Thoughts About Staff (Part 1)

 One of the privileges, and challenges, of being a leader is the opportunity to have a staff that help fulfill the vision you have.  Few leaders realize the potential their staff has.  God asked Moses an important question in Exodus 4:2, “what’s that in your hand?”  The answer… “a staff”.

If you’re a leader in any capacity you probably have a staff.  In 18 years of ministry I’ve led all volunteer staffs, a staff with 1 part timer, small staffs, and now a large staff.

Having a staff brings up and downs.  It’s been said that your staff will be your greatest joy in ministry, but will also bring your greatest hurts.  That’s true.  Sometimes I’ve felt like Moses, like I wanted to strike my staff against a rock.  Far more often I feel like I can raise my staff up and they will part the waters!

Pastors, here’s the point:  my staff, and yours, have incredible potential.  Exodus 4:17 (NLT)
¹⁷ And take your shepherd’s staff with you, and use it to perform the miraculous signs I have shown you.”

Over the years I’ve experienced the down side of staff members…

·         Making decisions that I wouldn’t have made.

·         Doing things secretly on the side, hoping I wouldn’t find out.

·         Wasting valuable time by not giving us their best.

·         Walking into sin that destroyed their families and injured our church body.

However, these are far outweighed by the joy of staff who…

·         Go the extra mile and take on projects that lighten my work load.

·         Own the vision of our church and extend our capacity to fulfill it.

·         Keep me accountable in a loving, Biblical way.

·         Bring great joy to the ministry by the friendship they provide.

·         Make me more effective through their wisdom and counsel.

·         Do so much that I’ll never know about, but make our church healthier.

·         Are trustworthy and loyal

·         Are giving us everything they’ve got.

·         Consider it a great joy to invest their life at Palm Valley Church.

·         Are willing to sacrifice and do whatever it takes.

Pastors: God has given us a staff for a reason; and it’s not so that we can become lazy dictators J  It’s to fulfill the calling He has given us.  I encourage you today to value and develop your staff; you and your church will benefit from it!  Lift them up and watch God use them to part the waters.