7 Pillars of a Successful Pastor's Attitude

In my last blog post, I began sharing a list of qualities that successful pastors have. I want to continue that list today. You may want to ask yourself, "Do I have what it takes to be a successful pastor?" Or you may ask, "does my pastor have what it takes?" I believe these qualities can be developed as we pray, walk in obedience to the Word of God, and cultivate our skills through determined effort.

1. A successful pastor has God-confidence. If he knows that God called him and equipped him, and he knows that God is empowering him, why should he not expect the Lord to work in him and through him? Often times I find the key to God-confidence to be a tenacious holding on to the promises of God found in the Word of God. Coupled with this is a continuous disposition of prayer that refuses to concede unfruitfulness as normal. David Jeremiah put it this way: "Problems are situations engineered by God to help us recognize our weakness so that we will learn to depend on His strength."

2. A successful pastor has self-confidence. Before you start taking shots about pride and parading the flesh, let me explain. If God has called a man, and equipped a man, and that man has worked through adversity and been faithful, and has worked to hone his skills, why should he not be confident? One of the surest ways to walk in defeat is to constantly entertain notions of self-doubt. When I look at David facing Goliath, I see a man who was tested. He had great confidence because of what The Lord had already done in and through his life. In short, he has the courage of his convictions.

3. A successful pastor has a moral-compass. His morality is anchored in Scripture and he is not affected or influenced by the culture's shifting mores'. He is no respecter of popularity, political posturing, or moneyed interest. His only concern is that he be faithful to Biblical authority. His understanding of right and wrong, wisdom and foolishness is formed from his educated understanding of Scripture. Be reminded of George Orwell's words, "The further a society drifts from the truth, the more it will hate those that speak it." Refuse to deviate from truth! Bonhoeffer was right when he said, "Silence in the face of evil is itself evil. God will not hold us guiltless. Not to speak is to speak. Not to act is to act."

4. A successful pastor has an overwhelming sense of accountability to God. He knows that what has been entrusted to his charge will be reviewed by his Master. He is very much aware of the mandate communicated in Hebrews 13:17 which reminds him that he will give an account. Jesus taught much about accountability and compensation, rewards and loss. The successful pastor takes every word addressing these issues with a determined and deadly seriousness.

5. A successful pastor has focus. He knows what God has called him to do, and he does it. He is not distracted. He lives by his priorities. He constantly sees the big picture and knows his role in it. He invests the time, effort, mental energy, and intensity to impact his world with the Gospel. He is not constantly looking over his shoulder to see what others are thinking or saying, neither is he preoccupied with being somewhere else, or doing something else. He has focus!

6. A successful pastor has resiliency. Whenever there is a set back, resistance, or a defeat, he gets back up and keeps on going. When he gets knocked down, he gets back up. He is much aware of the maxim, "if you give up, you'll never know if you quit too soon." Heed the words of Bill Hybels, "We only have between this day and our final day to make a play for God." It is the courage to continue that counts! Or recall the words of Vince Lombardi, "It does not matter how many times you get knocked down, but how many times you get up."

7. Finally, a successful pastor has faith. By this, I mean that he has an expectancy that God will do what He says. He expects God to move in the lives of people. He expects God to supernaturally intervene in circumstances. He expects God to be God, and he refuses to accept or live with the status quo. Every successful pastor is identified by his faith!

These are some characteristics that mark what successful pastors have. These are what they have embraced and have become by so doing. What have you seen?