Church Leadership – Can Church Leadership Be Learned


Leader John Kelly became my spiritual father; we started traveling together. I noticed John living out many church leadership principles almost intuitively. I would say things like, “John, you just demonstrated the law of the lid or the law of the hamburger” (As Explained In The Video). He would just look at me and say, “What are you talking about?” I had a hard time understanding why he didn’t know what I was talking about. Then I found out that John was raised in a home where his father was a leader; he had built some of the largest bridges in America. John was raised by a father who modeled leadership inside and outside the home on a daily basis. Church leadership principles that are caught are learned through example, experience, mentoring and coaching. It’s a process of maturation, impartation, and influence rather than instruction and information. Some people find themselves in a family, school, or cultural environment that immerses them in leadership experiences. Others must diligently seek education and instruction to be taught leadership. John Kelly was fortunate to have leadership modeled by his father continually so he “caught it.” Undertake something that is difficult; it will do you good.

Most People Have To Learn Church Leadership

Unless you try to do something beyond what you have already mastered, you will never grow. –Ronald E. Osborn 2 The majority of people in the world are not raised or surrounded by leaders. This is why it can seem like leaders are “born naturally,” when in reality they have either caught it or have been taught it. LQ Solution: You learn leadership through mentorship or mistakes, people or pain. Pay any price to be in the presence of a great leader. Here is the wonderful reality. The more time I spend with John Kelly, the more I discover how I am growing as a “caught it leader. At times, when I am helping leaders, I can hear him say things in my mind before I say them. Pay any price to get into the presence of great leaders—catch it and learn it!

The Price Of Being A Church Leader

I am impressed with the price paid by Tim Tebow, former Florida Gators quarterback now playing professional football. Living only an hour and a half away from Gator country, I must admit I have been a Tebow fan for many years. There is no argument that Tim Tebow understands how to maximize impact, influence, and income. His life made a difference on the Gators team, and now he is making a difference in the National Football League. As spiritual people, we can be tempted to think that Tim’s achievement is all about “God blessing him.” There is no doubt in my mind that God has been doing that, but Tim has also been doing his part to maximize his potential so he can manifest his inner leader in the culture of the NFL. I was watching a special on ESPN about Tim Tebow and how hard he had to work to improve his throwing style. The show explained the amount of time Tebow put in to preparing for his successful season with intense training, coaching, running, weight lifting, and throwing the football. At the end of the show, Tebow made the following comment: “Every day I ask myself, is there anybody else in this league who is working as hard as I am?” Then he said, “Most days, I don’t think so. I want to work harder than any other person in the whole league.” Here is the coaching question I asked myself after the show, “Am I the hardest working speaker / church leadership coach in the world?” Most days, I don’t think so. Not even close. Then I asked myself this powerful question, “Am I working hard in preseason when nobody is watching me so my performance can be outstanding when opportunity knocks on my front door?” How would you answer these questions? Demonstrating your inner leader by being the best at what you do will take an inner determination to push yourself beyond the norm. Ready for the next video selection? Click the link to be taken to our next video post The First Leadership Book. Now I know you have learned a ton from all of this and are open to any of your questions, if you have some just leave a comment below!