The below excerpt is from my book The Renegade Pastor: Abandoning Average in Your Life and Ministry.

Control is a trap that will keep you from growing. When you try to control everything, you quickly become overwhelmed and stressed out — not to mention, you rob both yourself and others of the opportunity to evolve. If you want to be healthy and continue progressing, you must learn to delegate. As a leader, it’s a skill you can’t afford to be without. Good delegation is essential on two levels:

1. The worst thing, in terms of managing your time, is doing something that doesn’t need to be done at all. The next worst thing is doing something that someone else should be doing. As you approach the to-dos on your list, get in the habit of asking yourself, Is this something I should be doing or is this something I should delegate? Shakespeare may have written, “To be or not to be? That is the question.” But when it comes to your time, ask, “To do or not to do?” That should be the real question.
2. Part of your calling as a pastor is to equip others to do the work of ministry (see Eph. 4:11-12). People learn by doing. In order to equip those whom you are leading, you have to trust them enough to hand responsibility over to them. You have to be willing to let go — but that doesn’t mean you don’t have a system in place for overseeing what you delegate. When you delegate:

• Be clear about what you want done. After you explain what needs to be done, have the person you are delegating to repeat the request back to you.
• Agree to a timeline for completion.
• Have a feedback loop in place. That is, set an expectation that your delegate will get in touch with you when he is finished with the task. Then, evaluate the work and give him feedback.

If you ever catch yourself thinking, If you want something done right, just do it yourself, you’re headed for trouble. While that mindset is valued in our culture, it’s poison for leaders who are trying to manage their time well, equip disciples for ministry, and be effective for God’s Kingdom.

For my top resources on delegation, visit www.RenegadePastorBook.com.

– Nelson Searcy

The above excerpt is from p.96-97 of The Renegade Pastor: Abandoning Average in Your Life and Ministry.

Drawing from Nelson Searcy’s decades of ministry experience, The Renegade Pastor is a relevant, step-by-step resource for church leaders who are ready to step up in surrender to the pursuit of God’s best for his or her life and work.

P.S. – Click here to grab your copy from Amazon today!

© Nelson Searcy. All Rights Reserved.

About Nelson Searcy

Nelson Searcy is an experienced church growth strategist, pastor, church planter and coach, consulting with churches around the world. As founder of Church Leader Insights and the Renegade Pastors Network, he has personally trained more than 3,500 church leaders in over 45 denominations through live events, seminars and monthly coaching. Nelson is also the Founding and Lead Pastor of The Journey Church, with locations across New York City and in Boca Raton, FL. Nelson and his church routinely appear on lists such as “The 50 Most Influential Churches” and “The 25 Most Innovative Leaders.” He is the author of over 100 church growth resources and 18+ books, including The Renegade Pastor: Abandoning Average in Your Life, Ministry and The Difference Maker: Using Your Everyday Life for Eternal Impact, and At the Cross with the People Who Were There. He and his wife, Kelley, have one son, Alexander.