Larry Osborne - Lead Like a Shepherd: The Secret to Leading Well

CONTENTS

Dr. Larry Osborne is a senior pastor at North Coast Church and a mentor and coach to ministry and business leaders across the country.

His groundbreaking book Sticky Church ignited a nationwide movement of sermon-based small groups that gather weekly to discuss and apply the content of the previous weekends sermon. This simple and organic small group model has enabled churches to exponentially increase their small group participation. At North Coast Church, participation exceeds 90 percent of weekend attendance.

Widely known for their innovative approach to leadership and ministry, Larry and North Coast Church also pioneered the concept of Video Venues, which laid the foundation and fueled the rapid growth of todays multisite churches.

Larry has a deep love for Scripture and a commitment to accurate and practical biblical teaching in a local church context. During his tenure as a teaching pastor at North Coast Church weekend attendance has grown from 128 to more than 12,000.

His books include Thriving in Babylon, Accidental Pharisees, A Contrarians Guide to Knowing God, 10 Dumb Things Smart Christians Believe, Mission Creep, The Unity Factor, Sticky Teams, Sticky Church, and Sticky Leaders. There is no truth to the rumor that his next book will be titled Sticky Fingers.

Dr. Osborne holds both MDiv and DMin degrees from Talbot Theological Seminary. In addition to his work as a pastor, author, and leadership coach, he is also the founder and president of the North Coast Training Network.

I want to express my gratitude to Dave Travis, Greg Ligon, and Linda Stanley. You have helped me become a better leader and shepherd, and you have continually opened doors for me to teach and empower others with the lessons Ive learned along the way.

I also owe a deep debt of gratitude to the elders, staff, and congregation at North Coast Church. Serving you has been one of the great privileges of my life. Youre the best flock any pastor could hope for.

Erica Brandt, your careful eye and suggested corrections of my sometimes-goofy syntax has been invaluable. Thank you for your many years of faithful service.

Finally, I want to thank my amazing and beautiful wife, Nancy, a wise and candid sounding board, best friend, and soul mate all wrapped into one. Im a lucky man.

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I write about leadership and discipleship.

My publishers think it creates brand confusion. And they compare me to an author who writes cookbooks and mystery novels. They worry that some readers will find it a bit confusing. Am I a Bible teacher or a leadership guy?

But I have my reasons. I believe leadership without discipleship is a waste of time. And discipleship without leadership is an idealistic pipe dream, a recipe for frustration and cynicism.

I find that those who focus solely on leadership tend to take discipleship for granted. They confuse organizational health with spiritual health. They assume that well-run, adequately financed ministries automatically produce disciples. Bigger tends to become synonymous with better, and increased levels of participation are mistaken for increased levels of discipleship.

Now theres obviously nothing wrong with a well-organized, efficient, and growing church or ministry. It sure beats the alternative. But at the end of the day, Jesus didnt call us to create great churches or impressive organizations. He called us to make disciples.

However, a laser-like focus on making disciples is not much better if it downplays or ignores the importance of quality leadership, structures, and systems. These things matter. Theyre never neutral. They are either working for us or against us. And in the case of those who ignore them, they almost always end up working against them.

Ive also noticed that those who focus exclusively on discipleship, evangelism, and the inner life are often cynical toward the local church. They have little patience with those who lag behind because they assume these things are simply a matter of proper commitment and priorities. They dont realize the drag dysfunctional systems and unequipped leadership can have upon the work of the kingdom.

THE TWO SIDES OF THE COIN

The fact is, both leadership and discipleship matter. They are two sides of the same coin.

When a church or ministry is saddled with dysfunctional leaders, outdated traditions, bad systems, or a flawed decision-making process, it will have a hard time making disciples. Church politics and infighting will suck up all the energy and focus that should be on the Great Commission.

But there is also no guarantee that a well-run church will make disciples. Organizational health and spiritual health are two different things. Numerical growth and spiritual growth are not necessarily connected.

And thats the reason for this book. Its a look at the kind of leaders and leadership values that will actually produce disciples rather than merely bigger and better-run churches.

Its not so much about the task of leadership as it is about the heart of leadership and what it means to lead like a shepherd instead of a CEO.

TESTED BY FIRE

Tragically, Ive known more than a few pastors and leaders who spent their lives focused on the size of their flocks rather than the health of their flocks, the task of leadership instead of the heart of leadership. Many had successful ministries. And with their success came the praise of others and the envy of their peers. But Im pretty sure Jesus wasnt all that impressed.

The apostle Paul warns that if were not careful, we can build a ministry house that is nothing more than wood, hay, and strawimpressive to look at but incapable of withstanding the fire of Gods judgment. And if we do, well one day stand before God and experience something akin to losing everything but our lives in a devastating fire.

But it doesnt have to be that way. The Scriptures also promise a totally different outcome for those of us who focus on the heart of leadership and the health of our flocks. Rather than losing everything weve worked so hard to build, well find that the flames cant harm it. And better yet, well one day receive a crown of glory that will never fade away (1 Peter 5:4).

AN ANTIDOTE FOR ARROGANCE

My personal quest to discover what it takes to lead well began after a couple of up-close-and-personal experiences with some of my early ministry heroes.

To my shock and dismay, they proved to be arrogant jerks. The wisdom and warmth they exuded onstage was nowhere to be found in the greenroom or offstage. They were loved by the masses and loathed by those who rubbed shoulders with them daily.

I cant think of anything worse than a lifetime of ministry praised by strangers but despised by those who know me best. So I started searching for mentors and models who could show me a better way. Happily, I found many who followed a different path, pastors and leaders who were more concerned with the health of their flock than the fame of their names.