Full steam ahead!!! Praise team retreat this weekend! Yeee-haww! Jon Paul Findley and the i55 guys are in route even as I write. The stations are being prepared and we're looking forward to a great weekend together.
Watching The Apprentice last night caused a discussion between Sheryl and me about the weird nature of leadership. When you're a leader it seems people either love or hate you. On that show, if they lose the challenge then it's usually the project manager who takes the heat and the others feel like they need to pick it apart for fear of looking like they approved of a losing strategy.
Some of us in ministry or leadership of any other kind experience the same thing. When you make a decision people like, you're heralded. When it's an unpopular one, the torches begin to blaze. No wonder it's so easy to lose yourself in people pleasing. It's much more difficult to really listen to the voice of God and lead boldly from there in spite of how popular it may or may not be. I have to remember this too.
Sometimes when decisions are made, it's so easy for me to want to critique. Sometimes the critique is very needed by both sides. Sometimes it's just a critical heart. I don't know what I'm saying really except that we, as leaders, must always wrestle with pleasing people over pleasing God and be open to the fact that sometimes we get those things confused. Our pride gets in the way, we don't take time to listen or search, or maybe we just operate in the flesh instead of the Spirit. I know I'm guilty of this at times. It's something I'll always need calling on.
Friday, October 21, 2005
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5 comments:
Had to comment on your post from yesterday. Very ironic because last night my three-year-old told me that God had an invisible dalmation. She said that it says it in the pledge of allegiance.
"Malmation" (dalmation to her), under God, "invisible" with liberty and justice for all!
I love children's minds!
Brandon - great blog.
It seems even our own people perceived this difference between being a “member” and being in “leadership.” A very good friend of mine who has the qualities of being a shepherd refused to be even considered when we last tried to install new elders. His reason to me was quite surprising. He told me that he didn’t want people to stop “confiding” in him and he felt that would stop if he put on the “elder” title.
Of course this forced some introspection on my part. I’ve always felt that I’m very approachable but I had to ask my friend if this phenomenon was effecting how people at my church viewed me now that I’m elder. He was quick to say “yes” which stunned me.
Somehow we (I) need to work on our model of church leadership to change this perception.
Have a good weekend. Keep praying that Hurricane Wilma will go out to sea.
I struggle with this a lot-because I have been known to be a people pleaser, and I often have to put that aside even when people do not like me for it...especially now being in a leadership position where I make most of the decisions. When I found Galatians 1:10 it totally transformed my thinking:
"Am I now trying to win the approval of men, or of God? Or am I trying to please men? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a servant of Christ".
So true and yet still hard to put into practice faithfully...
I love Jon Paul-he comes out and does camp with us every year with Broadway-tell him I said hello! Hope the retreat is awesome. God bless~
Hope things are going well at Otter Creek. New Reign is in full swing...concerts 6 of the last 7 weekends, whoa! By the way, my friend Jake said he really liked Otter Creek and enjoyed meeting you.
My question for all of you "leaders" is...when do we, as "followers", speak up?? When is it when we say.."You know, I hear God leading us in a totally different direction....". When it's five or six "leaders" leading a direction the majority of a congregation does not feel is led by God, do we just follow....or do we speak up????
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