I love leadership books! As of late, I can’t seem to stop reading them and even worse, I can’t stop buying them. I love the insights/opinions/thoughts of different ways to lead and serve people within the church. I was recently reading an excerpt from “Heroic Leadership,” written by Chris Lowney, and came across a few quotes that really popped me in the face so hang on cause here they come:
“Who invented the yardstick that measures some as leaders and others as merely teachers, parents, friends, or colleagues? And what are the dividing lines! Does one have to influence at least a hundred people at a time to be a leader! Or will fifty do? And if fifty, what about twenty, ten, or even a single person? And does a leader’s impact have to become apparent within the hour? Or within a year? Are there not also leaders whose impact is barely perceptible within their own lifetimes but manifests itself a generation later through those they raised, taught:, mentored, or coached?
“The confusion stems from an (inappropriately narrow vision) of leaders as only those who are in charge of others and who are making a transforming impact and who are doing it in short order. And the faster they do it, the more transforming it is, and the more people it affects, the hotter they register on the leadership thermometer.
“But the stereotype of top-down, immediate, all-transforming leadership is not the solution; it’s the problem. If only those positioned to direct large teams are leaders, all the rest must be followers. And those labeled followers will inevitably act like followers, sapped of the energy and drive to seize their own leadership chances.”
Man, can you hear the announcer now? Lowney steps to the plate, the pitch, Lowney connects and it’s GONE! I think Lowney hits the nail square on the head and in doing so caused me to realize something about the current structure of the leadership teams within College Life. I intentionally set it up as “leadership” teams and not “volunteer” teams because I don’t believe the Bible calls us to be volunteers but to be leaders serving the local church but…in doing so I have also stepped into another muddy puddle – are those not on the “leadership” teams but in College Life not leaders? No. I believe that God created us all to be leaders and that we should seize opportunities to both serve and invest in the local churches that we are a part of. Don’t be a follower – be a leader. Don’t be one who is in the crowed following Christ and when it gets hard you turn away (John 6:60:67) – put on the gloves and get to work – it WILL BE rewarding, I promise!
Filed under: Leadership
