The Right Pastoral Leadership Lane

In the world of leadership, pastors must do the hard work of knowing their leadership lane. In this episode, we look at the 5 leadership lanes that the Apostle Paul gives to pastors in Ephesians 4:11-12 (known as APEST Leadership). This episode speaks to the need for pastors to be self-aware, know their strengths, be honest about their weaknesses, and then build a team to be the most effective disciple-makers they can be.

Show Notes

THE PROBLEM: The problem with pastors in the world of leadership is they don’t often lead in the right lane. Statistics tell us that pastors stay about 3-years at their church, and we think it’s because they are not in the right lane of leadership. Pastors do things they hate doing. Pastors do things they aren’t good at. Pastors are not seeing the fruit. Pastors need to lead in the right lane.
We want to help pastors begin the self-discovery process and lead in the right lane.
What is APEST Leadership?

We find APEST Leadership in Ephesians 4:11-12.
Pastors have a 1-sentence job description: To equip the saints for the work of ministry.
We do this in 5 areas:

Apostles — extend the gospel
Prophets — proclaim the gospel
Evangelists — share the gospel
Shepherds — nurture with the gospel
Teachers — explain the gospel

How do we see differences lead us to being unhealthy and being on unhealthy teams?

When pastors don’t know their leadership lane, they are not leading in a healthy way.
When someone on the team is not in the right leadership lane, it effects the rest of the team.
Sometimes we don’t value the other leadership lanes like we should.
Strengths in one pastor can be weaknesses in another pastor, and they can rub each other the wrong way, when they should be valuing and celebrating each other’s differences.

How do you become self-aware?

Marry well.
Read good books.
Get wise counsel.
Get punched in the gut from time to time.

How do you see leadership lanes celebrated in different ways?

People get celebrated because of their gift set.
People get criticized because of their weaknesses.
That’s why we must be self-aware and good team builders.

EPISODE SEVEN QUESTIONS FOR YOUR TEAM:

What is your primary and secondary APEST Leadership Lane?
How do we as a team celebrate the strengths of others on our team?
In what areas of your ministry are you not operating in your APEST Leadership Lane?
What are the next steps you need to take in order to operate in your lane?
What are the next steps you need to take in order become more self-aware about what others say about you?