Quotes & Sayings About Church Leadership

I don't want to lose the awe we get to help another human being. — Francis Chan

The end product of the successful preacher's input is transformation. — Christian Michael

Although there is validity, I believe, in leaving a church where the leadership consistently presents false doctrine, I also see people who are offended by one remark from the pulpit or one perceived hurt flit to the next church to look for fault there. It's like the cartoon I saw of a skeleton dressed in women's clothes and sitting on a park bench; the caption read, 'Waiting for the perfect man.' There is no perfect church either. — David Jeremiah

Sin is too big to be handled alone. — Johnny Hunt

Missional leaders not only feel the burden of God's mission but they also act on the burden and act upon it sacrificially. Leading a missional church is not for the faint of heart. It takes courage to push yourself beyond your comfort zone and to lead the church beyond it personal limits. Brokenness, inner turmoil and sacrifice will always be part of the missional leader's life. — Gary Rohrmayer

As a pastor our main ministry is exhortation. — Johnny Hunt

I have not learned a single lesson, been inspired or impacted by another person's life void of negative experiences. — John Paul Warren

Human speculation is no match for divine revelation. — Johnny Hunt

Father, help me focus on my strengths and trust others to fill the gaps of my weaknesses"

Every leader knows the skills in which they excel. They also are aware of those tasks that they maintain a certain level of competence along with those duties they struggle in accomplishing. In my experience there are "want to's" and the "have to's" of leadership. The "want to's" energize a leader and the "have to's" zap the leader's creativity and time. The quicker a leader can find those around them that will fill the gaps of their weaknesses, the more effective they will be in achieving God's mission. — Gary Rohrmayer

My hope and prayer for all who read this book is a reformation - that an army of African-American men will make their way back into the church, back into the leadership of the church, back into leading a change in the church to be and do what it is called to be and do, so that we may have power to do good for our people, and people all over the world, in a way that no government or service organization has been or will be able to do, and that no one will be able to take away. — Eric Redmond

I don't think that we should waste our time criticizing other people. Self-criticism allows us to be the best version of ourselves. — Braden Pedersen

The prayer level of a church never rises any higher than the personal example and passion of the leaders. The quantity and quality of prayer in leadership meetings is the essential indicator of the amount of prayer that will eventually arise among the congregation. — Daniel Henderson

There are a lot days where I don't know if God exists. There are a lot of days where I think the leadership of the Church is wacky, a lot of days where I really doubt why I am a part of this thing. But, down deep, I know it to be true. Down deep, I know how much I love it and that's what sort of gets me through. The churches are the pope, and its priests and its mystery and everything. I just sort of like the whole thing. — Lino Rulli

Vision is capturing God's assignment — Gary Rohrmayer

We just planted our 21st church. — Johnny Hunt

The church wasn't an organization in the first century. They weren't writing checks or buying property. The church has matured and developed over the years. But for some reason, the last thing to change is the structure of leadership. — Andy Stanley

When a human body is out of balance we call that disease ... Likewise, when the body of Christ becomes unbalanced, disease occurs ... Health will occur only when everything is brought back into balance. The task of church leadership is to discover and remove growth-restricting diseases and barriers so that natural, normal growth can occur. — Rick Warren

The beginning of knowledge is to know thyself a sinner. — Johnny Hunt

A controlling God, who is usually represented by a controlling church leadership, is just not good news. How can church leadership create freedom and not more rules? How can we bring out the best in human beings and keep it at the surface even as we deal with their problems and shortcomings? Can we empower others and release them to live from their best natures and from the truest reasons they are alive? Will we as Christian leaders, parents, and employers take on the responsibility to learn how to draw out the dreams and destiny in the people we lead? — Danny Silk

The Word that will change a man must first show the man who he really is. — Christian Michael

His [brother in law Jim Hampson] appointment to the Episcopal parish in Wenham, near Gordon College brought them in close touch with leading evangelical faculty members in their pews and church leadership, including Elizabeth Elliot and Addison Leitch. They were instrumental in drawing Jim and and Sarah into the cutting edge of evangelical intellectual leadership, with friendships with Tom Howard and J.I. Packer. My ongoing relationship with Jim Packer, FitzSimons Allison and many other brilliant Anglican evangelicals would not have happened without Jim Hampson. His early influence on me in my transition from modern to classic Christian teaching was immense. While I was trying to demythologize Scripture, he was taking its plain meaning seriously. His strong preaching led him to become one of the founding sponsors and supporters of Trinity School of Ministry in Abridge, Pennsylvania ... — Thomas C. Oden

We need more worship wars, not fewer. What if the war looked like this in your congregation
the young singles petitioning the church to play more of the old classics for the sake of the elderly people, and the elderly people calling on the leadership to contemporize for the sake of the young new believers? This would signal a counting of others more important than ourselves (Phil 2:3), which comes from the spirit of the humiliated, exalted King, Christ (Phil 2:5-11). — Russell D. Moore

Great leaders are teachable leaders. — Gary Rohrmayer

An angry leader is a scared leader or a hurt leader or a frustrated leader but most of all they are a vulnerable leader. — Gary Rohrmayer

If a preacher tells you how God says you are, I don't see how you can say that's bad preaching. — Johnny Hunt

Feel the force of forgiveness. — Johnny Hunt

There's a lot of us who do not accept the culture of the bubbles. — Mike Huckabee

Coming to the END of MYSELF and all SELF effort ... seems to be the very point that God steps in and shows HIMSELF to be more than ENOUGH. — John Paul Warren

We have created a culture of leadership "development" in the Church at the expense of ignore the ministry of the Church to making disciples. — John Paul Warren

There has never been a meaningful life built on easy street. — John Paul Warren

Too often pastors address problems from within the flawed assumptions of their culture and training. Unable to see how problems are forming, and how their leadership is often a cause, church leaders employ legalistic or democratic remedies to issues that require Spirit-directed discernment, repentance, and forgiveness. Meanwhile, leaders have to deal with members who, as noted above, insist on rights and want to "vote" instead of submit. — Jim Van Yperen

Politics is noble; it is one of the highest forms of charity, as Paul VI used to say. We sully it when we mix it with business. The relationship between the Church and political power can also be corrupted if common good is not the only converging point. — Pope Francis

If you have an offense against me, do you know you can't repent of my sin? You can only plead your own personal pardon at the throne of God. — Johnny Hunt

Be a FRIEND and stop worrying about having any — John Paul Warren

Fixing things requires change and change always creates conflict. But that is why you are a leader. — Andy Stanley

Live as temporal, serve as eternal — John Paul Warren

Church must lead all other spheres of influence.We find people from all the mountains there.The church leaders must be able to mentor them — Paul Gitwaza

Your outlook affects your outcome — John Paul Warren

There is nothing worse for a young convert than to be thrust into leadership without mentoring and ongoing coaching because the devil relishes these vulnerable souls. — Gary Rohrmayer

Impossible situations TEST you and PROVE Him — John Paul Warren

Leaders are passionate learners. Leaders are always seeking ways to improve themselves by sharpening their skills. They fully embrace the fact that growing leaders lead growing organizations. — Gary Rohrmayer

There exits within the ecclesia and among its citizens a phenomena I refer to as 'Spiritual Correctness'. Essentially it says: 'Don't say anything that could offend anyone, focus on what is right with the 'church' and its leadership, don't be critical, speak the truth in 'love', promote the status quo, don't make 'waves', don't call anyone 'out', respect 'authority', don't expose 'wrong-doing', cover those who 'spiritually abuse' others, keep it 'secret' within our family; don't ask any hard questions. Sounds exactly like the textbook definition of a highly dysfunctional family system. The only 'system' and its enablers that Jesus spoke out against vehemently was the religious system of His day and its leadership."

~R. Alan Woods [2013] — R. Alan Woods

Unconfessed sin is a terrible, heavy burden to carry. God loves us too much to have unconfessed sin. — Johnny Hunt

You plant the gospel. You don't plant churches. — Alan Hirsch

Moving forward implies MOTION when in all actuality it may be simply standing STILL and seeing the salvation of the Lord. — John Paul Warren

Effective leaders are good spotters. They are on the lookout for
potential leaders. They have the ability to look beyond other's deficiencies to
see their possibilities. — Gary Rohrmayer

If you choose to be obedient to God, God meets you with divine enablement. — Johnny Hunt

Having a good definition of spiritual leadership is critical to development
of leadership cultural throughout your church. You need to know what you are
shooting for if you are going to hit the target. — Gary Rohrmayer

In my first leadership position, I mistakenly thought that being named the leader meant that I was the leader. Back then I defined leading as a noun - as the position I was appointed to - not a verb - as what I was doing. Though I had been hired as the senior pastor, I quickly discovered the real leader of the church was a down-to-earth farmer named Claude, who had been earning his leadership influence through many positive actions over many years. He later explained it to me, saying, "John, all the letters — John C. Maxwell

The Divine Thing that made itself the foundation of the Church does not seem, to judge by his comments on the religious leadership of his day, to have hoped much from officers of a church. — Charles Williams

We have taught this generation how to "market" the Gospel but we have neglected to encourage them to "preach" the Gospel. — John Paul Warren

Other men look to him as someone to emulate. His church calls on him for strength and leadership. He is a preserver of culture and a champion of society to keep out evil and usher in good. — Tony Evans

A very small percentage of those in the church stand behind a pulpit or sport certain kinds of identifiable clothing. The actual leadership roster of the church includes disciples ministering in every arena of life, in business, law, medicine, education, the arts, sciences, government, and religion. The objective of Jesus's church-growth strategy was not to build a single, behemoth social institution with a limited set of ordained authorities. Instead, his Spirit was to be poured out on all flesh to effect a widening, deepening base of influence within every nation, worldview, and social institution. — Dallas Willard

Women have more to offer the church than mad decorating skills or craft nights. I look around: I see women who can offer strategic leadership, wisdom, counsel, and teaching. — Sarah Bessey

Leadership in the church is not entrusted to successful fund raisers, brilliant biblical scholars, administrative geniuses, or spellbinding preachers ... but to those who have been laid waste by a consuming passion for Christ - passionate men and women for whom privilege and power are trivial compared to knowing and loving Jesus. — Brennan Manning

Times are changing, and we must change with them. The twenty-first-century church does and will continually face radical change and much uncertainity with undefined problems that require organizatonal models and leadership qualities and competencies far different from those that were successful in the twentieth century. — Steve Raimo

[The church's] job is to provide permanent solace and spiritual leadership to the people as a whole, whatever their government at the moment, so long as it stays within the bounds of moral decency. — James A. Michener

The church should be setting the pace. The church should be taking its proper place of leadership in the nation ... God help the church to wake up! — Billy Graham

You have access to the Tent Of Meeting. — Francis Chan

If you don't want to have gay weddings in Mormon churches, that's fine. That's absolutely up to the members of the faith or the leadership of the faith. I would never suggest that the Mormon Church has to consecrate gay unions. But homosexuality runs at a fairly constant rate through all populations. There are many gay Mormons. — Andrew Solomon

Our enemy attacks the conscience little by little seeking to wear us down and then wears out a leader's resolve to fight the good fight. — Gary Rohrmayer

Somehow we American pastors, without really noticing what was happening, got our vocations redefined in the terms of American careerism. We quit thinking of the parish as a location for pastoral spirituality and started thinking of it as an opportunity for advancement. Tarshish, not Nineveh, was the destination. The moment we did that, we started thinking wrongly, for the vocation of pastor has to do with living out the implications of the word of God in community, not sailing off into the exotic seas of religion in search of fame and fortune. — Eugene H. Peterson

Life of any real value or substance is not formed during good times merely enjoyed. — John Paul Warren

To instill the values for the culture was and is the responsibility of the leadership, and staff alignment was critical to its success. It started with both board and staff. They realized that they needed to share the same value system that says, "I am the equipper, not the doer." If not, there were going to be immense roadblocks to effectively mobilizing people for ministry. — Sue Mallory

[Pope Francis] is a humble man. He lives the faith out in his own personal life ... He's here to be a shepherd; he isn't here to be a scold. I think that's a good thing for the church and for the world, frankly. — Rick Santorum

The intelligence investigation under the leadership of Senator Church, which I know has helped cause this investigation by you, points out that the agencies did not disclose certain facts to us and that certain plots were going on. — John Sherman Cooper

You can cross the line but you can also be forgiven. — Johnny Hunt

What I notice, as a historian reading stories about so-called nature miracles, the walking on the water, or the miraculous catch of fishes, they're done especially for the insiders, for the disciples. Usually healings and exorcisms are done for people along the road, as it were. Jesus doesn't come on the water to save the fishing fleet from Capernaum, he comes on the water to save the disciples. It's a parable, dummy, it's a parable, don't you get it? If the leadership of the church takes off in a boat without Jesus, it will sink, it will get nowhere. — John Dominic Crossan

The last thing I want to do is pastor a church Jesus ain't at. — Matthew Carter

A woman never wrote, "Thou shalt not commit adultery." God wrote that. You sin first and foremost against God. — Johnny Hunt

He had learned how to assemble Jewish texts, Greek philosophy, and Middle-Western evangelistic anecdotes into a sermon. And he had learned that poverty was blessed, but that bankers make the best deacons. — Sinclair Lewis

The modern church encourages African-American women to keep others' vineyards, while neglecting their own, in two ways: by venerating Black women's performance of strength and depending upon women's labor and financial support to maintain the church, without providing equal opportunity for Black women to exercise their gifts in ministerial leadership; and by distorting Scripture in a way that encourages suffering and self-sacrifice among Black women. — Chanequa Walker-Barnes

Missional leaders know that their church will only grow as large as its capacity to provide ongoing care through a network of small groups and ministry teams. — Gary Rohrmayer

Who influenced you? When did they influence you? How have they influenced you? What have you done with their influence? — Johnny Hunt

Over the years, I have studied church history as well as the contemporary church, and I noticed how rare it is for a God-glorifying transition of leadership to take place in a local church. — C.J. Mahaney

God is not a taker. God is a giver. — Louie Giglio

Spiritual leadership should remain spiritual leadership and the temporal power should not become too important in any church. — Eleanor Roosevelt

If all you are doing is spending time with the struggling members of your church and you are not building proactively into your church's culture, and you are being shortsighted and limiting the effectiveness of your ministry. — James MacDonald

Sin regardless of how you get there is a vulnerable and a dangerous place to be. Living in unforgiveness is living in an unsafe place. — Johnny Hunt

We are weak Christians simply because we have refused to be bondservants of Christ — Paul Gitwaza

My life has far exceeded my expectations not because of my own personal efforts or mindset but because of my friends who have enriched my existence — John Paul Warren

The Roman Church has grown and grown, fueled by immigration but also renewed by two pontiffs who have seemed to understand what Tocqueville knew: People want guidance for their souls once they are convinced they have them. — Hugh Hewitt

Anxious systems also fail to get a clear view of things. Embedded in their dread, they lose a sense of proportion. They have little awareness of what is happening and how it is being mutually maintained. Emotionally cramps the broader view. — Peter L. Steinke

Lobbing hand grenades on the bride of Christ takes zero talent or effort. I also think this really ticks God off. My five-year-old child complains and whines when things aren't the way she wants them, but courageous men and women roll up their sleeves and get busy. I want to be an active participant in putting back together the broken pieces. — Mike Foster

God has always been about the business of shattering expectations, and in our culture, the standards of leadership are extroverted. It perfectly follows the biblical trend that God would choose the unexpected and the culturally "unfit" - like introverts - to lead his church for the sake of greater glory. — Adam S. McHugh

The problem is that we don't have a "missional" problem or a leadership problem in the Western church. We have a discipleship problem. — Mike Breen

We are dealing in a day and time when the courts are defining sin different than the church. — Johnny Hunt

To be a leader in the Church has always required strength and faith beyond the merely human. — J. Oswald Sanders

In a team setting, leadership is shared by a community of people, which counters the tendency for pastors to form congregations in their own images. — Adam S. McHugh

Beginning under the Roman Empire, intellectual leadership in the West had been provided by Christianity. In the middle ages, who invented the first universities - in Paris, Oxford, Cambridge? The church. — Nancy Pearcey

Living life ONCE is enough ... if you live life RIGHT. — John Paul Warren

Since the Icelandic volcano obviously needs a virgin sacrifice and the Catholic Church obviously needs new leadership the Pope must volunteer to jump in the volcano. Pontiff, don't think of it as endorsing paganism, think of it as supersizing Ash Wednesday. — Bill Maher

Prayer-leadership preserves the spirituality of the Church, just as prayerless leaders make for unspiritual conditions. — Edward McKendree Bounds

Leaders in OVER their heads is the mere result of getting ahead of their intended SEASON. — John Paul Warren

God received from me something He didn't have on His own. My sin. I received something from God I didn't have on my own. His righteousness. — Johnny Hunt

When God brings deep conviction and I agree with Him about my condition, God restores my confidence in Him. — Johnny Hunt

There is nothing better than to have a highly motivated team of leaders focused on than reaching those far from Christ. And yet statistics and our experience reveal that evangelism entropy can creep deep inside a new church within months of its first public service. The longer we are around new churches the more amazed we are at how quickly these mission-focused, vibrant new churches become old. — Gary Rohrmayer

Our musical artistry and leadership of people need to work together to create an environment that welcomes participation instead of causing disengagement. — Gangai Victor

Some people only go to church for the social life. They like having all the friends in church or getting the praises of men by doing certain things, but they don't go there to actually worship God. They go there so others can worship THEM instead. — Lisa Bedrick

Too many in the Church today are likes babies in the nursery,they put everything in their mouth. — John Paul Warren