“I’ve come to see that leadership does not mean domination. Rather, it means accepting responsibility for whatever we believe to be the call and the expectation of God upon our lives together.”
_Gordon MacDonald, When Men Think Private Thoughts
Do you know someone who likes to be in charge?
They’re not hard to find. Just look for the person in charge or for the one trying to be in charge. (And there’s nothing necessarily wrong with this; someone needs to be in charge.)
I remember a particular church my Dad pastored. There were a couple fellows in the church that really liked to be in charge. It seemed to me that they were always stepping over in Dad’s lane and stealing credit and praise from my Dad.
I resented it and wondered by Dad wouldn’t put those men in their place.
One day, in frustration, I took Dad to task for not standing up for himself.
He listened patiently and then asked me to step outside. We walked over to the church, and more specifically, to the church sign. Dad, pointing to where the pastor’s name was listed, and asked, “Whose name is on the sign?”
I responded, “Yours.”
He smiled and said, “Son, I figure as long as my name is on the sign everything is okay.”
That was a huge lesson for me that has saved me from so much grieve and trouble. That was the day I began to understand that just because I am responsible it doesn’t follow that I must be in charge of everything.
Matter of fact, I have come to understand that the more responsibility I have the fewer things I am actually in charge of.
Thank you Dad for teaching me that very important lesson.
The ONE THING for today: Leadership is not about doing everything, leadership is about seeing to it that things get done.
As the years have gone by I have crafted an axiom that sums up the message of this post. If relates directly to my vocation, but it is applicable in every area of life.
You can have a big church or you can have a big ego, but you can’t have both.
Kemp’s Rule #47
That is so true. Hope you and Sonja have a blessed weekend.
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