One mark of a great leader is that you honor those who lead you. Let’s be honest though, youth pastors don’t have the greatest track record in this area. Youth ministry leaders are often innovative and hungry leaders. They want to take steps forward, and do whatever it takes to reach students for Christ. However, it’s easy to push through without abandon and inadvertently dishonor our leaders. Here’s the problem: Dishonoring your leaders is the quickest way to lose your influence. It’s impossible to lead others well if you can’t  be led well. I believe the youth leaders with the greatest impact will be the ones who honor their leaders best.   

     My guess is you want to have an impact like that. Why else would you be reading an article like this? You love Jesus. You love students. You want to see as many students as possible follow Christ. This will make you a great youth leader, providing you learn to honor your leaders. Make no mistake though, if you don’t honor your leaders it won’t happen. If you want to succeed & have the greatest impact possible, honoring your leaders is a must!

     It’s time to flip the script. Instead of having a reputation for being dishonoring, youth leaders should be the most honoring people in church. Want to lead your youth ministry well? Do you want to be worthy of being honored as a leader? If so, the best place to start is to become great at honoring those who lead you. So I’ve put together seven ways to honor your leaders well. It’s my hope and prayer that I can keep you from making some of the mistakes that I’ve made. You can be better and do more, and I want to help you get there. So, without further ado, let’s dive in to seven way to honor your leaders!

7 Ways to Honor Your Leaders:

#1: No Surprises

     The best way to honor your leader is to make sure they know what’s going on. Most leaders don’t like surprises, especially senior pastors. Trust me here, if you want to see your Pastor’s blood pressure rise, let him be surprised. This is especially true if the surprise came with angry people! As a leader, that’s a tough position to be in. Most leaders want to have the back of those they lead. But it’s hard to take up for you when they’re being berated for something they know nothing about! I made this mistake early and often, and it never turned out well. We’re youth ministry leaders though, we take risks. And that’s great! Here’s the deal though, let your pastor or leader know the risks you’re taking before you take them!

     Here are a few reasons why. First off, the great idea you have now may not be so great when you have all the info. I can’t tell you how many times my leaders have saved my bacon by pointing out things that had never crossed my mind. Many of us don’t want to do this because it’s a chance for someone to say no and shut down a great idea. However, the truth is many of our “great ideas” probably need to be shutdown. Not because your leader is a know it all killjoy, but because they want to protect you. Give your leader the chance to protect you by keeping them posted and keeping them from surprises.

“Give your leader the chance to protect you by keeping them posted and keeping them from surprises.”

The second reason for not surprising your leaders is so they can have your back. I’ve taken some crazy risks over the years, and many of them panned out well and were a success. Some have landed more on the disaster side of the scale. Even the successes will make some people angry though. It’s those times you will need your leader to have your back. I once had a pastor who asked me to do this from the beginning. The one thing he asked above everything else I did was to keep him posted and not let him be surprised. This conversation came about one month into my employment. It was also right after I had done something stupid. A few parents told him about my lame brain idea and chewed on him pretty good about it. To say he was mad would be an understatement! He didn’t berate me though, but instead looked more disappointed than anything. He said one thing that still sticks in my brain to this day: “What you did was stupid, but I took up for you anyway. Next time let me know ahead of time so I can do a better job of it.” As it turns out, my pastor took it on the chin and took up for me, even though he believed I made a mistake. Further, he told me he would have let me do it anyway if I had told him. He would have still let me take the risk, but he would have also been prepared for the possible fallout. Love your leader enough to let them have your back.

“Leaders don’t like surprises, so don’t surprise them.”

#2: Have their Back

If you want your leader to have your back, then you’ve got to have theirs. The best way I’ve found to gain the support of a leader is to be their biggest supporter. Here’s the thing though: you won’t always agree with the decisions they make. That’s life. When your leader makes a decision you don’t agree with, remember whose responsibility it is.  It’s not yours. They’ve made the decision, and for better or worse they are the one trusted to do so. Not giving them support and not having their back to other people is stupidity though. You don’t help anything by not having their back. However, you can make a huge impact on your leader, others, and the situation by supporting them. Once the decision is made, honor it and have their back publicly and privately. Support your leaders the way you want the people you lead to support you!

“Support your leaders the way you want the people you lead to support you!”

#3: Do Your Job

Perhaps one of the simplest but most overlooked ways to honor your leader is to do your job. And don’t just do your job, but do it better and faster than they have asked if possible. It brings a leader great honor and peace when they can trust those they lead to do what they’ve asked and do it well. Over the years, I’ve found the best thing I can do for my leaders is to do excellent work. Halfway doing things and dropping the ball has the opposite affect. And it’s a quick way to stress those who lead you out! So, want to honor your leader? Do your job, do it well, and do it the first time.

“The best way I can honor my leader is to do excellent work.”

         We’re off to a good start, but we’re not done yet! There’s more to come tomorrow as we dive into part two of this article and look at numbers 4-7! How are you doing with the first three items on the list? Is there one way you can better honor your leaders starting today? Let us know what you think in the comments section below, and subscribe below to get part 2 delivered straight to your inbox!