What is leadership? Ask ten people and you will get ten different answers. You can read different books and blogs about leadership and come away with hundreds of good leadership tips. For most of us though, this cycle of reading and trying leadership tips just leaves us frustrated and with more questions than answers. Bottom line: leadership is hard. Your context and culture adds another layer of complexity to it as well. What if leading your youth ministry to the next level could be simpler? What if there was one leadership principle that would up your leadership capacity in any culture or context?
The Best Way to Up Your Leadership
There is no magic bullet to leadership. Leading a team is hard no matter where you’re at, and leading a youth ministry is even more difficult. Youth workers don’t just lead other adult volunteers and group leaders, we have to lead teenagers with all of the emotion and life transition that comes with the life stage. Youth ministry leadership is messy, and no single principle or tip will change that. Still though, I believe there is one thing you can do above all else that will take your leadership, team, and ministry to the next level!
In simplest form, leadership is love. That’s right, love! When a youth pastor leads their team and students with love, everything takes a step forward. Love can take a two-star leader to a three-star. It can tip an average leader to above average. You can lead better than other more natural leaders if you embrace a leadership of love and they don’t. Love takes leadership to the next level.
“Love takes leadership to the next level.”
I’m not talking about a general brotherly love here either. Leading with love is caring for the people you lead, not just in word, but in action. Leading with love is caring more about what you can do to help your team get better, not what they can do to help you or the church. The best leader in the room is usually not the most vocal person, but the most caring. In his book The Five Levels of Leadership, John Maxwell lays out the reasons why people follow leaders. People follow level one leaders because they have to, level two leaders because they want to, and level three leaders because their results. You can get to all three of these levels without love, but you can’t advance past them. You can only become a level four or five leader when you learn to love the people you lead!
“The best leader in the room is usually not the most vocal person, but the most caring.”
According to Maxwell, the reason people follow level four leaders is because of what the leader has done for them. People will line up to follow a leader who cares about them and their development. Students and parents love the youth pastor that cares as much about their tomorrow as their theology. When you care about the people you lead and take steps to help them take theirs, they will follow you anywhere. Caring for and loving your team is the best way to lead them better.
“Caring for and loving your team is the best way to lead them better.”
Level five leaders are rare. They are world changers. They’re the leaders we all want to be but few ever become. John Maxwell teaches that the secret of these leaders is who they are and what they represent. People follow level five leaders because of immense respect for them. So how do you become a level five leader? Well, people will follow you because of what you stand for only when what you stand for is built on love. I’m convinced that before a leader can change the world they must first change someone else’s world. You do this by loving people in a real and radical way.
“Leadership in its simplest form is love.”
If you want to take a positive step toward becoming a better leader today, the best way to do it is to take a step of love. Youth leaders and youth pastors should be some of the best leaders because we should be some of the most loving leaders. Remember, when you learn to love well, you’ll learn to lead well. So take some practical steps today to love your volunteers better and watch your leadership grow!
“When you learn to love well, you’ll learn to lead well.”
So what are some practical ways that you lead through love? We would love to hear your thoughts below in the comments section! Also, don’t forget to subscribe below if you want to get more youth ministry leadership content like this directly in your inbox. Love your team well today and you will begin to lead then Next Level.
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