The beginning of each calendar year presents a valuable opportunity to reflect and assess. What is working? What is not working? What changes in mindset or procedures need to take place in order to see improvements take place on the team you lead in 2019?
These are all, of course, good questions to ask, but sometimes a deeper change needs to happen. A paradigm shift may be needed.
In his excellent new book “Empowering Leadership” Michael Fletcher challenges Pastors and Ministry Leaders to rethink what we spend time “building”.
Michael Fletcher: “The Great Commission is a people building command and the three participles (going, baptizing, teaching) are part of the process of how that is to be done. The command was not to build a ministry or an organizational structure called the church, but to build people, and as Jesus promised in Matthew 16:18, He would build them into a world-changing organism called the church – or more particularly “my church”. Jesus is saying “You help me build my church and I will build my church”. If we focus on building the church we will always be short of what we feel we need: not enough people, not enough money, not enough leaders. If one the other hand, we focus on building the people He sends our way, everything else will fall into place. Though there will be ups and downs, struggle and difficulty in the process, He will make good on his promises to build His church”. P.22
Consider, how much time and energy you and your team is investing in those they lead? How much our energy is spent on maintenance vs development? When we believe and trust that Jesus builds the church we are set free to do the very thing Jesus is calling us to do: Building People.
Chad Williams
Develop to Deploy 