For some, our one thing is vision - we know where God wants us to lead and we take others with us.

For others, our one thing is managing a team or teams of volunteers to make sure everyone is focused and moving in the same direction.

For the rest, it may be that we are really good at a particular skill and we like to train and invest in others to be able to do the same thing.

Whatever your one thing is, how are you complementing your leadership in the other things? We can’t all do everything – we need others to fill in the gaps. 

This requires us to be willing to give up some of our leadership to allow others to exercise their skills in our weak areas. Not good at managing? Find a manager to complement your vision. Missing some essential skills? Bring in someone to raise up the skill factor of your team.

Whatever your one thing is, you need to be prepared to allow others the fill in the gaps. Ask yourself what pieces are missing and what your one thing is – then complete yourself with other leaders. 

Nick is a great example of what each of us leading today must do – we must help the next generation of leaders to get involved and grow.  We can’t wait for them to “grow up” and become adults. Right now is the time when we need to get today’s youth involved.

Yes, for many it may take more time to invest in these youth. It may require you to slow down a bit to balance their class load with their volunteer time. But imagine the blessings of investing in the next generation early!

In fact, Nick told me the other day that he reads this blog to learn and apply leadership principles in his roles at school and church. Nick is a great reminder that just because someone has only recently obtained their driver’s license, it doesn’t mean that the only thing they can do are the things we don’t want to do as adults. It is time we realize that many of today’s youth are ready for leadership today.

It’s time to step back and find out how we can engage and invest in the next generation.

 Authenticity is an important value when speaking of church leaders. We want leaders to be real, open, honest and genuine. We want leaders to share their questions, their struggles and their stories. We can relate to a leader who has ‘been where we’ve been’. Authenticity fuels connection and relevance. But is that what we really want? Are leaders really ‘allowed’ to be authentic and what happens when they’re not?

What do you think? Can you be a leader in a church and be authentic at the same time? What if it involves an addiction?

Read the full article, including her examples and tell her what you think

I know things happen. I know God can use short term circumstances for His long term purpose.

However, if you plan to come and go without leaving a legacy, then you aren’t really leading. Instead, you are using others for your own purposes, then abandoning them.

That isn’t true leadership.

Bob Thune wrote about this from the church planter’s view, but the same principles apply to us as well:

A few months ago a church planter I know had to close up shop. As I scrolled through his fire-sale ad on Craigslist, I couldn’t help but wonder: did he really need all this stuff? If he had allocated funds differently, could he have stayed in the game a little longer and reached a place of viability? It’s not my place to question his decisions; “before his own master he stands or falls” (Romans 14:4). But I’m concerned that lots of young, starry-eyed church planters are easy prey for the salesmen of church-plant capitalism.

How would your church be different if you decided to select a soundboard with only a few extra channels, rather than double what you need? Or, if your church opted for a nice building, not a brand new one that costs 3-5x more? Something to think about, especially for church leaders that are starting off a new ministry or planting a new church.

Read the full article

Stepping down means you leave your team on their own. You haven’t prepared to hand the leadership to others, so you leave a vacuum.The transition isn’t smooth and becomes the same level of impact as if you were leaving permanantly.

Stepping aside means you allow other leaders in your team to step up. You’ve worked to prepare other leaders to take over.Your absence will be missed, but won’t cause a negative impact.

As a leader, it is up to you to prepare your team. It is up to you to invest in the leadership of those in your team.

It is up to you whether you step down or step aside when you need time off. What will you choose?

The problem? The church can’t support the model of hiring more and more staff.Eventually, staff can’t be hired. Or worse – they have to be laid off.

As we’ve seen from the last few years, money is given less to churches and spent less by churches.  Unfortunately, the church has become more and more dependent upon paid staff. From part-time to full-time staff, the church wants to hire to get anything done. 

This model may work for churches in affluent areas, or for churches with a large base of contributing members. This model, however, doesn’t work for the majority of churches. It also doesn’t work if the economy slows down (as we’ve seen). 

The church doesn’t need more paid staff. It needs more unpaid leaders. It needs volunteers that are willing to step up and guide the church during good economies and bad. 

The church needs more unpaid leaders.

You have two choices: allow them to lead, or suppress their leadership.

Allowing them to lead means allowing things to happen in ways you don’t expect. It means letting others do things in a way you don’t want them done. It means allowing the skills and gifts God has given to flow through someone other than you. It means giving up the glory and serving their needs.

The other option is suppressing their leadership.  It means not letting someone find a new or different way of accomplishing the same outcome.It means not allowing others to use their skills. It means living in yesterday, not tomorrow.

How do you plan to lift up your team’s embedded leaders?

Geoff Surratt wrote about this some time ago in a blog post entitled “An Open Letter to Pastors”:

1. If you think you aren’t vulnerable, you are already toast
2. If you think you can burn the candle at both ends, you are already toast
   
3. If you think you can do ministry without accountability, you are already toast
   
4. If you think you don’t need safeguards, you are already toast
5. If you think it’s about you, you are already toast

His blog post provides 3 suggestions, which I want to reprint in their entirety:

1. Slow down

   You will not change the world today and tomorrow isn’t looking good either. There is plenty of time to hang with your wife, play with your kids, play golf, relax. God was at work long before you showed up and He will be at work long after you are gone. You cannot live on adrenaline all of the time. You cannot be pumped up about every weekend. If you live that way for an extended time you will crash.

2. Open up You need someone in your life who knows you inside and out; someone who will ask the hard questions and know when you are ducking the answers. It is difficult as a pastor to find someone you can be truly honest with, but it is essential that you find that person. Another pastor who does not attend your church might be ideal.
3. Count the costEvery time you are tempted to break a rule, to cut a corner, togo somewhere you shouldn’t go consider what it will cost you when it all comes to light. What is going to happen when your wife finds out? How will she feel? What will it do to your children? What will this do to your church? How will it feel to write a letter like Gary had to write?

You don’t wake up one day and decide to shipwreck your life. You do it one stupid decision at a time. As someone who has seen this happen again and again and again I am begging you to take action today because it will happen to you.

Quote by Jewish Proverb: “I ask not for a lighter burden, but for broader shoulders.”

Are you fighting adversity? Are you asking God to strengthen you, or lighten you in your leadership role?

One way God broadens our shoulders is by the help of others:

“And though a man might prevail against one who is alone, two will withstand him—a threefold cord is not quickly broken.” (Ecc 4:12 ESV)

So, what kind of adversity are you dealing with? How are you asking God to help you?