Follow the Leader

As a big fan of the U.S Presidents, I’ve always been fascinated by their personalities as well as their policies.  My family will tell you, “Don’t even get him started talking about them or you’ll be sorry you asked.” But regardless of whether it’s our nation’s commander-in-chief or a small town politician, I’ve always appreciated the concept of term limits.  It can be argued that certain leaders are so good at what they do that an exception should be made, but it can equally be argued that too many politicians become “lifers” making a career out of something that was intended as a service rather than a vocation.  I, too, have recently had my eyes opened to the benefits of “term limits” when it comes to church leadership.

As 2011 rolled around, the position of Contemporary Worship Coordinator (my previous position) at my church was eliminated and the two pastors took over the many various duties associated with making our worship service happen.  I decided to take a few weeks off while this transition occurred to refocus and reevaluate.  I hadn’t been away from my home church for more than a week or two a year for the past six plus years.  And even during those weeks off, I was still deeply involved with planning the orders of worship, scheduling volunteers, and helping to shape the musical offerings for the week.  My month away was refreshing and gave me ample time to visit some other churches to sample their worship styles.  I also attended my home church for a week simply as a member of the congregation and found myself feeling strangely unfamiliar with that perspective.

But, in the end, I came to realize it was a good experience and one that I need to pursue more often.  During my time away, I found that others had a greater opportunity to participate in leadership roles and to grow as fellow worship leaders.  By being a constant leadership presence, I was doing something I love but was unwittingly inhibiting others from fulfilling their call.  I was also inhibiting myself from being an active worship participant and was not being sufficiently fed as I concentrated so intently on feeding others.  There are many of us called to serve as leaders, but it is a duty we should be willing to share equally with others.  We are not called to dominate leadership or to preclude leadership by others.  God wants us all to feel the privilege of leading others into His presence and towards His gospel. And we definitely grow most effectively as a congregation when we allow greater and more frequent opportunities for others to grow into leadership roles.  This includes all ages as well as men and women.  Church leadership is a gift to be shared, nurtured and grown and not one to be monopolized and coveted.  It’s my prayer that those of us in the background make an effort in the coming year to step forward, and those at the forefront may humbly step back and encourage our fellow members so that others can mature in faith and experience the joy of serving Christ and His church as our future leaders. 

As we read in Proverbs 11:14,

“Where there is no wise guidance, the nation falls, but in the multitude of counselors there is victory.”

Praise be to God!