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Faithful Leaders: and the Things That Matter Most
"Well done, good and faithful servant." Every ministry leader wants to hear these words when they meet their Lord. But what does successful ministry look like? There are many books on leadership strategies and church structures, but this one looks at what matters the character and attitude of church leaders. It recognizes that the spiritual health of the church leaders in large part determines the spiritual health of the congregation and therefore the success of the ministry. In this short, punchy, challenging and at times surprising book, Rico Tice draws on decades of experience in church leadership to call fellow pastors and others with oversight of areas of church ministry to define success biblically, fight their sin, lead themselves and serve their churches. A must-read on pastoral leadership for pastors, elders, worship leaders, youth leaders and anyone else with a leadership role in church ministry.
88 pages, Kindle Edition
Published March 1, 2021
37 people are currently reading
217 people want to read
About the author
Rico Tice
32 books22 followersRico Tice is Senior Minister (Evangelism) at All Souls Church, Langham Place in London. Born in Chile before being educated in England, Rico spent a year working at a church in inner city Liverpool and then studied history at Bristol University (where he was captain of the rugby team). He went on to graduate from theological college at Wycliffe Hall, Oxford. As a passionate evangelist, he has spent the last few years developing the Christianity Explored courses. He is a regular speaker at missions and evangelistic events around the world, and is the author of Honest Evangelism: How to talk about Jesus even when it's tough.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 72 reviews
October 12, 2023
Really good, only wish there was more of it.
Re Read: Wonderfully refreshing; feels like a brother getting alongside me rather than condescending to me. The emphasis on character is particularly cutting- a book I will keep coming back too.
Re Read: Wonderfully refreshing; feels like a brother getting alongside me rather than condescending to me. The emphasis on character is particularly cutting- a book I will keep coming back too.
March 26, 2023
A very powerful and impactful book that goes deep into leadership in very few words. Rico is so down to earth and encouraging that I would recommend to anyone thinking about leadership roles, especially pastorship.
September 9, 2022
Phenomenal book.
August 8, 2024
“When you lead by serving you get to be like Jesus. Ministry is a daily opportunity to be conformed into the image of God’s Son.”
^loved this quote towards the end but the whole book was full of so much wisdom. Only four chapters, and man are they convicting. I think it’s a great read for any ministry leader, not just pastors!
^loved this quote towards the end but the whole book was full of so much wisdom. Only four chapters, and man are they convicting. I think it’s a great read for any ministry leader, not just pastors!
May 24, 2021
Absolutely fantastic! A humbling punch to the gut that is both wounding and refreshing. A clear and concise picture of what biblical faithful leadership consists of and how to get after it! A reminder of why it’s necessary, this book is a resource I will highly recommend to anyone in leadership and I will reference and re-read regularly.
September 16, 2022
chefs kiss, every christian leader needs to read
March 2, 2023
“Not so with you …”
An eagle in the stomach
An eagle in the stomach
September 1, 2024
Before entering Ministry I expected that Christian leadership to demand perfection and while we are held above standard, we all still struggle.
I loved Rico Tice’s approach to Faithful Leaders in this book. His transparency and authenticity allowed me to connect with his writing and made it a safe space that led to being vulnerable with God.
Thank you Rico for opening my eyes to steps I need to need in my Kids Ministry journey, but also thank you for sharing some incredible verses that I plan to meditate on and have in my toolbox when the enemy comes knocking. 🤍
I loved Rico Tice’s approach to Faithful Leaders in this book. His transparency and authenticity allowed me to connect with his writing and made it a safe space that led to being vulnerable with God.
Thank you Rico for opening my eyes to steps I need to need in my Kids Ministry journey, but also thank you for sharing some incredible verses that I plan to meditate on and have in my toolbox when the enemy comes knocking. 🤍
June 18, 2021
Excellent. Very challenging, practical, honest and Biblical book for all Christians. It is excellent on repentance, being truly sorry, sin not dealt with, greatness of the gospel, being thankful, daily praying over some key verses, not living isolated lives, learning from others and humility. Rico displays real wisdom and experience.
October 11, 2024
I must admit, I do like the modern trend of *short* Christian books. More meat than a blog post but not chapters of repetitive faff either!
This book by Rico Tice contains some very simple but powerful thoughts for Christian leaders. It's mostly geared towards pastors but anyone who leads people in a Christian context would get something from this.
This book by Rico Tice contains some very simple but powerful thoughts for Christian leaders. It's mostly geared towards pastors but anyone who leads people in a Christian context would get something from this.
June 4, 2024
A short, helpful read on pastoral ministry. Rico Tice knows the sinful tendencies of pastors, and he helpfully guides pastors so that they avoid common pitfalls.
February 21, 2025
Went through this with the men of Christ church and was challenged, convicted, and inspired. Super short and easy read but definitely helpful.
February 28, 2025
3.5/5. It’s alright.
October 14, 2022
Helpful little book but I wish it had gone into more detail. Easy to read and a good overview of true leadership.
“Failure is being successful at the things that don’t matter”.
“Failure is being successful at the things that don’t matter”.
October 22, 2021
Failure is being successful at the things that don’t matter.
March 6, 2023
Valuable stuff.
November 28, 2024
It-should-go-without-saying kind of stuff - which hasn’t, so all the more reason to say it.
Timely, concise, essential.
Timely, concise, essential.
March 17, 2025
I actually lost this book and didn't finish the last chapter. Regardless, I read this book to better help lead my church's young adult ministry with a small group. I have probably applied more of its concepts in my life as a teacher than actual church ministry. I think that's appropriate as my work is my mission field. I continually think about what Tice has to say about resting as a leader
March 20, 2021
In the “Foreword” for this book, Alistair Begg writes that he has come to understand that Christian leadership does not come naturally, and never becomes easy. He also states that the church does not progress beyond the spiritual progress of its leaders.
The author, a pastor in central London, tells us that our measure of success or failure will be what God says to us the day we die. It will either be “You fool”, or “Well done, good and faithful servant”. He writes that success is hearing “Well done” from the only lips that matter. Failure is being successful at things that don’t truly matter at all. This book is about what it takes to live so that we hear “Well done” instead of “You fool”. He wants us to live every day in a way that means that on that future day you’ll hear the divine “Well done”. To do that we must do two things:
• Get the word right
• Get our character right
The author tells us that we are to cut the word straight, so that people can see it clearly and simply. We do not want people to leave our sermons saying how clever or eloquent we are but how great Christ is. He encourages leaders to make sure your character matches up with your teaching.
The author tells us that you cannot lead others well if you cannot lead yourself well. Find a failure of pastoral leadership and, if you look underneath, you’ll see a failure of self-leadership. Self-leadership is essential, but it is not easy—and so being willing to listen and to be held accountable is key. He tells us that we need friends with whom we commit to confidentiality, intimacy and accountability.
The author tells us that the choice that everyone in Christian leadership must make is the choice between leading like Jesus, by pursuing Jesus-like greatness, and leading like the world, by pursuing what the world defines as greatness. Will your leadership be marked by self-seeking or self-sacrifice? True greatness shows itself in humble service. When you lead by serving, you get to be like Jesus. If you want people to follow you, to keep following you, and to be glad years later that they chose to follow you, then show them Christ in the way you lead them.
Among the topics the author addresses in this short book are false teaching, sin (using the story of Achan in Joshua 7), rest, accountability, being a servant leader (using Mark 10: 35-45) and listening.
This is a book for anyone in any kind of church leadership, though it will probably be most helpful to preaching pastors. Helpful questions for reflection or discussion, if reading with others, are included at the end of the book.
Below are a few of my favorite quotes from the book:
• Some of us are very good at hiding our sin from others and even from ourselves, but he sees it all, and to him we must give an account.
• Your sin may be a private thing to you but it is not private to God, and it affects your family and your whole church.
• You will treasure the gospel to the degree that you remember its truths and to the degree that you see your sin.
• If we want to seek true greatness, then it is expressed in service.
• Christian leaders are called to be servants, not bosses.
• Our attitude towards leadership will always show itself in the way we treat those who can do little for us.
The author, a pastor in central London, tells us that our measure of success or failure will be what God says to us the day we die. It will either be “You fool”, or “Well done, good and faithful servant”. He writes that success is hearing “Well done” from the only lips that matter. Failure is being successful at things that don’t truly matter at all. This book is about what it takes to live so that we hear “Well done” instead of “You fool”. He wants us to live every day in a way that means that on that future day you’ll hear the divine “Well done”. To do that we must do two things:
• Get the word right
• Get our character right
The author tells us that we are to cut the word straight, so that people can see it clearly and simply. We do not want people to leave our sermons saying how clever or eloquent we are but how great Christ is. He encourages leaders to make sure your character matches up with your teaching.
The author tells us that you cannot lead others well if you cannot lead yourself well. Find a failure of pastoral leadership and, if you look underneath, you’ll see a failure of self-leadership. Self-leadership is essential, but it is not easy—and so being willing to listen and to be held accountable is key. He tells us that we need friends with whom we commit to confidentiality, intimacy and accountability.
The author tells us that the choice that everyone in Christian leadership must make is the choice between leading like Jesus, by pursuing Jesus-like greatness, and leading like the world, by pursuing what the world defines as greatness. Will your leadership be marked by self-seeking or self-sacrifice? True greatness shows itself in humble service. When you lead by serving, you get to be like Jesus. If you want people to follow you, to keep following you, and to be glad years later that they chose to follow you, then show them Christ in the way you lead them.
Among the topics the author addresses in this short book are false teaching, sin (using the story of Achan in Joshua 7), rest, accountability, being a servant leader (using Mark 10: 35-45) and listening.
This is a book for anyone in any kind of church leadership, though it will probably be most helpful to preaching pastors. Helpful questions for reflection or discussion, if reading with others, are included at the end of the book.
Below are a few of my favorite quotes from the book:
• Some of us are very good at hiding our sin from others and even from ourselves, but he sees it all, and to him we must give an account.
• Your sin may be a private thing to you but it is not private to God, and it affects your family and your whole church.
• You will treasure the gospel to the degree that you remember its truths and to the degree that you see your sin.
• If we want to seek true greatness, then it is expressed in service.
• Christian leaders are called to be servants, not bosses.
• Our attitude towards leadership will always show itself in the way we treat those who can do little for us.
September 28, 2025
This may be my new go to leadership book for any prospective pastor. Absolutely stellar call to character over competency.
April 15, 2021
This book is just over a hundred pages long, and packs a powerful punch in short form. Rico Tice writes about the importance of rightly defining success in Christian ministry, fighting your sin, leading yourself, and serving others. In each chapter, he shares biblical reflections, personal experiences and observations, and wise advice that he has received from others. He primarily writes to an audience of fellow pastors, but the core messages apply to anyone in a leadership position, regardless of their background and specific duties. For that matter, the majority of what he writes applies to any Christian, and I especially appreciated his stern and loving warnings against secret sin.
His insights into self-leadership are also very practical and helpful. He writes about practical issues like the necessity of rest, dealing with anger and discouragement, and choosing wise words, and he provides personal examples of his struggles in these areas, keeping the book vulnerable, truthful, and wise. There are no platitudes here, just hard-won wisdom. Tice writes from a British context, and sometimes brings up specific issues and applications related to his background, but the core issues that he addresses are universal. He also emphasizes the importance of serving others and truly listening to them, even when you disagree, and he includes an afterword about ongoing revelations of sexual abuse within his context in the U.K. He urges fellow leaders to listen and respond to abuse claims instead of covering them up, further emphasizing his messages about truth and integrity.
Even though I am not in a church leadership position, I greatly appreciated this book. It is full of insightful reflections, practical examples, and helpful advice, and I would highly recommend it to pastors, other ministry leaders, and to laypeople. This book can help Christians develop a stronger sense of what kind of leadership to look for in a church, can make them more aware of institutional and personal red flags for dangerous leaders, and can encourage them as they pursue holiness and struggle towards the same goals of personal integrity, self-mastery, and loving service, whatever their contexts may be.
I received a free copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
His insights into self-leadership are also very practical and helpful. He writes about practical issues like the necessity of rest, dealing with anger and discouragement, and choosing wise words, and he provides personal examples of his struggles in these areas, keeping the book vulnerable, truthful, and wise. There are no platitudes here, just hard-won wisdom. Tice writes from a British context, and sometimes brings up specific issues and applications related to his background, but the core issues that he addresses are universal. He also emphasizes the importance of serving others and truly listening to them, even when you disagree, and he includes an afterword about ongoing revelations of sexual abuse within his context in the U.K. He urges fellow leaders to listen and respond to abuse claims instead of covering them up, further emphasizing his messages about truth and integrity.
Even though I am not in a church leadership position, I greatly appreciated this book. It is full of insightful reflections, practical examples, and helpful advice, and I would highly recommend it to pastors, other ministry leaders, and to laypeople. This book can help Christians develop a stronger sense of what kind of leadership to look for in a church, can make them more aware of institutional and personal red flags for dangerous leaders, and can encourage them as they pursue holiness and struggle towards the same goals of personal integrity, self-mastery, and loving service, whatever their contexts may be.
I received a free copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
March 2, 2025
Even though I'm not a pastor (which is this book's intended audience), this book has practical self-analysis questions that have helped me think through how to analyze my sinful habits and pursue righteousness - and not just righteousness for righteousness' sake, but to serve the church better.
I read this with a men's group from church that's wanting to develop practical rhythms for discipleship (raising up other faithful guys in the church), and this book is at least a helpful discussion starter for how to think biblically about faithful living, and at best a sweet guide to bringing brothers together around the common hope to see the church become blameless through our obedience to Jesus' call to "not come to be served, but to serve."
I'd recommend reading this with a friend and discussing the thought-provoking questions in the back of the book :)
I read this with a men's group from church that's wanting to develop practical rhythms for discipleship (raising up other faithful guys in the church), and this book is at least a helpful discussion starter for how to think biblically about faithful living, and at best a sweet guide to bringing brothers together around the common hope to see the church become blameless through our obedience to Jesus' call to "not come to be served, but to serve."
I'd recommend reading this with a friend and discussing the thought-provoking questions in the back of the book :)
July 29, 2021
“Failure is being successful at the things that don’t matter.” - Faithful Leaders
This book is short, but it packs a punch! Every section was helpful and thought provoking. Furthermore, it was accessible! I agree with other reviewers when they say they wish there was more. I also found myself laughing out loud to many of the author’s witty comments.
This would be a great leadership development book for churches and/or church staff. An easy read, small groups could quickly fall into discussion with depth. Further, this book calls for accountability in many ways, so I could see where it would be easy for a team lead or staff lead to work individually with group members to form personal/spiritual goals to work on throughout the year and beyond.
This book is short, but it packs a punch! Every section was helpful and thought provoking. Furthermore, it was accessible! I agree with other reviewers when they say they wish there was more. I also found myself laughing out loud to many of the author’s witty comments.
This would be a great leadership development book for churches and/or church staff. An easy read, small groups could quickly fall into discussion with depth. Further, this book calls for accountability in many ways, so I could see where it would be easy for a team lead or staff lead to work individually with group members to form personal/spiritual goals to work on throughout the year and beyond.
June 17, 2022
There were two things about this book that made me give it five stars:
1) It was timely for me. Helpful reminders, spoken biblically, firmly and with empathy. It helps that I've seen Rico speak (live and on video), and could hear his voice and imagine his mannerisms. This is what he's like.
2) There is a wonderful simplicity in so much of British Evangelicalism that I find lacking elsewhere - often in my own ministry! It's "what would Jesus want", "what does the Bible say" - so... "let's believe it / think it / feel it / do it". It's not a bullying simplicity, it's not a close-mindedness, it's a gentle firmness that comes through in books such as this.
Grateful for this book.
1) It was timely for me. Helpful reminders, spoken biblically, firmly and with empathy. It helps that I've seen Rico speak (live and on video), and could hear his voice and imagine his mannerisms. This is what he's like.
2) There is a wonderful simplicity in so much of British Evangelicalism that I find lacking elsewhere - often in my own ministry! It's "what would Jesus want", "what does the Bible say" - so... "let's believe it / think it / feel it / do it". It's not a bullying simplicity, it's not a close-mindedness, it's a gentle firmness that comes through in books such as this.
Grateful for this book.
May 10, 2021
Really good! Challenging and inspiring. Just wish it was longer and covered more.
Though primarily aimed at pastors, it’s brevity means it would lend itself well to being read with other church members involved in different forms of leadership in the church.
The first chapter is especially clear on the dangers of false teaching in the church and the second equally clear on the dangers of unaddressed unrepentant sin (both in the church and in ourselves).
Though primarily aimed at pastors, it’s brevity means it would lend itself well to being read with other church members involved in different forms of leadership in the church.
The first chapter is especially clear on the dangers of false teaching in the church and the second equally clear on the dangers of unaddressed unrepentant sin (both in the church and in ourselves).
April 10, 2021
Do we need more books on leadership? Maybe, maybe not, but this feels like a timely one from Rico Tice.
Writing in the context of several very public challenges, Tice offers a short but much-needed challenge to Christian leaders. This book would be a valuable read to pause, reflect, and check up on your attitudes to your ministry.
I would heartily commend it.
Writing in the context of several very public challenges, Tice offers a short but much-needed challenge to Christian leaders. This book would be a valuable read to pause, reflect, and check up on your attitudes to your ministry.
I would heartily commend it.
November 12, 2023
Rico's writing is so gripping that I really did feel the knife at my throat, so to speak, in his retelling of the story of Achan. This is a work I will need to reread the further on I get into ministry, it is incredibly valuable and everyone in ministry ought to give this a read, it should only take an hour or two to read it. This is a great call to godliness and a great call to repentance.
July 26, 2024
This book really encouraged me and gave me many different things to consider but I loved how it challenged me. I loved how it discussed that to be great is to humble yourself and how it emphasised being a selfless not a self-serving leader. I also loved how it described leading as a chance to reflect Jesus who both lead but still humbled himself.
December 10, 2021
This is a short book, and covers some important ground about motivation, sustaining and keeping leadership in the clear as far as being pure and avoiding sin.
Why 3 stars? It felt unbalanced towards the negative.
Why 3 stars? It felt unbalanced towards the negative.
May 25, 2022
A helpful & timely book on what faithful Christian leadership looks like and how to persevere in it. 4 short messages - define success biblically, fight your sin, lead yourself & serve your church. I read it in a book group which was a good experience to help apply it into our own lives.
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