In just about every job I've had, working hard meant getting as much done as possible: transferring loans, selling burritos, and filing patients' paperwork. As a ministry leader, I've discovered that working hard means something different. There are many days where I've put in more than a full day's worth of hours, yet wondered, "what did I get done today?" For a leader, working hard doesn't always mean getting a ton of tasks completed. In fact, if a leader is doing all the work, he or she probably isn't a very good leader. At the same time, it's hard to respect and follow a leader who thinks it's his job to supervise and everyone else's job to do all the work.
So, what exactly does it mean to be a hard worker as a leader?
Start your day on time. Not every church has a staffed office with an eight-hour work day, but that doesn't give a pastor an excuse to sleep in just because Monday Night Football went into overtime. Develop a routine that works for you and your family, and stick with it. I realize that ministry doesn't usually happen on a 9-to-5 schedule, but I think we all know the difference between putting in a full day and not giving it our all. And if you are blessed enough to work with a staff, don't expect them to start their work day at a certain time if you aren't willing to do the same.
Take responsibility for what happens under your watch. As a leader, do you deflect responsibility or accept it? Accepting responsibility means owning what happens under your watch. When a difficult decision in your ministry needs to be made or a tough conversation needs to happen, you need to own it and not pass it off to an intern. As a youth pastor, sometimes this involves accepting responsibility for a poor choice a volunteer has made. A new male volunteer in our ministry once attempted to pursue an inappropriate relationship with one of our high school girls. Thankfully, we caught it pretty much right off the bat, removed the volunteer, and worked with him to attempt restoration. And even though we did what we were supposed to do (run a solid background check, contact references, conduct an interview, and take swift action when we knew something wasn't right), it was still my job to apologize to the parents of the young woman--because it happened under my watch.
Don't waste your time Facebooking/Tweeting/Blogging. You knew this one was coming. I'd be willing to bet that every person who reads this post has at least one online activity that's a time-wasting back hole for them. For me, it's reading blogs and writing posts. So, on the days that I'm working, I limit the time I can do those activities to when I eat lunch (I'm actually enjoying leftover pot roast, carrots, and potatoes as I write this). I know that many of you will protest that you use Facebook in ministry which is why you spend three hours a day on Facebook. So, here's a good questions to ask yourself to test your heart and determine if you're really doing ministry by being on Facebook, or if you're just wasting time doing personal stuff: "If there were a camera on me showing the congregation what's I'm doing right now, would I be embarrassed about how I'm using my time?" For some of you, the most honorable thing you could do right now with your time is to stop reading this post and go do something else. Don't worry, I won't be offended if you do.
Roll up your sleeves when necessary. No leader should be above getting his or her hands dirty if the situation calls for it. There are times when something goes wrong or a project requires everybody to be moving chairs or cleaning up a mess, and the leader should be first in line. I've seen a first-hand example of this recently. We are in the midst of a building addition/remodel project, and to stretch the money that's been given for this project, we've relied heavily on some skilled volunteers in our church. There's been several Fridays when Roy, our lead pastor, has used his day off to volunteer on the construction site. It definitely got my attention, even though he himself has never called attention to it.
Be accountable to God. Leaders need to remember that being a leader is a gift, and not a right (see Matthew 25:14-30). A good ministry leader will work hard by continually examining him or herself before God and asking him for direction. And once that direction is given, hard work means leading the organization or ministry area in that direction, despite the inevitable hardships. God rarely asks us to do things that don't require sacrifice and perseverance. Leaders--as the ones who will be accountable to God for what we did with the oversight God gave us--should be out in front, leading the charge.
Those are my five. What would you add to the list?
UPDATE: Chris Wesley wrote a great post on distractions today, so if you need some help disciplining yourself to keep focused, check it out.
