Leadership 101

We have different gifts, according to the grace given us. If a man's gift is prophesying, let him use it in proportion to his faith. If it is serving, let him serve; if it is teaching, let him teach; 8if it is encouraging, let him encourage; if it is contributing to the needs of others, let him give generously; if it is LEADERSHIP, let him govern diligently; if it is showing mercy, let him do it cheerfully (Romans 12:6-8 NIV)

Behind the scenes of every great church are great leaders. They are courageous, servant-oriented, and diligent. Throughout the Bible, whenever God was ready to begin a new work, He would call a potential leader and give him or her a leadership assignment.

Almost thirteen years ago we began PCC with seven people. We have grown to where we are through effective leadership; not just mine, but through the contributions of many. I’ve always known the importance of developing other leaders and this has always been a high priority of mine. Over the thirteen years of PCC’s existence our church has done an exceptional job discovering, developing, and deploying other leaders to carry out the work of the ministry. On the other hand, at our current attendance level a renewed effort is needed to get us over the top so that we may reach our redemptive potential.

Romans 12:8 above tells those of us who have the gift of leadership that we had better use it well - that we should “lead with diligence.” Why? Because the Church, upon which the eternal destiny of so many depends, will flourish or fail largely on the basis of how well its leaders lead.

People who are gifted to lead must yield themselves to God. They must cast powerful, Biblical, God-honoring visions. They must build effective ministry teams who are clearly focused. They must inspire believers to give their absolute best to God and for the cause of Christ. And they must insist with pit bull determination that….

• the gospel be preached
• the lost be found
• believers be equipped for ministry
• the poor be served
• the lonely be enfolded into community
• and God gets the credit for it all
  

If you follow my blog, you will recall I have been writing about leadership matters that are related to our church. I wrote a series on “Rethinking” (Rethinking Church, Rethinking Leadership, Time to Reorganize & Restructure, Rethinking Programs and Volunteers). On July 11th, in a Sunday Mind Dump, I wrote about something I have been thinking of doing for more than a decade: a once-a-month leadership meeting called S.A.L.T. or C.O.R.E. or Leadership Advance. Most recently I have written related articles entitled, “Work Smarter, Not Harder”, “Behind Every No is a More Important Yes”, “I’m Re-establishing Boundaries for Myself”, “Our Need to Get Smaller”, “Leadership Summit Highlights”, “Let Dying Programs Die”, and “An Honest Evaluation.” All of these articles are my thoughts being spoken out loud.

Well, it’s time to pull the trigger on a few things around here. For the last several weeks I have been getting prepared to conduct a series of meetings with leaders and potential leaders at PCC. It has taken me some time. After a very difficult summer of being spread too thin too many times, and almost collapsing from physical and emotional exhaustion, I have pulled back from a lot of things so I could mentally and physically recover. Through this process I have attempted to get plenty of rest. I’m almost there. Secondly, I’ve had to gain laser focus about the direction and future of our church. I think I’ve got it now. Next I have been working on the material I want to share with our leaders.

Some of you have been waiting for this. It’s going to happen soon. Thought you’d like an update.

With your leadership contribution we are going to go over the top and reach our redemptive potential. And God is going to get credit for it all.