{"id":1760,"date":"2026-05-17T05:00:57","date_gmt":"2026-05-17T09:00:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.namb.net\/church-replanting\/?post_type=resource&p=1760"},"modified":"2023-05-16T23:18:59","modified_gmt":"2023-05-17T03:18:59","slug":"love-the-defining-mark-of-our-leadership","status":"publish","type":"resource","link":"https:\/\/www.namb.net\/church-replanting\/resource\/love-the-defining-mark-of-our-leadership\/","title":{"rendered":"Love: The Defining Mark of our Leadership"},"content":{"rendered":"

Love. Nothing is more important in the life of a pastor than love.<\/p>\n

In fact, if at our funerals the two things that are spoken of us most are not our love for God and our love for people, then we will have missed the primary point of life and ministry. Sure, there will be a lot of nice things said about us, but if people are just sharing about \u201cwhat a gifted leader\u201d we were or \u201cwhat a great preacher\u201d we were, then we will have missed our fundamental calling. Our fundamental calling as pastors is to love God and love people with all that we are.<\/p>\n

Mark 12:28-31 gets to the very heart of this truth, where we read Jesus\u2019 response to one of the scribes who asks him a question: \u201cWhich commandment is the most important of all?\u201d Jesus answered, \u201cThe most important is, \u2018Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.\u2019 The second is this: \u2018You shall love your neighbor as yourself.\u2019 There is no other commandment greater than these.\u201d<\/p>\n

When we feel like we are inept in so many areas as pastors and leaders, Jesus says that what is most important is to love God and to love people. We don\u2019t have to be a rock star at everything we do, but we do need to be men who love.<\/p>\n

Reflecting on the love of Christ shown to us at the cross, John writes in 1 John 3:16, \u201cBy this we know love that he laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jesus loved us by laying down His life for His sheep. In our lives and leadership, we need to be marked by that same kind of sacrificial love. Pastoral ministry is all about people. This means we must learn to be Christ-like, loving leaders.<\/p>\n

D.L. Moody was right when he said, \u201cThere\u2019s no use in trying to do church work without love. A doctor or a lawyer may do good work without love, but God\u2019s work cannot be done without love.\u201d<\/p>\n

Similarly, D.A. Carson has written, \u201cNo amount of good works, wisdom, discernment in matters of church discipline, patient endurance and hardship, hatred of sin or disciplined doctrine can ever make up for lovelessness.\u201d<\/p>\n

In 1 Corinthians 13:1-3 the apostle Paul is clear on the absolute necessity of love when he writes:<\/p>\n

If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing.<\/em><\/p>\n

If the ingredient of love is missing in our lives and our leadership, according to Paul, we are nothing. Nothing!<\/p>\n

Lord, grow us as loving leaders for Your glory!<\/p>\n

This post originally appeared at Marks\u2019 blog, <\/em>Preach Lead Love<\/em><\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Love. Nothing is more important in the life of a pastor than love. In fact, if …<\/p>\n

Love: The Defining Mark of our Leadership<\/span> Read More »<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":1761,"template":"","meta":{"_oasis_is_in_workflow":0,"_oasis_original":0,"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"default","ast-site-content-layout":"","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"default","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""}}},"tags":[],"channels":[],"topics":[53],"languages":[],"class_list":["post-1760","resource","type-resource","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","resource_type-article","topics-replanting"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nLove: The Defining Mark of our Leadership - Church Replanting<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.namb.net\/church-replanting\/resource\/love-the-defining-mark-of-our-leadership\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Love: The Defining Mark of our Leadership\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Love. Nothing is more important in the life of a pastor than love. In fact, if … Love: The Defining Mark of our Leadership Read More »\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.namb.net\/church-replanting\/resource\/love-the-defining-mark-of-our-leadership\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Church Replanting\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2023-05-17T03:18:59+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.namb.net\/church-replanting\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2020\/11\/clasped-hands-comfort-hands-people-45842.jpeg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1875\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1500\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.namb.net\/church-replanting\/resource\/love-the-defining-mark-of-our-leadership\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.namb.net\/church-replanting\/resource\/love-the-defining-mark-of-our-leadership\/\",\"name\":\"Love: The Defining Mark of our Leadership - Church Replanting\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.namb.net\/church-replanting\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.namb.net\/church-replanting\/resource\/love-the-defining-mark-of-our-leadership\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.namb.net\/church-replanting\/resource\/love-the-defining-mark-of-our-leadership\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.namb.net\/church-replanting\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2020\/11\/clasped-hands-comfort-hands-people-45842.jpeg\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-05-17T09:00:57+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-05-17T03:18:59+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.namb.net\/church-replanting\/resource\/love-the-defining-mark-of-our-leadership\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.namb.net\/church-replanting\/resource\/love-the-defining-mark-of-our-leadership\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.namb.net\/church-replanting\/resource\/love-the-defining-mark-of-our-leadership\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.namb.net\/church-replanting\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2020\/11\/clasped-hands-comfort-hands-people-45842.jpeg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.namb.net\/church-replanting\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2020\/11\/clasped-hands-comfort-hands-people-45842.jpeg\",\"width\":1875,\"height\":1500},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.namb.net\/church-replanting\/resource\/love-the-defining-mark-of-our-leadership\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.namb.net\/church-replanting\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Love: The Defining Mark of our Leadership\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.namb.net\/church-replanting\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.namb.net\/church-replanting\/\",\"name\":\"Church Replanting\",\"description\":\"\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.namb.net\/church-replanting\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.namb.net\/church-replanting\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.namb.net\/church-replanting\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Church Replanting\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.namb.net\/church-replanting\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.namb.net\/church-replanting\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.namb.net\/church-replanting\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2024\/01\/NAMB-Logo_Full_White.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.namb.net\/church-replanting\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2024\/01\/NAMB-Logo_Full_White.png\",\"width\":2560,\"height\":523,\"caption\":\"Church Replanting\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.namb.net\/church-replanting\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"}}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Love: The Defining Mark of our Leadership - Church Replanting","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.namb.net\/church-replanting\/resource\/love-the-defining-mark-of-our-leadership\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Love: The Defining Mark of our Leadership","og_description":"Love. Nothing is more important in the life of a pastor than love. In fact, if … Love: The Defining Mark of our Leadership Read More »","og_url":"https:\/\/www.namb.net\/church-replanting\/resource\/love-the-defining-mark-of-our-leadership\/","og_site_name":"Church Replanting","article_modified_time":"2023-05-17T03:18:59+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1875,"height":1500,"url":"https:\/\/www.namb.net\/church-replanting\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2020\/11\/clasped-hands-comfort-hands-people-45842.jpeg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.namb.net\/church-replanting\/resource\/love-the-defining-mark-of-our-leadership\/","url":"https:\/\/www.namb.net\/church-replanting\/resource\/love-the-defining-mark-of-our-leadership\/","name":"Love: The Defining Mark of our Leadership - Church Replanting","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.namb.net\/church-replanting\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.namb.net\/church-replanting\/resource\/love-the-defining-mark-of-our-leadership\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.namb.net\/church-replanting\/resource\/love-the-defining-mark-of-our-leadership\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.namb.net\/church-replanting\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2020\/11\/clasped-hands-comfort-hands-people-45842.jpeg","datePublished":"2026-05-17T09:00:57+00:00","dateModified":"2023-05-17T03:18:59+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.namb.net\/church-replanting\/resource\/love-the-defining-mark-of-our-leadership\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.namb.net\/church-replanting\/resource\/love-the-defining-mark-of-our-leadership\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.namb.net\/church-replanting\/resource\/love-the-defining-mark-of-our-leadership\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.namb.net\/church-replanting\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2020\/11\/clasped-hands-comfort-hands-people-45842.jpeg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.namb.net\/church-replanting\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2020\/11\/clasped-hands-comfort-hands-people-45842.jpeg","width":1875,"height":1500},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.namb.net\/church-replanting\/resource\/love-the-defining-mark-of-our-leadership\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.namb.net\/church-replanting\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Love: The Defining Mark of our Leadership"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.namb.net\/church-replanting\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.namb.net\/church-replanting\/","name":"Church Replanting","description":"","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.namb.net\/church-replanting\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.namb.net\/church-replanting\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.namb.net\/church-replanting\/#organization","name":"Church Replanting","url":"https:\/\/www.namb.net\/church-replanting\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.namb.net\/church-replanting\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.namb.net\/church-replanting\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2024\/01\/NAMB-Logo_Full_White.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.namb.net\/church-replanting\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2024\/01\/NAMB-Logo_Full_White.png","width":2560,"height":523,"caption":"Church Replanting"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.namb.net\/church-replanting\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.namb.net\/church-replanting\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/resource\/1760"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.namb.net\/church-replanting\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/resource"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.namb.net\/church-replanting\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/resource"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.namb.net\/church-replanting\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1761"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.namb.net\/church-replanting\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1760"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.namb.net\/church-replanting\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1760"},{"taxonomy":"channels","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.namb.net\/church-replanting\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/channels?post=1760"},{"taxonomy":"topics","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.namb.net\/church-replanting\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/topics?post=1760"},{"taxonomy":"languages","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.namb.net\/church-replanting\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/languages?post=1760"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}