Enlist people who have a heart for their ministry assignment

John Maxwell, a well-known leadership author and speaker, has said that leading in a voluntary organization (e.g. being a pastor) is leadership in its purest form. 

Why would he say that? Because a pastor doesn't have financial leverage over most of those who follow him. Except for the paid staff, he can't fire volunteers if they don't perform and he can't give them a raise if they do well. So, to a huge extent, his leadership hangs on his ability to inspire, motivate and encourage those who follow him to do their task and to do it well.

That being said, a pastor greatly increases his odds of leading well if he enlists the right people to serve. If your paid staff or volunteers aren't "called" to their area of service or are simply refusing to be inspired to give their best at their ministry assignment, then you find yourself dealing with one problem after another.

As a child, I played a game called "Whac-A-Mole." The object of the game was to hit as many of the "moles" as possible when they popped their head out of the hole. However, those moles where quick, VERY quick, so your reflexes needed to be lightening speed.

This game wasn't made for folks with high blood pressure problems, though. Just when your attention was on one mole and you took aim, it disappeared and another mole popped up somewhere else! If you weren't crazy quick, you would spend the entire game fruitlessly aiming at disappearing targets only to have other targets rise up to mock you.

That's what it can feel when you're working with someone who is just content to do their job ... someone who is unwilling to give their heart to their tasks. Since they aren't excited about what they are doing, much gets left undone and what gets done is typically mediocre.

So, as the pastor, you will have to address problems in one area only to have another problem creep up. Address a problem that you observe only to have a concerned church member point out another problem with the ministry. Why does this keep happening? Because that person just isn't excited about what they are doing for the Lord or the church.

Action, therefore, must be taken because of your love for the people affected by such mediocrity. Without bringing unnecessary harm to the half-hearted volunteer/ staff member or those under their influence, prayerfully find a way for them to exit quickly and gracefully. If there is outright insubordination, or they are creating a toxic environment or some other major problem arises, then you should take much more aggressive actions to remove and replace the person whose lackadaisical performance is the reason for the problems.

So, do yourself and your congregation a favor and develop your leadership skills as quickly as possible. Use those leadership skills to inspire and develop those in positions of service to become the best servant for the Lord that they can be. 

But, do yourself an even bigger favor and be very, very prayerful and careful about who gets put into positions of influence. Don't settle for warm bodies. Look for gifted folks who will buy into what God is doing in your congregation and who will give their heart to their part of the ministry. 

In doing so, you will save yourself much heartache and God's ministry will be free to thrive.