Timothy Bergsma's List: Counseling

• The Characteristics of an Approachable Leader
• Maintain a “gentle authority slope.”
• Fight pride and cultivate true humility
• Cultivate a Shepherd’s Heart.
• Guard against institutional dynamics that can undermine approachability
• See God’s people as he does.
• Send convincing signals that you have time for people
• Be transparent.
• Pick up on hints.
• See the good in others (even if it seems outweighed by the bad).
• Listen deeply before jumping to problem-solving.
• Be quick to confess sins, whether large or small.
• Be slow to confront sin in others
• Make yourself truly accountable to others

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• Teach people to live out the gospel in all of their relationships
• Train all of your people, and especially your leaders, how to respond to conflict biblically
• Teach people to shun gossip and slander, especially against leaders
• Repeatedly commend the habit of making "charitable judgments.
• Encourage people to distinguish between style and substance

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