“Creation seems to be delegation through and through. [God] will do nothing simply of Himself which can be done by creatures. I suppose this is because He is a giver.”
— C.S. Lewis

Have you ever experienced a truly terrific team, workplace, or church community? If so, you have benefited, knowingly or not, from effective leadership. Have you ever experienced an abusive or merely miserable workplace culture or a dysfunctional church? If so, you have suffered the byproduct of ineffective leadership. 

Effective leadership does not just happen. It is a skill that requires study, training, and practice. Even our increasing awareness of leadership failures and abuses testifies to our need for leaders to call us to new and more effective and truthful ways of living and working together. As the proverbialist puts it, “When there is no prophetic vision the people perish” (Prov 29:18).

Pastors, no less than company CEOs, aspire to be effective. But as we know from research and perhaps also by experience, many pastors are more likely to feel just plain tired. Young pastors, faced with enormous demands, may get by for a season through sheer exertion. But rolling up one’s sleeves is not a strategy for sustainability. Eventually, one must transition from doing to leading.