John Quincy Adams once said, "If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader."
Some days I have to remind myself that leader does not mean idea generator, which I love to do, almost as much as organizing! Nothing excites me more than thinking up new worship experiences, fun sermon illustrations, worthwhile church programs or activities. But I believe that being a leader does not mean that I do all of these things by myself, but rather that I empower other people to be not only hearers, but doers of the Word. I am called to inspire new ways of thinking but also to equip members of the congregation to actively participate in the life of the church.
As I prepare to begin a visioning process with our session members and hopefully inspire our congregation to also think about what God is calling us to do, I am reminded by authors' Scott McKenzie and Kristine Miller in Climb Higher that "simply knowing where God is leading you in your ministry will not propel you to the top." Our leadership must be committed to the task. Miller and McKenzie argue that if one were planning an expedition to scale the heights of Mount Everest, one would desire to have the most skilled of climbers leading the charge. In the same way, you want to recruit the very best of your membership to lead the way in effective ministries. In this book, the main topic is stewardship, so the example is that you would want your best stewards in charge of the stewardship campaign. I believe the theory holds for any committee in the church, you would want your members who are the most hospitable to be a part of your fellowship team or greeters on Sunday morning. You would want to ask your most compassionate and perhaps prayerful members to help you with visiting the ill or shut-ins.
This is not even a matter of selecting the person who does the most hosting or gives the largest contributions. Rather, it is the person who represents the most meaningful commitment. Miller and McKenzie argue for example, "a person in a leadership role who has not made a financial commitment to support the ministries of your church will derail your vision and be a stumbling block at every turn." The point is that your leadership should be 100% behind the vision of the church and supporting it with their time, talents, and tithing in whatever way they can. I must give kudos to our session members here as they try very hard to do whatever needs to be done to ensure the success of any project. They also make a commitment to stand behind decisions that the session votes on, even if all don't agree, once the vote has been made, all members support one another and present a united front. I don't know if the rest of the congregation realizes this, but I tell you, they set a wonderful example and I hope to highlight it! The session should be enthusiastic ambassadors for our ministries within the church not just 'chair committees.' And they cannot do any of this work alone, they need the help of the entire membership to not only volunteer to be lay readers or man the hot dog stand (which we absolutely do need), they also need people to Show Up. I don't mean just be a warm body filling a space, I mean be physically, mentally, and spiritually present in all our various ministries! If you don't feel like church is fulfilling your spiritual needs as it should, ask yourself why you think that is and what you/we can do about it.
The leadership of the congregation plays a crucial role in assisting the congregation to fulfill its God-given vision for ministry. I know that God is calling us to do something quite special, even though we have yet to discern precisely what this looks like. In truth, all the members of a congregation are leaders in some way, everyone has their gift and their place in ministry, we are all members of the priesthood of believers. This may require each of us to shift our way of thinking. For example, instead of viewing stewardship as a way to convince people to give more money, imagine it as a way to inspire people to become more generous in all aspects of life. Instead of viewing fellowship events as a meal, what if it inspires us to become more hospitable to one another. Instead of coffee hour being about snacks to tide us over until lunch, it helps us reconnect and minister to one another as we take a genuine interest in each others' lives.
I was taught in any number of scenarios throughout my life that the world needs both leaders and followers. Sometimes the situation necessitates that the one who is usually the boss steps back and lets someone else take the lead. I was reminded of this quite clearly last weekend at our youth council planning retreat when I had to say to some of our returning council members, "Hey, you are really good at this...let someone else give it a try." I think that I am naturally a leader but that does not mean that always have to lead. I can still be a leader and allow myself to follow the direction of someone else from time to time, especially if they have more experience or expertise than I do. I guess my point is, if you are a leader in the church, own it, become an inspirational ambassador for your church's vision. If you cannot commit to this crucial role, ask yourself, "why am I in a leadership position?" If you are a follower, think about why it is that you are in that position. Is it because you don't think you have the chops to be a leader? Is it because the opportunity hasn't presented itself? Is it because you have been burnt out in a leadership position before?
As we begin to envision the future of our church, I pray that you would be inspired to dream, equipped to participate, and affirmed in prayer that God is calling you and us together to do something amazing. Amen.
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