Tuesday, December 08, 2009

Mondays and rainy days.

Leadership is difficult...especially on rainy days. Jack Welch, former CEO of GE Corporation, once said, "A leader's job is to look into the future and see the organization, not as it is, but as it should be." For me, that challenging task becomes more difficult when I'm laying in bed on a rainy day with a head cold. I can't see past the end of the bed, much less past tomorrow. I'd rather pull the covers closer and enjoy the warmth. (I have a very nice bed and its twice as comfortable on days like today.)

But isn't that why every organization needs leaders? Think about that. When times are cloudy and the future doesn't look very clear, the tendency of everyone is to stay where its warm and dry, to stick with what is comfortable. Its much easier than the alternative...launching out into the unknown and trying the unproven. But that's what has to happen if the church is to stay relevant and dynamic. Yes, it's easier said than done. As I said a few weeks back, "Everybody loves change...you go first." But it's change that positions us where we need to be and prepares us for the "what's next" in God's agenda.

As we try to focus more on people and less on programs in our church, we will face change--a change in perspective, a change in procedure, a change in thinking and a change in the way we measure success. It is change that is long overdue and absolutely essential. But it's a journey we will share together as we do whatever we can--short of sin--to reach those far from Christ.

"To reach people that no one else is reaching we must be willing to try things that no one else is trying."

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