Strength #2: Humor

The formerly unchurched indicated that they were attracted to a particular church because of the personality and transparency of the pastor. And often they mentioned that the personality included in part a sense of humor.

The surprise from our perspective, however, was the number of leaders who mentioned humor as a strength. Nearly seven out of 10 leaders noted this strength, the second-most-frequently mentioned characteristic of leadership.

"Many of the unchurched expect a real straight-laced pastor when they finally visit a church," a Nazarene pastor told us. "They are really surprised to find we are human just like they are. A sense of humor tends to disarm those who may be uptight about being in church."

Strength #3: Work ethic

Hardly a day goes by that I do not receive a call, e-mail or letter from a church seeking a pastor or some other staff member. Inevitably most of the inquirers ask me if I could recommend someone who has a strong work ethic.

Recently I received this e-mail: "Dr. Rainer, I commend the trend where ministers insist on spending more time with their families. I think it is a great need. But if our last three staff members are any indicators of a minister's work ethic, we are going to have trouble finding someone who will put in a 40-hour work week."

Though only two-thirds of the church leaders we interviewed mentioned a strong work ethic as one of their leadership strengths, I believe that all of those leaders are hard workers. Whether I interviewed them myself or read the notes and surveys from other interviewers, one factor came through clearly: these leaders work long and hard for the churches they serve.

Strength #4: Persistence

The pastor of a nondenominational church in Maryland told us his leadership strengths could be summed up in one word: persistence.

"I have been at this church for 14 years. I've made some stupid mistakes, and I've done a few good things. As I look back over 14 years, I can see that God has blessed me despite me. Too many of my fellow pastors run to another church at the first sign of trouble. I'm glad I stuck it out."

As I have noted at other times, the tenure of the pastors of the effective churches is significantly longer than that of the pastors of the control churches. As the Maryland pastor indicated, the longer tenure allows leaders to overcome mistakes. But the persistence issue was more than just hanging on for several years. These leaders were tenacious in their attempts to get God's work done well at the churches they served.

Dan, a New York pastor, told us: "The old cliché is to make lemonade out of lemons. I believe that God will bless our projects if we are faithful to him. So even when something doesn't go the way I like, I see it as an opportunity to leave a closed door and find a new open door."

Strength #5: Leadership by example

"Never ask the people of the church to do something you wouldn't do yourself," a Tennessee pastor exclaimed.

A Presbyterian pastor from Virginia told us, "One of my greatest leadership strengths is my willingness to lead by example. I have a lot of weaknesses," he added with modesty, "but that is my greatest strength."

More than any other factor, a majority of the pastors said that they had to model personal evangelism. Listen to some of their comments:

"The senior pastor must model personal evangelism to the staff and congregation."

"The pastor should set the example by seeking to lead one person to the Lord each week."

"I must set the pace in personal evangelism. I can't expect the people to do what the pastor is not doing."

"The pastor must be a soul winner. Personal evangelism is both taught and caught."

"I must establish relationships with non-Christians so that the people in the church will see my lifestyle modeled."

"The pastor is a player/coach. He shows evangelism by example then encourages and exhorts others to do evangelism."

The issue of leadership by example was most conspicuous in the comments on personal evangelism, but it was not limited to that one issue. We received a plethora of responses related to prayer, personal Bible study, ethical issues and family issues, to name a few. We heard clearly that the pastor must be a biblical example, practicing what he or she preaches.

Strength #6: Integrity

One pastor told us a story of tragic consequences. He began counseling a young lady alone. After three sessions with her, the pastor realized her problems were well beyond his counseling competencies. When he told the young lady that he would need to refer her to a professional counselor, she became distraught.

Within a few days she was claiming that the pastor had made sexual advances toward her. Though the charges proved unfounded, his reputation was ruined. Under pressure he resigned.

We interviewed this pastor five years after the tragic event. Though he now leads a growing evangelistic church, the pain is still very evident in his voice.

"If a pastor's integrity is ever questioned by many, it is next to impossible to be a leader," he said. "I learned the hard way that I must not only avoid evil, but I also must avoid any appearance of evil."

A number of the formerly unchurched we interviewed spoke of their initial skepticism of ministers because of what one coined "the televangelist syndrome." Leaders also seemed well aware of their need to model the biblical mandate of being one who is above reproach.

Many responded to our inquiry about their leadership strengths with phrases like "integrity," "high moral character" and "reputation." And though more than four out of 10 did not specifically respond to our questions with words like "integrity," most of them did indicate the importance of high character in being a leader in ministry.

Look for more leadership strengths next week in Church Health Today.

Read part 1, 23 real-life leadership principles: Vision.

Thom S. Rainer, Ph.D., is the president of Church Central Associates LLC and is founding dean of the Billy Graham School of Missions, Evangelism and Church Growth at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. Considered one of the leading experts on the church today, he is the author or co-author of 16 books on the church and has written articles or reviews for more than 30 publications. Dr. Rainer has also served as a pastor and interim pastor in 10 churches and has consulted with more than 300 churches, denominational entities and other religious organizations.