet, when we understand the fruit of the Spirit, we recognize that each of these fruits are evident in one who has given up control to God. It is God’s Spirit, working in and through a believer, who enables them to have these spiritual fruits. So, self-control begins by letting go of control of ourselves and handing the reigns of our life over to God.

            Self-control is more about giving God control than about willing ourselves to gain the strength to overpower our emotions and desires. Yes, we need self-control in our lives. Good leaders will be self-controlled. But that self-control only becomes stronger as you trust in God more.

            Leaders need self-control when in a situation where they are tempted to get angry at a team member or someone they serve. As we ask God to help us gain control over our anger, we trust him to help us.

            Leaders need self-control when they are tempted to take shortcuts. These might be ethical shortcuts when a leaders is tempted to do something wrong because it is easier. These shortcuts will damage your integrity. Self-control, under God’s control, will help leaders remember that sinful and harmful shortcuts will only hurt them and their organization in the long run.

            Christian leaders need self-control when they attempt to go ahead of God or beyond what God has asked of them. Our ultimate goal as a Christian is to honor and obey God, not to build the biggest organization at the fastest pace or make the most money or grow the largest church. Those things may happen, but we need to check in with God regularly, looking to him for what is next for us and the people we serve. Business solutions may work and may be good, but make sure that you check in with God about his plans for your first.

            We need to display self-control as we lead, and with God’s help we can.

            Keep looking up,

            Andy Wiebe

            Fruitful Leadership#8: Gentleness

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            The eighth fruit of the Spirit that a Christian leader should demonstrate is gentleness. In some places the word is translated as “meekness” or “humility.”

            Strong’s concordance defines this word as either “gentle strength” or “gentle-force” (https://biblehub.com/greek/4240.htm). When we see a 6-foot 300 pound muscular man we may see someone with incredible strength. People who know him may describe him as “big Teddy bear” because they know that he is gentle, keeping his strength restrained.

            Gentleness does not mean a lack of power, but the ability to hold that power in check. There are some leaders who run roughshod right over those in their way. They have power and strength and authority and have no problem using it to the fullest extent as long as they get their way.

            God has gifted some individuals with leadership abilities who use this gift to lead without much consideration for those they lead. It seems they think their natural charisma or the role they hold, gives them the right to mistreat others. Leaders with this perspective view people as resources to accomplish their purposes. Instead, the gentle leader demonstrates confidence and strength in tandem with care and consideration for those they work with and serve.

            Leading in this way does not show the fruit of the Spirit called gentleness. Gentleness is accompanied by the other fruits of the Spirit we already looked at: love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness. The gentle leader can still be a strong and confident leader but ensures that they lead with concern for people and how their actions affect others.

            The gentle leader has a clear mission and vision that they promote and holds others accountable for their actions in light of this mission and vision. They may have to have tough conversations with those who do not alight with the mission and vision and are not meeting expectations, but these conversations are handled with care. The leader can correct or even remove others from their role if necessary, while caring for them as a person. Emphasis is placed on how they are not meeting expectations rather than moving to personal attacks or treating them unkindly.

            Gentleness, or meekness, is not an excuse to ignore issues that need to be addressed, whether it is interpersonal relationships on a team, or a lack of effort and poor results from a team member. Confrontation and correction are still viable options for any Christian leader. The issue is about how that is handled.

            As a pastor and leader, I need to regularly ask God for wisdom in how to handle situations and how to deal with people. We can trust that the Holy Spirit can give us the ability to handle problems and people in a way that is firm but gentle and kind. We can demonstrate a gentle attitude even as we provide quality leadership.

            A gentle leader can lead with strong direction while still respecting the individuals involved. May the fruit of the Spirit of gentleness be evident in your leadership.

            Keep looking up,

            Andy Wiebe