As we entered 2016 we should have all reflected on the successes and failures of the past year, using both as a trajectory toward a more productive experience this year.

By “success” I am referring to fruit borne to the glory of God that expanded kingdom influence. By “failure” I mean anything we initiated or participated in that did not bear any immediate, noticeable fruit. Failure can also be defined as when a paradigm, strategy of life, or ministry is no longer producing the results we set out to obtain.

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My wife and I have been in full-time ministry for over 30 years.

In our day, we have seen many leaders lose their zeal for God and leave the ministry. Often this occurs because they did not take adequate time to seek the Lord on a daily basis for self-renewal. Other reasons include not having a balanced life that incorporates things that advance physical and emotional health (instead of just focusing on work and ministry).

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Though many may be associates of either senior pastors or business owners, it is virtually impossible to understand the pressures, sacrifices, and weight of responsibility that rests upon the shoulders of effective senior leaders. The following points illustrate some of the hazards of executive level leadership.

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I. Senior executive leaders see the whole picture; Secondary leaders and staff see the picture in fragments

Often people don’t understand why executive leaders make certain decisions, because they are viewing the situation from their own narrow perspective and realm of influence while the senior leader sees everything from “30.000 feet.” Often, people are looking out only for their department or ministry (Sunday school, youth ministry, family ministry, or the workers in the assembly line in a factory, etc.) because doing so protects their interests. Meanwhile, the senior leader has to exercise leadership based on the whole picture of the puzzle, not just the individual pieces.

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A few years ago, the mainstream media has reported that two high-level conservative Republican leaders, U.S. Senator John Ensign and Governor Mark Sanford, have had ongoing adulterous affairs.However, after that a conservative New York Congressman Vito Fossella was stopped for driving while intoxicated in Virginia and exposed as an adulterer, forcing him out of the political arena. Senator Ensign’s affair was with a member of his own staff whose husband also served on the same staff (at the same time). Governor Sanford had at least a year-and-a-half relationship with an Argentinean woman whom he has called his “soul mate” in spite of being married. During his last liaison, he flew to Argentina without telling anyone where he was, even though he is a standing governor! (Just goes to show how cloudy one’s mind can become when it is engulfed in sin and deception.)

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As we all know by now, thousands of lead pastors leave full-time church ministry every year. Along those lines, a high percentage of new church plants never make it past three years! One reason is that most potential lead pastors never honestly attempt to ask themselves the following questions:

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I’ve been involved in pastoral ministry for over 30 years, and I have a desire to help everyone. But, I have learned the hard way that I cannot help every person who attends our church or who comes to me for input.

The following are ten kinds of people I have identified that are so entrenched in certain habit patterns that I cannot help them advance to the next level unless they make the necessary shift in their attitude or behavior.

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One day I was pondering why all the leaders I know with much influence all seem to have one thing in common: they have all suffered much in their lives. In fact, every one of them has a particular cross to bear, or they have gone through horrendous seasons of pain and suffering that were part of a divine process that made them and continues to mold them into the highly effective leaders they are today. (These challenges can be relational issues with their spouses, children, other leaders, etc. or they can be personal issues related to their spiritual, emotional or physical wellbeing.)

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