Sometimes the best thing for a leader to do is pause
My family has been blessed to be at the same church for over 16 years. We moved to East Texas with one child on the way and now we have 4 kiddos. I am thankful to the Lord to have been in full time ministry all those years. I have learned so much and been so blessed by this wonderful church body. I am still learning every day I get to serve them. The Lord has grown me and developed me. I used to be young and dumb; now I’m not as young and hopefully not as dumb. (Sorry, bad joke). I’ve learned a lot about leading and ministering to people in our church and in our community. When you have been at one church for that long you know a lot about a lot of things. I know a lot of people, their history, stuff in the church and how things work. I’ve been around for new sound systems, new websites, fire system inspections, internet and phone installations, and the list goes on and on.
As leaders, whether in family, work, or groups we are quick to act and take charge. This is part of who a leader is. They see something that needs to be done or handled and they begin to work it out. I used to think leading was always having an answer and always being able to figure something out. In the last few years I’ve come to realize it’s good that I know stuff but I need to share what I know with our staff and volunteers. Nothing should ride on just one or two people. I think pridefully I liked being able to do all the things. But that doesn’t make a good leader and it doesn’t make a healthy church. Through some coaching and some conversations with our staff, we all talked about things that we need to move off our plates to share the load. This was hard for me. I still struggle with it but I see the fruit of it. I see the importance of empowering other people to use the gifts God has given them.
Today at church I had the privilege of leading the large group time in our children’s ministry. Our children’s minister was on vacation. I was in the back of the room during worship and the projector disconnected. The kids didn’t skip a beat they continued to worship and sing. I knew what was wrong. We have a connection port that is messed up on the back of the computer and sometimes it does that. Plus there was a little girl over there near the AV cart and she probably bumped the cable. I didn’t move. I PAUSED. I waited a beat and 2 youth volunteers (including our oldest son - proud dad moment) knew what the problem was and took care of it. They were serving today and familiar with the problem and able to fix it. I loved it! I loved that the Lord made me wait so they could step in and lead.
I don’t know why I get to do what I do. I know it’s all for His glory but I’m just a big goober that gets to watch the Lord work in ways only He can. But I’m honored to serve the Lord and serve HIs church. Our staff was asked one time to pray about and write down a few things we knew that God had called us to do as individuals. One of those things for me was to lead leaders. I always want to be learning more about leading and encouraging leaders. Today, the Lord reminded me to pause.