What should be the top priorities for church leaders?

With a year severely impacted by a global pandemic and other significant issues, many pastors are having to lead differently. With forced changes, many of these pastors are struggling with what their priorities should be.

Let’s face it, even in the best of times a lot people don’t do well when it comes to getting priorities right. Years ago, I ran across a little story about priorities that I’ll share with you now …

In recent years a head coach divorced his wife of 26 years when he left coaching a college team to become head coach in the National Football League. He said he needed a wife while coaching on the college level for social functions and to show families that he would be looking out for their sons. In pro football, however, she was an unnecessary accouterment and a distraction to winning. He said winning football was his number one priority and his two sons second. How tragic!

In contrast to this, Tom Landry, former coach of the Dallas cowboys said, “The thrill of knowing Jesus is the greatest thing that ever happened to me … I think God has put me in a very special place, and He expects me to use it to His glory in everything I do … whether coaching football or talking to the press, I’m always a Christian … Christ is first, family second and football third.”

The first priority of church leaders as persons is to enjoy their relationship with Jesus Christ. They will never get the priorities of the church right until they get Jesus as the priority of their own lives right.

Once that is properly in place, then what? For context, let’s start with the basics that church leaders are to shepherd the local church:

“Care for the flock that God has entrusted to you. Watch over it willingly, not grudgingly — not for what you will get out of it, but because you are eager to serve God,” 1 Peter 5:2.

This general caring for the flock includes gathering for worship, nurturing fellowship among the saints, and making sure those in need are cared for.

With that in place, we can see scripture provides three main priorities for church ministry.

First is leading the congregation in its mission of making disciples. After all, that is what Jesus commissioned the church to do:

“Jesus came and told his disciples, ‘I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth. Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age,’” Matthew‬ ‭28:18-20‬.

This is a problem for many church leaders today because the truth is making disciples WASN’T the top priority for them or their local congregation prior to the pandemic, so making it top priority now will be making a change.

Good!

It’s a change that needed to be made long ago, now is the opportunity to get it done!

The second among top priorities is making sure the congregation is discipled to spiritual maturity:

“So we tell others about Christ, warning everyone and teaching everyone with all the wisdom God has given us. We want to present them to God, perfect in their relationship to Christ. That’s why I work and struggle so hard, depending on Christ’s mighty power that works within me,” Colossians‬ ‭1:28-29.

Current research reveals that a majority of people who are members of churches today do not have a biblical worldview, disagree with basic tenets of the Christian faith, and are biblically illiterate. We are far from shepherding our flocks to spiritual maturity. Along with the making of new disciples, discipling believers to spiritual maturity must be a top priority of church leaders.

The third item that should be a top priority for church leaders is the equipping of church members for the work of ministry. In fact, this responsibility to equip is a reason why leaders were given to the church:

“Now these are the gifts Christ gave to the church: the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, and the pastors and teachers. Their responsibility is to equip God’s people to do his work and build up the church, the body of Christ,”‭‭ Ephesians‬ ‭4:11-12‬.

Most churches prior to the pandemic, and still even in the pandemic, don’t do anything —- N O T H I N G —- to equip Christians in how to effectively share the Gospel with non-Christians. What greater equipping for ministry can there be, considering making disciples is the calling of every Christian?

“And all of this is a gift from God, who brought us back to himself through Christ. And God has given us this task of reconciling people to him. For God was in Christ, reconciling the world to himself, no longer counting people’s sins against them. And he gave us this wonderful message of reconciliation. So we are Christ’s ambassadors; God is making his appeal through us. We speak for Christ when we plead, ‘Come back to God!’” 2 Corinthians‬ ‭5:18-20‬.

So many pastors are flustered and anxious about what they should be doing in these unusual times. Step back and examine afresh what the priorities for church ministry should be, and let that biblical insight inform you in setting priorities for what you should be doing.

Scotty