About eighteen years ago when I was seriously thinking about whether or not to become a pastor, I remember asking several pastors what qualifications they considered to be important in the ministry. The advice I was given I wrote down and have tried to apply what they said in my ministry ever since. These included the need to be:
• Spiritual,
• Organized and efficient,
• Able to manage time well,
• Able to see projects through to completion,
• Keep studying and developing as a spiritual leader,
• Ability to interact with people (interpersonal skills)
While all of these traits are very important in order to have a successful ministry it would take several years until God revealed to me the most important ingredient with regards to being successful in ministry. The irony of this discovery is that I had to attend a Willow Creek Conference to hear a pastor declare without any hesitation, “You need to love your people.”
Now you might ask, “What about being organized and efficient? What about being able to lead large groups of people? Or the ability to interact with people”? The point is a person with strong leadership skills will more than likely do well in any area – and as a pastor or leader you should develop the above mentioned skills as much as you can. But I have found this to be true wherever I go that a pastor or leader who truly loves people will make a difference in their lives not only here and now but for all eternity.
I am certainly not against leadership conferences and church growth strategies. They help equip pastors and leaders but without a genuine love for lost people our ministry will never grow and thrive. And it doesn't just apply to pastors. It applies to all Christians everywhere. In short, people don't care what you know until they know that you care.
So let me ask you: Do you want to make a difference in the world? You do it by loving others. The apostle John reminds us: “Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God. He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love” (1 John 4:7-8).
God bless