In my previous article about leadership evaluation I began with writing: The role of a pastor is profoundly complex.
Pastors are simultaneously asked to be:
- compassionate like a therapist
- persuasive like a communicator
- wise like a scholar
- calm under pressure like an executive
- spiritually grounded like a monk
- available like an emergency responder
- organized like an operations manager
A pastor’s role can be deeply varied – but so too a principal’s, or a charity’s ED. The reason? All three of these work for ministries – and ministries generally ‘run lean.’ Consequently, a good job description is essential to ensure that the pastor is working on the most important tasks.
In my work as a pastor, I was fortunate to have been given a very strong job description. There was a clearly articulated desire, and concrete tasks to help me accomplish them. Here are parts of it, reprinted with permission:
Pastor of Mission and Discipleship:
We are looking for a pastor who can come alongside us and help us to become more faithful disciples of Jesus Christ. We are seeking a leader who can both strengthen our understanding of, and commitment to, our mission as the people of God…. We seek to be led by someone who will better equip our church to live out the good news of Jesus in our community.
We seek a pastor to:
- Strengthen our missional understanding.
- Create discipleship pathways.
- Lead our teaching and preaching team, and preach on occasion (1/6 weeks)
- Intentionally provide one-to-one support for New Hope as needed
- Provide support for our pastoral care team, helping to identify discipleship needs and support pastoral care
- Lead baptisms, marriage ceremonies, and other special occasions as needed.
- Participate in our partnership with local networks
I love this description, because it provides me with clear outcomes, tasks, and evaluation.
Clarity of Outcome:
The first paragraph clearly identifies who the community wants to become. Success was defined as clearly as possible for the community.
Clarity of Task:
These seven bullet points act as ‘buckets’ for my work. On seasons when it felt difficult to prioritize my work, each individual item on my to-do list was labeled with one of the above seven categories; if I couldn’t tie it to an outcome, it was not a priority. Each of the verbs in the description are clear and action-oriented. Unless your work involves livestock or wilderness work, avoid vague and metaphorical language like “shepherd” or “guide”.
Clarity of Evaluation:
A clear job description provides a clear mechanism for evaluation. The “five questions” from my previous article (celebrate, do more of, do less of, do differently, and impact) should be directly tied to the work that the pastor has been set out to do.
What is your ministry leader’s job description like (charity, school, or church)? Does it have the clarity to support their support, and offer enough guidelines? At Shepherd Consulting, we help churches build leadership systems that strengthen accountability, clarity, and support. If you’d like information about how a 360 Evaluation can support your leadership, send us an email at info@shepherdconsulting.ca
SHEPHERD'S SPOTLIGHT: Conference Facilitation: Helping Leaders Build Clarity
Over the past several months, Shepherd Consulting had the opportunity to guide a diverse group of Canadian church leaders through a significant season of discernment and organizational development via a 4 day in-person conference.
What began as a conversation among churches exploring deeper partnership eventually became a structured process involving surveys, interviews, facilitated discussions, working groups, and a national leadership retreat. Together, participants wrestled with questions of mission, values, governance, accountability, leadership, and belonging.
The goal was not simply to generate ideas, but to help leaders move toward practical outcomes. By the end of the culminating conference, participants had clarified a shared Mission, Vision, and Values framework, identified organizational priorities, developed recommendations for future structures and partnerships, and established a roadmap for the work ahead.
One of the greatest strengths of this type of process is that solutions emerge from the collective wisdom of those involved. Shepherd Consulting's role was to design the process, ask the right questions, facilitate productive dialogue, and help participants move from broad aspirations to actionable decisions.
Whether serving churches, Christian schools, charities, or ministry networks, Shepherd Consulting helps organizations navigate seasons of transition, growth, and change. Through strategic planning, governance reviews, leadership development, organizational assessments, and facilitated retreats, we help groups build clarity, alignment, and momentum for the future.
Good processes do more than produce reports, they help people move forward together.
Steve Dykstra is passionate about coaching, leadership, and personality assessments!
A certified Birkman Professional and leadership coach, he also works with Enneagram, Leadership Grip, and Strengthsfinder. He also coaches pastors on behalf of one particular denomination as well as corporate leaders through 'BetterUp'.
Steve's interest is in creating vision for community-based ministry, and leadership coaching.
