I remembered this post from a few years ago. I dug it out of the archives. Every organization goes thru stages, times of joy and times of challenge. Leadership is always more challenging in times of challenge, but it is also most needed then. here is the post from Aug 2007:
If you choose to be a leader, someone will question your decisions. They will comment on your style or lack thereof. They will talk in quiet voices about how they would have handled such and such. You will always be viewed with a bit of suspicion because you are or have some authority.
You will still have children to raise, grass to mow and oil to change.
As a leader, you will be expected to perform excellently at all times, while looking past, and being gracious about, the faults of others. If you press to see the purpose fulfilled, you may be accused of picking on someone.
You will still have the challenges of married life, bills to pay, and your parents are still going to die.
As a leader, you will have the chance to make a difference in the world. To care about people, and to manage resources in a way that effectiveness takes place. When things are going well, you will share the joy of a job well done. You will have the chance to help others succeed and to let them enjoy moments of glory. Some days you will walk home with a smile on your face.
If there were no leaders, the geese would not know what direction to fly. If there were no leaders, our individual efforts would never join together and the whole rise to be greater than the sum of the parts. If there were no leaders, then those who follow would only have themselves to blame.
Harry Truman said it. “The buck stops here.” God needs people on earth that are not afraid to take responsibility. If you have been given the chance to be one of these people called leaders, then you can look forward to days of pain, days of hurt, and days of hard work. But, you can also look forward to seeing foundations laid, walls go up, and the finishing touches applied.
God needs his work to be finished, so God needs those who are willing to lead. If you are one, learn to look past the painful moments and give thanks for the opportunity to do good in the name of the Lord.
It's a beautiful day in God's world, be sure to see the good.
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3 comments:
Thank you Pastor. I appreciate your blog and the thought you put into it each day.
With the Lord's help, I can lead others to Him.
Deb Spaulding
Faith UMC - St. Charles, MO
www.songofdeborah.com
Perhaps you have heard the geese honking as they fly northward in a “V” formation. They head toward the grain fields of Canada and Alaska to spend the summer. Two engineers calibrated in a wind tunnel why geese fly in formation. Each goose, flapping its wings, creates an uplift for the goose that follows. The whole flock gains 71% greater flying range than if they journeyed alone. That’s why the leader of the “V” formation falls back periodically to let another leader take the point, and why the rest stay in line. It is rough to be a leader. Even in a flock of geese, leadership is a shared responsibility. Every disciple, at one time or another, is called to “take the point.”
Jeff, this is a random internet bit of info but I am ready to lead!
Leaders can expect pain, hurt, hard work and discourse. In Acts Chapter 14 Paul was stoned and left for dead in Lystra for preaching the good news, but after the disciples gathered around him he got up and went on preaching. Miraculous or not, Paul's stength came from God and was reinforced by the believers around him.
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