{"id":22238,"date":"1996-01-01T00:00:00","date_gmt":"1996-01-01T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/1996\/01\/01\/what-every-church-leader-ought-to-know\/"},"modified":"1996-01-01T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"1996-01-01T00:00:00","slug":"what-every-church-leader-ought-to-know","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/content\/what-every-church-leader-ought-to-know\/","title":{"rendered":"What Every Church Leader Ought to Know"},"content":{"rendered":"
    \n
  1. Some people will tell you it doesn’t matter if you visit certain shut-ins. Watch these people; they will lie about other things as well.<\/li>\n\n\n
  2. When you get the call at ten in the morning, and they ask, “Did I wake you pastor?” resist the temptation for a cute remark.<\/li>\n\n\n
  3. Don’t put people on committees to shut them up–unless it is a committee without real power or function. There should be several of those.<\/li>\n\n\n
  4. If you make a pastoral visit and no one is home, leave a card or note. They will appreciate your effort.<\/li>\n\n\n
  5. Don’t spend more time trying to activate inactive members than you do looking for new members.<\/li>\n\n\n
  6. Call ahead on hospital visits because they sometimes discharge surprisingly early.<\/li>\n\n\n
  7. Someone will compliment any sermon.<\/li>\n\n\n
  8. If you have a staff, let them do their job.<\/li>\n\n\n
  9. Most people who get angry at you aren’t. They’re mad at God and life.<\/li>\n\n\n
  10. If you are asked to speak in public outside your church, cut out five to ten minutes of the time you think you should take.<\/li>\n\n\n
  11. Don’t expect to be treated fairly in the ministry. No one else is.<\/li>\n\n\n
  12. Never go to a hastily called board or deacon’s meeting without a friend.<\/li>\n\n\n
  13. Never use your last sermon to settle the score. It won’t.<\/li>\n\n\n
  14. Sometimes victory is yours not because of your brilliant rhetoric or convincing argument, but by simply surviving the battle.<\/li>\n\n<\/ol>\n\n

    —R. Michael and Rebecca Sanders<\/p>\n\n

    ************************<\/p>\n\n

    From The Pastor’s Unauthorized Instruction Book<\/em> by R. Michael and Rebecca Sanders. 1995 Abingdon Press. To purchase, call 1-800-672-1789 and ask for ISBN 0-687-16895-3.<\/p>\n\n

    1996 Christianity Today\/LEADERSHIP Journal<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    —R. Michael and Rebecca Sanders ************************ From The Pastor’s Unauthorized Instruction Book by R. Michael and Rebecca Sanders. 1995 Abingdon Press. To purchase, call 1-800-672-1789 and ask for ISBN 0-687-16895-3. 1996 Christianity Today\/LEADERSHIP Journal<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":30,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"tax_ctp_authors":[],"tax_ctp_books":[],"tax_ctp_categories":[154],"tax_ctp_field_guide_subcategory":[],"tax_ctp_field_guides":[],"tax_ctp_format":[131],"tax_ctp_multimedia":[],"tax_ctp_point_editor":[],"tax_publications":[648,156,652],"tax_ctp_tags":[3790,3918,4482,4604,4606,4608,4688,5046,5279],"tax_ctp_topics":[],"class_list":["post-22238","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","tax_publications-1996-leadership-journal","tax_publications-leadership-journal","tax_publications-winter_1996-leadership-journal","tax_ctp_tags-discernment","tax_ctp_tags-expectation","tax_ctp_tags-mistakes","tax_ctp_tags-pastor","tax_ctp_tags-pastors-role","tax_ctp_tags-pastoral-care","tax_ctp_tags-preaching","tax_ctp_tags-spiritual-formation","tax_ctp_tags-wisdom"],"acf":{"scripture_references":null},"yoast_head":"\nWhat Every Church Leader Ought to Know - CT Pastors<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Some people will tell you it doesn't matter if you visit certain shut-ins. 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