It’s a question for pastors and other church leaders.

Who’s in the room with you?

Every seasoned pastor and most church leaders know that you want as many people in the room as possible. When it comes to Sundays, I don’t deny this. I want as many people as possible in the room so they can be changed by the power and presence of God. These meetings require a whosoever will and an as many as possible mindset.

But there are times and places where I make exclusions and exceptions. Everyone in the church cannot be in the room where the most important decisions are being made, and the most sensitive issues are being discussed.

Pastor, who’s in the room with you? I can’t make that decision for you. But I can tell you what I think they should look like.

The leadership of the Holy Spirit is essential for deciding who’s in the room. However, most pastors answer a call and inherit the existing church leadership. Your initial success is dependent upon how well you learn to work with them.

But, have you taken the time to teach those servants of Christ about their call to serve God and His Church? You should. You have a responsibility to lead who’s in the room.

Let me explain a little about who’s in the room with me. I have a Senior Ministry Staff through which the overwhelming majority of our church ministry is led. Our staff meetings take place twice a month, and over half of this group is bivocational. They each have specific responsibilities and position descriptions in this Spirit-led, ministry driven model. The pastoral directors in this room represent worship, children, youth, connections, and congregational care.

Our church also has a Servants Council. This pastor led group only meets about half a dozen times per year. These servant-minded individuals are my accountability and information-sharing group. This is not a representative type group like my staff. This group includes more non-clergy types of lay-ministers. I depend on their unique perspective as we manage the big-picture of our local church.

These are the top three traits that I want to see in the people in the room with me.

1. Fidelity. This is also known as faithfulness. It speaks of loyalty. If you’re in the room with me, I need you to live a lifestyle that demonstrates loyalty to the Lordship of Jesus Christ. This will include your continued commitment to our local church and the support of your lead pastor.
2. Integrity. This is about a standard of truth. Knowing Jesus as the person of truth, the Holy Spirit as the Spirit of truth, and the Bible as the Word of truth must lead to truthfulness in all your dealings. Lies, deceit, and other falsehoods are beneath the people of God in this room.
3. Confidentiality. This is about the expectation to not publicly discuss everything you know. The people in this room understand that the content of sensitive issues stays between Jesus and us. Unless otherwise requested, it is presumed that our conversations and meetings are confidential. This requires the spiritual fruit of self-control.

Of course, this list could be broken down into subsets and greater detail. But I like keeping things as simple as possible when I can. And at this season of life and ministry, these three traits seem to be the most important to me.

Pastor, I trust this peek into who’s in the room with me is a blessing as you lead who’s in the room with you.