You and I are only human. Along with our penchant for success, we carry the potential for failure. But with some foresight and preventative action, we can learn to sidestep the most common errors in judgment that ultimately lead to downfalls both big and small.

Yesterday, we touched on the number one sin that sabotages pastors – a character failure in the area of sex. Sin in the areas of money and pride also lead to countless falls:

• Money – Whether related to personal or church finances, money failures always tie back to greed. Two issues continually rise to the top in this area:

1. Embezzlement, or putting money designated for God’s purposes to personal use.
2. Mismanagement of personal finances.

There are practical steps you can take to keep finances from leading to your downfall. First, put a clear accountability process in place for church funds. You shouldn’t be able to touch the church’s money without someone else knowing about it. Second, start getting your personal finances in order by committing to a proper tithe. Next, get out of debt. For help, see my resource Debt-Free Pastor.

• Pride – CS Lewis said, “Pride is behind all sin.” At its core, it is our attempt to play God. Hard to identify, pride may be best understood by examining how to avoid it. Here are three practical strategies:

1. Start your day on your knees.

2. Practice the Sabbath every week.

3. Have a trusted truth-teller in your life.

For detailed study on these and other common sins that cause pastors to fail, check out my new resource Why Pastors Fail: The 7 Reasons and 21 Solutions. Click here to pick it up this week and save 89%!

Your partner in ministry,

Nelson

P.S. Part of learning how to succeed is learning how not to fail.  Click here to get your copy of my new resource Why Pastors Fail: The 7 Reasons and 21 Solutions. Save 89% with over $1,313.95 in FREE Bonus Resources – today through Friday, April 24^th only!

www.ChurchLeaderInsights.com/7Reasons

© 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.