7 Leadership Principles That Transformed My Ministry

In life, you can learn from both good leaders and bad leaders. We should make it a point to learn all we can from those in authority over us—good and bad. I’ve had the opportunity to work for, and with, some incredible leaders. As I write this, I flash back to everything from funnel reviews in the sales world to watching someone lead a Fortune 10 company constantly making headlines.

The greatest leadership lessons I’ve learned have come from Todd Wagner, the Founding Pastor at Watermark, who I sat under for 13 years. Under his leadership I learned about the grace of the gospel and gave my life to Christ. As I read his book, Come and See, I’m reminded of so many other things I’ve learned. He taught me to lead and care for my family, how to inspire teams, how to resolve conflict, and an endless list of other leadership skills.

Here are seven lessons that I learned from a man who I believe is one of the greatest leaders of our day.

1. Family first.

When I first started at Watermark, my office was a closet (truly, a closet, with no windows) that I shared with another pastor who was also new to staff. One day Todd walked in and asked me, “How’s your ministry?” I was ready for that question! I immediately began rattling off facts about the last gathering we had. I shared how many people were there, how many of them wanted to trust in Jesus afterwards, and about an upcoming discipleship trip (mission trip) that “sold out.” I paused for a minute so he could say “attaboy,” but instead he just looked at me confused. He picked up a picture of my family from my desk and said, “No, how’s your ministry? This is your primary ministry.” #MicDrop. #Burn.

Todd has lived this. The man has six kids. All of them love Jesus and would be thankful for their non-traditional “PK” lives. Non-traditional in the sense that their dad was around. He coached their games and took them to school. He made sure their house was the “fun house” with ice cream towers and backyard barbeques. I watched him turn down other opportunities so that he could put his family first. His platform could be bigger, but he’d rather make his kids’ games, performances, and events.

2. Don’t ask—share vision.

You can ask someone to do something. “Will you please pick up the trash?” You can tell them to do it. “Pick up the trash.” Or you can cast a vision for them to do it. “The world is ours to steward for just a little while. What we do with it, shows Who we belong to. When something is not as it should be, even if we’re not to blame, we are the solution as the hands and feet of Jesus. More specifically, this property is a gift from God to us. Now, I noticed some trash outside, who is with me to go clean it up!?”

There’s a big difference between asking someone to do something and casting vision as to why they should. With one, people feel like an employee; with the other, they understand they are a vested owner. When Todd would ask me to pick up trash, I wanted to run through a wall to do it. He didn’t ask. He didn’t tell. He explained why and inspired.

3. Get inside the circle.

Every Tuesday all of Watermark’s employees pile into a room. They get into a circle. Over my 13 years on staff, I watched the number of employees grow considerably. The circle, however, remained surprisingly small. That’s because it wasn’t just an empty ring. There was an outer circle of chairs, but most people sat on the floor, inside the circle. If you showed up late, you couldn’t remain outside the circle; you had to come inside.

Todd really cares about this. I imagine everyone wonders why. It’s because everyone in the circle is part of a family. And the bigger the group gets, the smaller it must become. It’s not a place to hide on the outside like you don’t belong. There is value in sitting uncomfortably close to your coworkers, knowing their names, and then praying with them in smaller circles, which we did every week. No one was going to sneak in unnoticed if they were late. And it was OK, as long as it wasn’t a pattern…walk in confidently and get inside the circle.

4. Run toward the explosion.

Imagine walking outside a grocery store when someone runs out shouting, “Bomb!” People start flooding out in a panicked state. Everyone in the parking lot starts running back toward their cars and away from the doors. The only person who would move toward the store is someone trained to handle the potentially explosive situation inside.

In ministry, the “explosives” are angry, hurting people who are in conflict. I’ve never in my life met someone so obsessed with resolving conflict as Todd Wagner. If something didn’t sound right, Todd would stop everything and get whoever was involved into the room. He got people talking to each other, not about each other. He never looked past someone who was hurt, or someone who was hurting others. If he was the cause of the hurt, he would pick up the phone and move quickly to the person who had expressed hurt, so that he could make it right. When there was moral failure on the staff, he would move in swiftly. He’d get everyone who was a part of the problem and/or a part of the solution in a room together. He’d communicate clearly. He would remove the mystery and create a place to talk about it, ask questions, and move on. He provided a path of recovery for the individual.

Jesus’ ministry was restorative. Those that follow Him work diligently to preserve peace.

5. It will all work out.

Faith is an incredible thing. It is believing that everything the Bible says about God is absolutely true. That He is all-powerful and that He loves you. If you can believe that, what do you have to worry about?

I’d never before seen faith like I witnessed at Watermark. I can remember coming for the first time and hearing, “We’re just going to do what this book says. No matter what it costs us.” Proverbs 24:10 seems to be a life verse for Todd. He loves when God has the opportunity to work against the odds (as if there were ever actually “odds” against God). What I mean is, God loves impossible situations, because they are the easiest opportunities for Him to show that He works in impossible situations, and we marvel all the more at His strength. In the chaos of life and ministry, Todd always said, “It will all work out.” This is the crazy faith of leadership that drew me to Watermark.

6. Have fun.

When I think about the times I’ve laughed the hardest in my life, the top five experiences would all be at Watermark staff functions. The most ordinary moments have become my most extraordinary memories when Todd would make something a game with a winner, a loser, and a consequence. Sure, sometimes there was also a prize, but I can guarantee there would always be a consequence.

We would “pastor hard” and play just as hard. I’ve taken shots of Tabasco, swum in frozen ponds, taken baths in eggnog, been covered in syrup and powdered sugar, and had some crazy impromptu haircuts. I know that doesn’t sound like fun right now, but when you’re with the right people and the stakes are high, it was always an amazing time. I’ve told Todd that he’s the best in the world at planning a party on a budget. It’s safe to say, I laughed until I cried MANY times on his staff.

7. To not separate yourself from your people is to not separate yourself.

I’ve seen senior pastors with security details. I’ve seen them take secret exits from the church and have private parking spaces. I’m not judging at all, but Todd just never did that. He parked with everyone else. He would step off the stage and talk to people until they were done. We called him “Todd.” Not “Pastor Todd” or “bishop” or anything else. Well, sometimes I’d call him Wags or TW. I learned that he doesn’t do “formal” often. Not that he can’t. He just usually doesn’t. He’s never going to be the best-dressed guy at the party. He’s much more about giving you attention than getting you to notice him.

Some people are very different in the green room than they are on the stage, but Todd was consistent. He was the same on the stage, at the dinner table, in the living room, and in the staff meeting.

It was always important to him to stay connected to his staff and members. He was available and approachable. He’d often return emails with phone calls. Sure, he was leading a church of 12,000+, but he did everything in his power to make it feel small.

I’ve wanted to write this blog for 10 years, and it is interesting to see the seven things that made the list in the few minutes I spent typing. It could be 700. I have learned so much about Jesus and how to be His follower from this man. I’ve been blessed in the time I got to work alongside him and watch him live out these lessons every day.

-JP, Teaching Pastor at Watermark Community Church