During my freshman year in college, I shared a dorm room with four roommates. One of these, a junior named John, was the “prayer captain” of a three-room group. He was well-liked, respected, and an enjoyable person to have as a friend. During those months of sharing a room, he earned our trust by his consistent life. In the early spring of that year, he went on a monthlong study trip to Israel, and another student, a senior, moved into the room to take his place.
The new roommate immediately stressed the need for us to grow spiritually, to spend more time in prayer, and to be diligent in our regular daily devotions. He seemed to have a real concern for godly leadership.
In only a few days my other roommates and I began to observe some unusual occurrences in our room. Pencils and paper came up missing. Items we had placed in one location somehow turned up in totally different locations. The contents of a bottle of aftershave “evaporated” remarkably fast. One student’s extra razor mysteriously materialized in the new roommate’s personal shaving kit.
My other roommates and I discussed the situation. We did not trust our new roommate, but we decided that rather than cause trouble with him, we would merely wait out the month. When John returned from Israel, all would be well.
Shortly before John’s scheduled return, however, we learned from the dean of men that John would be placed in a different room and his replacement was to stay in our room for the rest of the school year. The time for decisive action had arrived. One of my roommates and I went to see the dean, explained our concerns, presented our evidence, and requested to have John return as our prayer captain. The dean was chagrined at the turn of events and took immediate steps to rectify the circumstances. John returned to our room, trust was restored, and the school year ended well.
Trust! It is such a fragile entity. Businesses can succeed or fail because of trust. For example, a business communication book asserts, “Trust, the first of the critical leadership skills, is the faith and confidence that workers place in the organization’s leaders. Leaders do not receive trust automatically; they must earn and re-earn it.”1 Trust is a two-way street; followers must trust their leader, and the leader must trust the followers. In this process, trust is fragile, because, while it may take years to develop, it can be destroyed quickly by as few as one or two perceived betrayals or failures.
Pastors, associate pastors, youth pastors, college and seminary administrators, lay leaders, and congregational members are all affected in their ministries and personal relationships by the issue of trust. Myron Rush declares that a key element of good working relationships in Christian organizations is “mutual trust and respect.”2 It takes time and consistency of life to achieve that mutual trust.
With trust, no guarantees are possible. Even such a leader as the apostle Paul occasionally had his reputation challenged and his character doubted (2 Corinthians 11). At the end of his life, he asserted in 2 Timothy that he had been virtually abandoned by those he had trusted and who had trusted him (“all those in Asia have turned away from me,” 1:15; “At my first defense no one stood with me, but all forsook me,” 4:16). Practicing certain principles, however, will develop trust in your ministry.
Plant the seed of trust
Trust in ministry initially focuses on our trust in the Lord. A life of trust begins with our personal salvation, received by faith in the sacrifice of Christ (Ephesians 2:8, 9). That life must then go forward in continuing trust and complete confidence in the unfailing God we worship and serve (Hebrews 3:6; Philippians 1:6). Our ministries must depend on our Lord above all: He is the “head over all things to the church, which is His body” (Ephesians 1:22, 23). Even if we, like Paul, die seemingly alone and abandoned, our assurance is that the Lord stands with us (2 Timothy 4:17), and we are rewarded by Him (2 Timothy 4:6–8).
Cultivate trust
Our life of ministry, graciously given by God, is with people, and their trust must be cultivated. Just as a farmer cultivates his land with diligence to get a plentiful crop, so must we cultivate trust with those around us. The members of a congregation will not give their pastor their full support and cooperation if they do not trust him. The results of mistrust could include “the withholding of information, the distortion of facts, rampant suspiciousness, low levels of information exchange, deception, close-mindedness, low morale, and poor interpersonal relations.”3 Even though Paul had numerous heartaches with the church at Corinth, he wrote to them, “Therefore I rejoice that I have confidence in you in everything” (2 Corinthians 7:16). Mutual trust continued to be a life focus in his ministry with that church.
Here are a few suggestions for developing trust in your ministry:
1. Communicate to those in your ministry your precise vision and goals. Many pastors have ideas about where they want their ministry to go, what they want to see their church accomplish. They even have a five- or ten-year plan, but they never share its details and excitement with key leaders in the church, let alone the entire congregation. Make sure your church staff and members are included in the process of making and knowing your vision and goals.
2. Get to know your congregation personally. When they talk to you, really listen to what they say. One of the problems we men often have is that as we “listen” to someone talk, we’re really formulating an answer or thinking of a “better story.” And if we can make a spiritual point, so much the better. Instead, we must really listen—listen to the words and to the hearts of those who speak with us. By showing them we understand, that we empathize with them, we will prove our interest in them and earn their trust.
3. Visit church members at home when possible, share in their lives, and enter into their joys, as well as their troubles and heartaches. Invite people to your home. Paul declared that a pattern for leaders in ministry is to be “hospitable” (1 Timothy 3:2). When I was a pastor, my wife and I invited groups of people to our home for a meal about every other month. Sometimes we invited the deacons and their wives or the senior citizens or a particular Sunday School class. We wanted people to know us and, as a result, to trust us. Does your congregation know that your home is open to them?
4. Take your church’s key leaders with you in ministry opportunities. I often took a deacon with me on visitation, for instance, sharing the experience so he could learn to minister in different circumstances. Mutual trust is cultivated through mutual experiences.
5. Accept criticism with poise. When we believe that we are committed to serving Christ, that we are giving of our energy until we are exhausted, that we are faithfully proclaiming the Scriptures, it is hard to accept criticism. The reality is, however, that we are fallen creatures just like those to whom we minister. While our ultimate desire is always to please the Lord rather than men (Galatians 1:10), we can often learn from criticism. We make changes when possible, but we don’t seek to please everyone. We seek to please God.
Nurture trust
Once trust is cultivated, it must be nurtured. Since trust is fragile and when lost takes a long time to regain, the effort to sustain it is certainly worthwhile. One book on leadership observes four helpful keys for sustaining trust that we would do well to follow: (1) constancy, remaining focused on our vision and goals even in the face of adversity (Philippians 3:13, 14); (2) congruity, that is, agreement between what the leader says and what the leader does (1 Thessalonians 2:1–12); (3) reliability, meaning that the leader supports the followers in their times of need (Acts 20:34, 35); and (4) integrity, that is, keeping your word and avoiding making promises that detract from vision and goals (James 5:12).4
In 2 Corinthians 2—6 Paul extolled the gospel ministry. Our ministry may be difficult, challenging, frustrating, and fraught with suffering. At the same time, it is spiritual, triumphant, glorious, supernatural, and eternal. We are privileged to be part of God’s ministry. Let us increase our effectiveness as we cultivate and nurture trust with those to whom we minister. It will be worth the effort!
Notes
1 Dan O’Hair, Gustav W. Friedrich, and Lynda Dixon Shaver, Strategic Communication in Business and the Professions, 2nd ed. (Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1995), 178.
2 Myron Rush, Management: A Biblical Approach (Wheaton, IL: Victor, 1987), 68.
3 O’Hair, Friedrich, and Shaver, Strategic Communication, 180.
4 Warren Bennis, On Becoming a Leader: The Leadership Classic—Updated and Expanded (New York: Basic Books, 2003), 150.
Dr. Overstreet is a faculty member of Northwest Baptist Seminary, Tacoma, Washington.
