Poster in my office:

LEADERS ARE LIKE EAGLES, THEY DON’T FLOCK…YOU FIND THEM ONE AT A TIME. 

For many years I believed I was a leader. Then one day I realized I really wasn’t. I heard someone once say:

He who thinks he leads but has no one following is only taking a walk. 

That got my attention! I have tried to develop into a better leader. I have read tons of books. I have listened to speakers and podcasts. I have attended conferences and workshops. All in an effort to become a better leader. I crossed that word “better” out because I wanted to become a leader first. When I realized that is what I wanted to be, and not just assumed that since I was a pastor of a church I was automatically one, I pursued it. I’m still on that journey and assume I will be until I breathe my last breath. 

Last night we had an elder’s meeting/leadership meeting. At this point, the church is served by 3 “ordained” elders and the two pastors (me and our youth pastor, Ryan). A little over a year ago we began the process of the men taking sabbaticals for at least a year (Ryan and I are excluded in that!).  🙂  I love working with these guys!  They love Jesus. They love the church. And they love and support Ryan and me. Last night was a case in point where we had good, healthy discussions about several different ideas/events/topics and then closed with each man giving a prayer request that is on their heart. We don’t always agree but we don’t vote. We work by consensus and will sometimes table a topic to get away and pray and think through our thoughts until the next meeting. I love their heart for OVCF. I brought up the need to begin thinking about a special needs ministry, especially since some of the children who attend our kid’s program are on the spectrum, were abused in the foster care system, or have parents who simply don’t care and have had them taken away and have (in some cases) been taken in by a family in the church. Obviously that topic wasn’t going to be solved in one night, but the spirit of “yes, we need to do this” was palpable. I even brought up a couple of hair-brained ideas for making room and they didn’t pooh-pooh the ideas but said, “Lets see what develops with our new building. Maybe that will afford some options for us.” That is what I call caring for your church!  Meanwhile, I got the “go” to pursue the special needs idea. 

Two hours later, after all had had a long day of work, we prayed and dismissed. I walked away tired from my busy day, but refreshed because of my time with them. In my mind, that is how leadership is supposed to work.