Category / Spiritual Life

How are you?

Need a break?

What level is your “leadership battery” at?

• Fully charged.
• Good, but drained.
• Weak, probably need a jump start.
• Very little left; may need a new battery.

Recharging your battery this summer seems like a different prospect than last summer.

So much has changed over the last fifteen months or so, and you have absorbed the pressure and stress that came with all the change. How are you dealing with it?

From many conversations with church leaders, it’s obvious there is great hope, enthusiasm, and positive anticipation about the future, but equally, there is overwhelming discouragement and lack of confidence.

It’s important to have a tipping point to keep you on the positive side of this post-pandemic ledger.

Are you intentionally recharging at a soul level?

Leaders are often under scrutiny.

Unfortunately, it’s often in an attempt to catch them doing something wrong, and we all know that if you look for the flaws and shortcomings, you’ll find them.

That’s true of anyone, not just leaders.

Yet, leaders are rightfully held to higher standards.

That doesn’t mean that leaders are better than anyone else, but we are accountable for our actions because of our influence on people.

Why higher standards? Is that really right? 

OK, your congregation isn’t actually “invisible,” but at times, it can seem that way, at least for a large portion of the people.

• How do you shepherd people you don’t see?
  This is the new era of “invisible” congregation; it’s a new challenge to demonstrate that you care.
• Should you chase people who’ve been gone for six months or a year?
  Some people don’t want to be chased any longer. How do you know?
• How do you show you care?
  Everyone is different, so how do you know what they need?

Reaching new people is the vision of leadership; shepherding people is the soul of leadership. Both are essential.

It’s easy to get focused on one or the other, but both are vital to the expression of a healthy church.

It seems natural to lean into vision right now, and again that’s vital, but we can’t falter on shepherding and aspects of discipleship merely because they are currently more difficult.

One pastor said it this way. “It’s kind of like when my kids moved out. They don’t want me calling all the time, but they still want to know I care, and I’m there when they need me.” That’s not easy to navigate.”

It’s wise to acknowledge the limits of your leadership and lean into all that God has for you.

Your leadership has limits; mine does too. But we don’t have to remain constrained in what God wants to accomplish through us. God provides what we need.

One example is how God continues to encourage, enlighten and equip us as leaders through the power of His Word.

Scripture is alive and fresh every moment. The Holy Spirit translates it into our hearts according to the need.

One morning this week, as I was reading Romans 12:9-21, the words seemed to jump off the page in a fresh way for all of us as leaders.