Well…the order of the day is snow, snow and more snow. First, let me be very clear: I did not order the snow! Some goofy youth pastor of the church we pastor ordered it. As we were getting ready for the live stream yesterday (due to having to cancel in person worship due to the…ahem…snow), he decided to get on the bad side of the four of us who were there (sound tech, Power Point & her husband, and me) by spouting off how much he loved snow and couldn’t wait to get out in it to play with his three teenagers. Yeah, they all need their head examined. Good thing I like him and he is doing a great job!! I jest, of course. As much as I hate to admit it the weather people got this one right. Gone (for now) is my saying from Back to the Future when Doc Brown says, “Since when can the weatherman predict the weather.” It started with a light snow around 9ish and then as the day moved on it picked up volume.  As I type this this morning I have heard conflicting reports of 8″ up to 12″.

As I already stated, we did live stream yesterday. The decision was made on Saturday at noon in order to give our folks enough lead time to know, but also to give our “callers” the time to do their ministry. They either call or text people on their list to let them know of the change. Diana, our church secretary (also known as Lady Boss or the more professional, Administrative Assistant) spearheaded getting the ladies to help and then sends out a text to all of them to pass along. Now THAT is efficiency! That means I work with a youth pastor who thinks he is funny but good at what he does, and a very efficient secretary who often goes above and beyond her “job description.” I wonder where that puts me? 🙂

It all makes me appreciate even more those I work with. I’ve been rereading some works which are called fables. They are leadership books/fables written by men like Jon Gordon and Pat Lencioni, leadership gurus who have been around a long time. The Garden, Stick Together, and The Carpenter by Gordon; The Motive by Lencioni; and The Servant by James Hunter have been great refreshers for me on leadership. They have reminded me of the value of a good team, but that it really does start with me. Planting seeds of positive reinforcement, making sure we work together with a common goal, giving the best we can but realize we need breaks, making sure we are a leader for the right reason, and knowing being a servant leader is the primary leadership principle, are all part of being a leader. I have no pretense that I am a great leader (I try and want to be), but one of my desires for 2025 is to become a better leader. I’m going to do what I can to make that happen.