Surviving Leadership in the Local Church: Fighting the Good Fight for the Long Game

Abstract

This project is designed to serve pastors, ministry leaders, and other leaders in the local church with the necessary habits, life patterns, and character development tools in order to survive leadership in the local church. By exploring common reasons leaders get out of ministry or are shown out of local church ministry, this project unpacks causes of burn-out, moral failure, phasing out, and more to give a clear picture of reasons some leaders do not survive leading in the local church.

Chapter 1 provides context, rationale, and direction for why leaders do not survive by exploring both personal and professional issues. Chapter 2 provides the biblical and theological support for leading in a local church, and ways to survive the difficulties of the battle in the trenches for a leader’s character. Chapter 3 delves into the theoretical and sociological support for how leaders can develop healthy rhythms, strong support systems, a self-care plan, and boundaries necessary for survival. Chapter 4 provides the framework of a life well lived and how leaders leads themselves personally, interpersonally, and professionally within the context of the local church. Chapter 5 wraps up the discussion by evaluating the feasibility of leaders in the current cultural context to survive leading in the local church.