3 Secrets To Keep Your Lead Pastor Happy

Have you ever wondered what you have to do to keep your lead pastor (boss) happy? 

It seems like no matter what you do, they are never satisfied.

What are you doing wrong? 

Is there some secret treasure chest hidden within the walls of the church with instructions on what they want from you? 

More than a few church leaders have started, tried, and left a ministry because of this one struggle.

But, most of the time it can be fixed with a few slight changes. 

After being a staff pastor under multiple lead pastors and now a lead pastor for the last ten years, I have the unique insight to speak from being on both sides of the table.

So, here are 3 secrets to keep your lead pastor happy in the coming weeks:

1. Be On-Time

One story I heard from a new youth pastor after they had been at a church for a few months was this. 

After showing up late to the church for multiple days, his lead pastor called him into his office to express his frustration with this phrase, “There are two kinds of people who work for me: the ones on time…and the ones that don’t work for me any longer”.

You may think this is harsh, but one of the most frustrating things to a lead pastor is a team member who is always late. 

They may even joke about it, but know they are hoping you get the hint.

You may be knocking every other ball of ministry out of the park, but if you find yourself always rushing into the office after everyone else, your home runs will fade quickly.

What you’re telling your boss without knowing it is that you don’t value him or the church enough to show up on time. 

Fixing this one problem will reap benefits more than you know.

For people who have a real problem with this, here are a few tips to help:

1. Try setting your alarm early. (or set multiple alarms)
2. Don’t place your alarm near your bed, but far enough so you have to get up to turn it off.
3. Get your clothes ready the night before.
4. Set all your clocks 15 minutes fast.

2. Follow Through With Commitments

Another church I knew hired a staff pastor who was an amazing visionary and soul-winner. 

This leader grew their ministry from 5 people to around 40 in one year! 

They were exciting and energetic, and the people loved them.

The lead pastor felt they had hired the person they needed for years to come. 

But there was one problem … this staff pastor never followed through with the assignments their boss gave them. 

Meeting after meeting they would forget to get things done. 

It got to the point that the rest of the team started noticing and getting frustrated as well. 

The lead pastor would lovingly talk to this staff pastor again and again, but it never seemed to get better. 

Needless to say, that staff pastor was not with the church for long. 

This one struggle they could not deal with over-shadowed all their other giftings without them even realizing it. 

To them, the lead pastor never seemed happy with all they were accomplishing, but they were blind to the one thing that was sabotaging them.

If this story describes you, know that your giftings in one area of ministry will not excuse you from this problem with your lead pastor.

If you struggle with this, here are a few tips to help:

1. Write everything down. If you don’t make reminders for yourself, other things will always seem to want your attention.
2. Never say yes to a commitment you know you won’t be able to keep.
3. Always ask your boss when they need the task done. (is this something that can’t wait, or can it wait until next week?)

3. Be Willing To Put The Team Before Yourself

Being called to church leadership is being called to play on a team. 

Sadly, some leaders don’t recognize this. 

They become so laser-focused on their area of ministry that, without realizing it, they have pushed other team members away as a result.

One story that illustrates this well is a church that had a gymnasium that both the youth and kids departments used as their primary meeting location. 

Both had to use the same sound equipment … but there was a catch. 

On top of the sound station were two different soundboards with covers that locked when that ministry wasn’t using them. 

One soundboard for the youth and one for the kids. (Talk about making the statement, “I Don’t Play Well With Others”)

I have to confess that the youth pastor in this example was “yours truly”. 

I was young, prideful, and now embarrassed with how I built a wall between myself and that other team member. (Oh, how a lock and key can divide a team from within.)

Church leaders need to know that this problem doesn’t go unnoticed by your lead pastor as they have to take time out of their busy schedule to bring peace back into the team. 

Trust me, now as I sit on the other side of the table, there are a million other things they need to be doing. 

This one problem can bring a ton of stress on your lead pastor and the team.

If you can relate to the young church leader I used to be, here are a few tips that helped me:

1. Pray for God to break your prideful heart, and help you to put other teammates before yourself.
2. Go and apologize to your teammates for the walls you’ve built around yourself.
3. Look for ways you can serve other team members without asking for anything in return.

Call to Action

Did any of these tips hit home for you and your church?

Take time this week to set up a meeting with your lead pastor and apologize.

Then start a discussion on how the two of you can work better together.

What Do You Think?

Do you have another tip I didn’t mention that has helped you? 

Feel free to share in the comments section below!!