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

Protecting your flock may be your greatest responsibility as a shepherd. Do you have processes in place to shield them from the wolves prowling in the hills? How about from the wolves among them dressed in sheep’s clothing? You can’t hit the cruise button and simply pray that your people will be safe from harm.

That’s what average pastors do—and they end up with hurt sheep and splintered flocks. Renegades, on the other hand, take intentional steps to protect the flock they’ve been entrusted to shepherd.

The single best way to protect your people is to set up checkpoints of accountability for those ascending up the ranks of leadership within your church.Take, for example, the membership and growth group covenants we have in place at The Journey. We also have additional covenants that correlate with each new level of responsibility we give someone. For example, there’s a covenant for group leaders and another for our team leaders (the high-capacity volunteers directly over our group leaders).

These covenants are not unique to the group system; we have them in place for every level of every ministry within the church. At each successive level, the requirements of the covenant go up. For instance our group leaders are required to give regularly, but we don’t require a tithe. Team leaders, on the other hand, must be withers in order to continue in the position. If someone can’t agree to the advanced requirements, they don’t move up in the ladder of leadership. That’s our way of protecting the flock. Protection comes through accountability.

– Nelson Searcy and Jennifer Dykes Henson

The above excerpt is from pgs. 124-125 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!

Your partner in ministry,

Nelson

© 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.