Table of Contents

Acknowledgments 10

Introduction 12

What Makes an Effective Pastor?

1 Grace and Growth 21

Possesses a lively experience of God's grace and growth in his or her Christian walk

2 Love for God 35

Possesses a deep, personal love for God

3 Spiritual Formation 43

Develops regular habits for spiritual formation (devotions, fasting solitude, and so forth)

4 Personal Integrity 57

Values and consistently manifests personal integrity

5 Love for the Church 72

Demonstrates a love and zeal for the Church of Jesus Christ through his or her actions

6 Servant Leader 79

Demonstrates a godly servant attitude in personal and leadership roles

7 Model of Holiness 92

Models and leads the congregation in the pursuit of personal and corporate holiness

8 Prayer Life 106

Models an effective, regular, growing prayer life

9 Holy Spirit Empowerment 118

Believes in the power of the Holy Spirit and expects the Holy Spirit to work in an ongoing way

10 Inspired Preaching 133

Exhibits an ability to preach God's Word in afresh, invigorating way

11 Sure Calling 140

Lives and ministers out of a clear sense of calling

12 Godly Character 154

Demonstrates godly character, manifested through the fruit of the Spirit

13 Personal Accountability 171

Invites and embraces personal accountability

14 Strong Marriage 183

Possesses a strong marriage with obvious loving regard for spouse

15 Visionary Leadership 197

Possesses an ability to communicate a vision and motivate others toward it

Conclusion 209

A Final Word on Being an Effective Pastor

Appendixes 222

A Using 15 Characteristics of Effective Pastors

B The Delphi Process

C 64 Synthesized Characteristics

D 15 Characteristics Summary Descriptions

About the Delphi Panelists 236