Leading in Thought, Word, and Deed

For the past 20 years, we’ve heard “Pastors must be leaders.” Denominations and conferences reward the strong, the bold, the visionary.

That has caused frustration, often unspoken, among many pastors I know. God called them to shepherd his people, yet they don’t feel like visionary leaders.

“I’m not that good at setting vision,” one pastor confided. “I feel weak as a leader.” I shook my head in bewilderment; his congregation has thrived and grown under his care.

The current assumption is that pastoral leadership means being a strong organizational leader. But many pastors play a different role, just as powerful: thought leader.

We know about the organizational leader: setter of vision, builder of systems, raiser of money, achiever of goals. But a pastor can be a thought leader: sower of ideas, embodier of virtues, persuader of truth.

An organizational leader concentrates on budgets, vision, and systems. A thought leader concentrates on lifestyle, communication, and ideas—where they came from and what impact they will have.

Both types of leaders bring lasting life change to people. But they take different routes.

I think of a pastor who constantly preaches, “We as a church do not exist for ourselves; we exist for others.” He has changed the congregation in a sweeping way: The members now truly believe their mission is to build not merely their church but the wider kingdom. He hasn’t drafted a specific agenda, but he has transformed the church’s mindset. This kind of leadership goes unrecognized by some because it’s not management by objective; it’s management by outlook.

Here are some distinguishing marks of Christian thought leaders:

1. Thought leaders exert influence disproportionate to the number of people they oversee. An organizational leader’s influence is tied to the number of people in the organization; a thought leader’s influence is tied to the number of people shaped, whether in the organization or not.

Bill, a nearby pastor, is not a strong institutional leader, but several people outside his church have commented to me, “He’s a man of integrity; his passion is for God.” Without a large congregation, Bill doesn’t realize he’s an influencer. Without conscious effort, he leads others Godward.

2. Thought leaders read. They read not haphazardly but with focused intent. They read beyond what their immediate circle is reading.

3. Thought leaders pray, and they listen to God when they do. They make time for solitude. In Acts 6, when the early Christians were complaining and squabbling, the apostles made a decision but didn’t directly handle the problem. They didn’t even select the people who would handle it. That hands-off approach would be considered poor organizational leadership by some, but the apostles insisted, “We will give our attention to prayer and the ministry of the Word.”

4. Thought leaders understand the movements of the soul. When I’m facing a challenging leadership situation, I call my friend Tim. He’s not a dynamic leader who enters a room and takes command. But he asks me quiet questions that probe my motivations. When I hang up the phone, I find my face turned upward toward the light.

As I look around the church in North America, where I live, I see many pastors who shine as outstanding thought leaders, who exert a less conspicuous but possibly deeper influence, yet they feel second-class. We need many godly organizational leaders, but not all pastors need take that path of leadership.

The only requirement is that every pastor lead people in a Christward direction.

Kevin A. Miller is editor at large of Leadership.

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