Christian Leadership - Trust
Trust is a complex emotion because of all the variables involved: variables from the person who is trying to earn trust as well as from the people who are dispensing the trust.
The first law of leadership according James Kouzes and Barry Posner is belief in the message requires belief in the messenger. At the core of credibility is trust and this is essential for effective leadership. Why is it so hard to gain trust from others? Malphurs offers insight in this matter. He states that trust is the act of making oneself vulnerable to another. Trust is not an immediate emotion given to the new person, but rather something that is tested through time. Malphurs’ research suggests that it takes about 5 years for a new pastor to earn credibility within the congregation. I am sure Malphurs’ research uncovered this truth, but I have my own thought concerning this.
My experiences have mostly been from a business viewpoint. Companies, such as mine, were successful because it relied heavily on a performance based incentive system. When your performance was great, you were paid accordingly. The same holds true when your performance was average or subpar. Leadership in my former company was based upon the performance matrices and a winning attitude. I really believe that leadership in churches follows a very similar path.
Pastors come and go from church to church. This is the ebb and flow of the ministerial life. What makes the pastor stay or leave; I tend to think in the business model. Any church looking for a new pastor has a certain criteria when looking at a person who will shepherd their church. No committee wants a pastor that will maintain the status quo, but rather they want someone that will take them to the next level. The potential candidate will not fail during a view of a call, but rather he will put his best foot forward and preach a sermon that is powerful and inspiring. No candidate wants to go to a church that is dead or dying,
The first law of leadership according James Kouzes and Barry Posner is belief in the message requires belief in the messenger. At the core of credibility is trust and this is essential for effective leadership. Why is it so hard to gain trust from others? Malphurs offers insight in this matter. He states that trust is the act of making oneself vulnerable to another. Trust is not an immediate emotion given to the new person, but rather something that is tested through time. Malphurs’ research suggests that it takes about 5 years for a new pastor to earn credibility within the congregation. I am sure Malphurs’ research uncovered this truth, but I have my own thought concerning this.
My experiences have mostly been from a business viewpoint. Companies, such as mine, were successful because it relied heavily on a performance based incentive system. When your performance was great, you were paid accordingly. The same holds true when your performance was average or subpar. Leadership in my former company was based upon the performance matrices and a winning attitude. I really believe that leadership in churches follows a very similar path.
Pastors come and go from church to church. This is the ebb and flow of the ministerial life. What makes the pastor stay or leave; I tend to think in the business model. Any church looking for a new pastor has a certain criteria when looking at a person who will shepherd their church. No committee wants a pastor that will maintain the status quo, but rather they want someone that will take them to the next level. The potential candidate will not fail during a view of a call, but rather he will put his best foot forward and preach a sermon that is powerful and inspiring. No candidate wants to go to a church that is dead or dying,