1. Lead pastors in these churches tend to put high demands on their staffs.
2. Staff pastors who thrive in these churches tend to be constantly changing what they do and how they do it.
3. Staff pastors in these cultures have to develop thick skins.
4. These churches are all about mission—reaching spiritually lost people with the gospel.
5. These churches have a strong focus on numbers. They believe that every soul counts for eternity. What the leadership does to introduce people to God and disciple them in the faith is important enough to measure.
6. Lead pastors in these churches are intent on attaining and keeping unity. They do that through the strength and wisdom of their leadership. They do not capitulate to whiners.
7. These lead pastors generally understand they are in over their heads and have an extremely deep commitment to calling on God for their strength.
8. Staff pastors and board members understand where confidentiality starts and stops. If someone in the church wants to speak confidentially with a staff or board member and shares information that could be construed as working against the unity of the body or as harmful to the body, the staff and board members understand their responsibility. That information has to be shared with the lead pastor, regardless of any confidentiality request. The individual needs to understand that position. No elements of disunity are allowed to ferment.
9. These lead pastors are seldom satisfied. Like Paul, they are content in the state they are in but understand that, until every person within their reach and influence knows Jesus, their work is not done. They tend to always be looking for ways to do everything better.
10. These lead pastors tend not to dwell on victory celebrations very long. They are regularly saying things like, “That was great. Now how can we do it better?”
11. Staff pastors frequently feel like they can never satisfy the lead pastor. While they work hard to perform, staff pastors like to celebrate wins for a longer period of time than lead pastors. Hence, they have the feeling that they cannot satisfy their leader.
12. Lead pastors require staff pastors to be solution-oriented. There are not many things worse for a lead pastor of these churches than to hear a staff pastor say, “We tried that and it didn’t work”—and then not offer a solution to the issue at hand. Staff pastors who cannot develop solutions do not last long at larger, growing churches.
13. Staff pastors can easily fall prey to the “My plate is already full” mentality, while the lead pastor says there is more to be done.
14. Lead and staff pastors with longevity in large church cultures have discovered the necessity of reinventing themselves. Those who do not, find themselves and the church stagnating and/or out the door.
15. While not disregarding what long-time members of the church think or feel, lead pastors in these cultures make their decisions based on what is going to reach more people outside the walls of the church—as opposed to keeping those inside the walls of the church satisfied. They regularly teach and preach to those inside about the mission to reach those outside.
16. Lead pastors at large, growing churches seem to be able to live with fewer people “liking” them than pastors of smaller churches. Regardless of how people feel about them, they make tough decisions and live by them.
17. Lead pastors of these churches are sometimes wrong but never in doubt.
18. Larger, growing churches are completely staff-led and board-advised.
19. No lead or staff pastor gets comfortable in larger, growing churches. When they do, the church stops growing.
20. Lead pastors continually look for newer, younger, fresher ideas to reach the demographic most likely to make a life change for Jesus, the under-40 crowd. When this happens, older staff pastors who frequently reinvent themselves thrive.
21. Suggestions made by lead pastors of larger, growing churches often are not.If a peer makes a suggestion staff pastors may consider the idea.If a lead pastor makes a suggestion staff pastors may be well-advised to consider the suggestion much stronger than if someone else made the suggestion.Staff pastors either gain clarity from the lead pastor as to how strong they feel about their “suggestion” or they go ahead with the lead pastor’s suggestion as an instruction of what the lead pastor really wants done.
22. Larger, growing churches and the pastors who lead them never read unsigned notes, cards or letters.They do the same with emails under bogus names.They have no compulsion to respond to spurious attacks on character or actions of anyone if it is unsigned.Admins of these pastors know to throw those away without telling the pastor they came in.These gutless unsigned communiques are a blight on the Body of Christ and these lead pastors never respond to them.Never!

This list is not deemed to be the end-all in how one should become a lead pastor of a larger, growing church. However, it is a starting place for those who are looking to move from where they are to where they believe God wants to take them—and the church.

Dick Hardy is the Founder and President of The Hardy Group, a Growth Consulting firm for lead pastors of churches. Everything but preaching is his theme. Dealing with the stuff that keeps you up at night is his focus.

He provides board development for church boards looking for ways to grow to the next level. Growth consulting for lead pastors and church boards is his forte.

Dick brings a wealth of experience to the table for pastors and boards when dealing with the tough issues of the church relative to growth, organization, leadership, administration, and change. His service as Administrative Pastor at two megachurches and as Vice President at a flagship denominational Bible college makes him a resource your church will want to retain. Dick is also available to serve as a speaker on this subject and many more.

Copyright © 2011 by Dick Hardy. Permission is granted for the free redistribution of this article. You may contact Dick at dhardy@thehardygroup.org or visit the website www.thehardygroup.org.

I am curious to know if these observations are endorsed & advocated by the author & The Hardy Group. Personally, though I see the validity of the observations, I am grieved at the suggested that they (most of them, not all) are "godly methods" to be used by lead pastors, leaders and boards of any "Christian" organization.