threading 3 leadership concepts together.
Portions of the following note were also used in a memo for the members of Prairieview Mennonite Church, near Flanagan, Illinois this past week.
I spent this past week at the Christian Leadership Alliance meetings, with 1700 leaders from organizations as diverse as christian camping to crisis pregnancy centers, and from small local churches to the national director of the Gideons. Here are three standout items I am taking home:
1. From pastor Chuck Swindoll– integrity is not so much about perfection but authenticity. It is the single most necessary tool of the leader.
2. From missiologist Reggie McNeal– We need to prepare to take the church to where people already are instead of trying to create something we invite people to at our church building.
3. From Priscilla Shirer, a reminder of what Joshua said to his people– “consecrate yourselves for God is going to do a great thing among you tomorrow” (Joshua 3:5). I was impressed with the link between our personal consecration and the great thing God will do next.
Reading the newspaper as I was returning home Peggy Noonan’s column advocating for Pope John Paul II’s sainthood gripped me (Wall Street Journal, 30 April 2011, A15). In her description of this Catholic leader’s approach to faith, it seems all three points were lived: personal integrity even as a flawed person, a commitment to take the church to the people and personal consecration in anticipation of the next great work of God.
These concepts come from a variety of people representing several streams within Christianity. The example of Pope John Paul II is from yet another. Yet, the God who does great works is not limited by our narrow views and specific preferences of where or how we worship. To better align myself with what this God will do next, I do well to take these insights to heart and let them guide my point of view as a Christian leader.
-mark l vincent
Growing with other trees
Twice in my life I cut down large trees that outgrew their space.
The first was a black walnut whose trunk was twisted by a wind shear and hung precariously over three houses in our inner-city neighborhood.
The second was an enormous old elm in the far corner of our backyard. It had survived Dutch elm disease, but not the storm that careened through our neighborhood, tearing every mature tree – and some young ones – up by their roots.
One tree-sized limb hung suspended in our neighbor’s now ruined cherry trees. Nearly half of the tree broke off ten feet up, landing in two neighbor’s yards, smashing bushes, fencing and two lawn sheds on its way down. The remaining half towered over our house, threatening to come down at any time.
We were blessed to have friends help us clean brush for three straight evenings. Even then we only got half of it moved before the professionals came in. Needless to say, there was no shortage of firewood, even after what we gave away.
Our beautiful, shade-bearing, life-giving tree was gone.
God made trees to live in forests, with competition for space to make them grow tall and straight. Without it, trees grow larger, wider and heavier than their trunks can support. Eventually, the tree comes crashing down under its own weight, often with memorable, destructive force.
Likewise, God made us to live in communities. Those of us who have great gifts, or maturity beyond our years, often stand as the tallest trees in such a forest. Without the shaping forces of accountability, family, community, regular worship, and spiritual disciplines, we might take on more than we should, and grow larger than our character can support. When this is the case, a lifetime of productive service can come crashing down in an instant, often destroying other lives along the way.
And the worst part is the momentary but spectacular crash will be remembered far more vividly than the many other good actions that came first.
-mark l vincent
M&A
I recently wrote a list of the mergers and acquisitions I participated in over the years. Their numbers nearly match the new organizations or re-launch of organizations where I was privileged to play a part.
In any successful scenario, core leadership was a necessity. It might have been a sole entrepreneur. It might have been a team with interchangeable key players. The organizational form did not matter, but the steady, reliable, inspirational core leadership did.
Whenever this core disintegrates during the pervasive organizational change caused by a merger or acquisition, the anticipated value of the merger or acquisition is almost always lost. When core leadership remains clear it has a charge: to complete the transaction until the point a deliberate succession is enacted, the possibility of achieving potential value grows accordingly.
Too often, the core disintegrates because leaders have relatively short attention spans. Maybe it is because promoting organizational growth was a means to achieve personal success (once they have the money, they bail), or because they fundamentally misunderstand the perils and responsibility of leading well (getting a deal struck is the goal for them rather than making the deal work). The best leaders I worked with (I’m sad not to supply a long list of such persons), not only built long-term value for an organization, but built up people who care about building long-term value through people who care about long-term value.
It might be helpful to keep re-reading that last sentence until it starts to sink in.
-mark l vincent
Two theological errors
In praise of our Peanut
Our daughter, Autumn, was called Peanut from the moment she emerged from her mother. Our doctor gave her the name in honor of her tiny frame. Autumn is now an adult, short in stature but mighty in spirit.
I’m taking a moment to celebrate being her dad because I admire her strength and resolve, not just to be a good friend and loving family member, but to make a difference in the lives of children. As a teenager she began describing a call to love children that she believed came from God. She sought certification to work in day care centers while she was still in high school, became a line therapist for autistic children as a means to earn extra tuition money while in college, and took the early morning shift and other odd hours at Alverno College’s Child Development Center to keep building up her teaching experience. Her internships and student teaching put her in several Milwaukee Public Schools. Now, she is in the first year of teaching in a Head Start classroom in Madison. The fruit of all this experience is one strong young lady, no matter how quiet she might seem to others.
During these years, she has:
- been strangled
- had her fingers bent back
- been given a black eye
- had her glasses yanked off and broken
- been peed on
- called every obscenity
None of this troubles her overmuch. Where some would quit at the first physical altercation, Autumn just checks to make sure she has good insurance coverage. What bothers her is that someone might think she isn’t experienced enough yet, or if she is not carrying out her work perfectly. No wonder the children hug her and say, “I love you Autumn!” We echo their joy in having her in our lives.
Lorie and I raised one strong Peanut. She is making a difference. Thanks be to God.
-mark l vincent
The Beloved Son: A sermon from Matthew 3:13-17
I’m working through a series on “Getting Reacquainted with Jesus.” I don’t plan to post all those sermons here, but the responses I’m receiving on these sermons from Matthew 3 seem to be striking a chord that makes people stop and listen and consider.
Introduction
The purpose of these talks is to start again in this relationship we have with Jesus. Like any important relationship, it is good for it to be made pristine again while also going deeper in affection.
As we get reacquainted, it is important to remember Jesus lived in a time where there was no denomination, no Protestant, Catholic, mainline or evangelical heritage, no Sunday School or children’s ministry. There were no hymnals, no Youth Fellowships, no seminaries to train pastors, no catechism classes to prepare for baptism, no missionary sending agencies and no church publishing houses. It was just Jesus and those he called around him to join him in the kingdom.
If we want to consider Jesus anew, we do well to set aside all these trappings that have many good things about them, but can also end up as a cheap substitute for a real and vital relationship with one’s Savior. And once we do, we can choose anew what forms and what institutions will help us live out our faith. It is similar to what a traveler does when they pack a suitcase, discover it is too full to transport, then lays everything out to determine what truly is essential and meaningful for the journey before they repack their bags.
In the previous study from the first twelve verses of Matthew 3, we ran into this fellow (see photo): John the Baptist, a cousin of Jesus and predicted from even before his birth to be a forerunner who would announce that Messiah was coming. We considered him because he preached the same message Jesus would preach when he began his own public ministry (see
Matthew 4).
From that study we acquired two insights:
- That to be acquainted with Jesus is to encounter the message of repentance and embrace of God’s forgiveness.
- That repentance applies to everyone about everything.
Here comes Jesus
John’s preaching, and later the preaching of Jesus, would be harshest against the established religious community of the day. They were religious and very pious, but their hearts were far away from repenting from their sins. In fact, those who these religious people considered to be the chief sinners were often nearer to repentance. Sinners acknowledged their sinful situation more readily than these religious people who were given to pretense and explaining away their actions. Still, people of all types were fascinated enough by the preaching of John, who had no cathedral pulpit from which to proclaim, that they hiked out to the countryside, sat on the banks of the Jordan River to hear John, and responded to John’s message by wading in the water to receive the baptism he offered. It is in the middle of this community of people looking for relief from their sins, yearning for Messiah to come, and eager for John’s preaching to be true, that Jesus appears on the bank of this same river, and wades in to be baptized by his cousin.
John wants to refuse. After all, he is not the Messiah, Jesus is. Jesus persuades him, however, with the statement that his own baptism is needed. In Matthew 4:15, Jesus says it is fitting for him to do this. That word fitting refers to the conspicuousness of the act. Jesus would be seen stepping toward righteousness just as anyone else who chooses to enter the kingdom. He would be one of those leading off in the direction to which he would also call others. With these words John agrees and the baptism takes place.
As Jesus leaves the water we are painted a beautiful picture of the entire Godhead involved in the act. Creator God is present as the voice expressing his favor and love for the Son. The Holy Spirit’s presence is visible and resting on the Son. And the Son, himself, is dripping with water as he models for us what it means to enter the kingdom.
Getting reacquainted with Jesus
In Matthew’s gospel this is the first public appearance e of Jesus after the flight to Egypt as a small child. It is here we begin to know him and see what it is he brings. In this brief passage we can quickly observe:
- How John viewed him (as the Messiah)
- How Jesus viewed himself (as needing to lead where he would ask others to follow)
- His place in the Godhead (he proceeds from the father, and the Spirit of God rests on him. We learn later in Jesus’ teaching that this same Spirit is made available to the Christian).
Sometimes people get stuck on the record of theses events—especially when they compare the gospels to one another and find differences in the accounts. For instance:
Some try to use the differences in how these accounts are recorded to question the accuracy of the Scriptures. Others, especially those who hold a high view of the Scriptures, try to show there is really no difference, or simply ignore these differences as if they didn’t exist. I would hate to see you become distracted by this sort of thing, especially because it is quite possible and normal for there to be varying, yet entirely accurate accounts for what we see and hear.
For instance:
All accounts rendered about my love for my children are true. All are accurate. All are different and carry nuanced interpretations. You find this sort of thing throughout the gospels, between the historical books of the Old Testament, and even between the book of Acts and some of the epistles. It is natural and normal to have varying accounts like these among multiple witnesses. They help us round the picture of how Jesus was presented by the Godhead at his baptism. We need not get stuck or be plagued by doubt.
Where Jesus goes, he calls us to go
So, in this text we meet the Son who has the Father’s pleasure and the Spirit’s power. We meet the Messiah that John the Baptist and so many others are looking for. And, we meet a leader who models what he asks his followers to do. I think this may be the key lesson from today’s text as we become reacquainted with Jesus. Jesus does not ask us to go where he has not already gone himself. He enters into the kingdom through the witness of baptism and sets the precedent for us to follow. This should help us understand that baptism is not just a witness that one repents and receives the forgiveness of God, symbolized by the washing of out body, but also that we bear witness, that we now live God’s way, and that we choose to be God’s representatives and recipients of God’s direction rather than our own. Jesus begins his ministry there and invites us to follow.
If we know that Jesus goes to those places he then calls us to follow, it becomes reasonable to ask , “Where it is that Jesus goes?”
- ANSWER: everywhere.
Especially to the hurting, the broken and the lost. Jesus also goes to the halls of power, the centers of religious life, the open marketplace, the homes of criminals and to his friends.
It is amazing how in the life of Jesus, and in so many of the stories among those who repent and live their life for Jesus, just how often this journey takes the person everywhere and for the glory of God. We see it in Jesus, of course. We also find it in the Scriptures in the lives of people like Peter and Paul. But we can find it in history too.
One of the biggest for instances for me was when Mother Teresa died. She focused her life on those dying in the streets, but the simplicity of her life and her order brought worldwide attention—to the point that at her funeral, Calcutta became the center of religious broadcasting for that day, with an audience in the billions who heard the gospel read, the Lord’s Prayer prayed, and the Christian witness proclaimed. I found it an incredible affirmation that those who embrace this message that everyone needs to repent of everything just might end up going anywhere and everywhere. If for no other reason, it is because the repentant one is prepared to go. They set everything down after all.
If this message is hitting home for you, you might ask “Where is God calling me?” It is a good and holy question to ask. Surprisingly, it is not that difficult to answer. One of the great German theologians expressed an idea that a friend of mine put into a song. The lyric goes like this: “Where your greatest joy intersects with the needs of the world, enter your journey at the crossroads.” It is at this place that one discovers their calling, and how their unique gifting can be used by God to take them anywhere and everywhere. Finding that crossroad also means one can define the boundaries of their calling rather than being overwhelmed by guilt they are not doing more or not succeeding.
Finding my crossroad also helps me learn that my crossroad is not likely to be yours, nor yours mine. It gives us permission to let us enter into ministry in many different ways instead of expecting that others must share my same mix of gifts, joys and actions.
I believe if more of us were to work our way to the crossroads, we would be much easier on others. We would beat ourselves up less. Our congregation would be at ease and ready to receive what God wants to give.
This same principle applies to congregations. Each church is unique and exists in a unique context. The gifts available to serve match up to the needs that ought to be met in a way that is different than my community in Kohler Wisconsin, or where my parents live in Safety Harbor, Florida, or the places your relatives might live. As a body of believers, we can discover what our collective gifts are, what needs are not being met, and enter our journey at the crossroads, without worry or comparison to what other congregations are doing, or worrying about whether the church is larger this year than last (some churches who do this successfully actually become smaller because more persons are sent from the congregation!).
As a follower of Jesus Christ, you have the opportunity to become reacquainted with him, to let his forgiveness flow, and to commit anew to this wonderful life of serving the Savior, wherever it takes you. You can do it with a new awareness that Jesus has been there already.
-mark l vincent
Blurring the lines of communication: It can be a good thing!
Formal and informal communication are needed in every organization.
Formal communication is an intentional message conveyed in an intentional setting by speech, publication or electronic transmission.
Informal communication is a random message conveyed in a relational setting, usually in conversation but possibly by a written note or e-mail.
Here is a visual way to understand the difference:
Both forms are present in every organization, but each seems to have a preferred tendency often connected to the preferred style of the organization’s leaders. It is wise for those leaders to understand that both are present, both are needed and both are useful to foster teamwork and desired results.
A key to harnessing both is to blur the lines of informal and formal communication. Please do not misunderstand this as blurring the message. Rather, it is to make formal and informal communication less distinct from each other and thereby communicate more effectively.
- Rather than relying exclusively on a formal speech-driven message, leaders can circulate and share the message individually and in small groups. While doing so adds time to getting the message out, leaders should remember that there is a corresponding reduction in the time needed for the feedback loop.
- Formal printed messages can be produced in such a way that they beg to be passed along. Use of cartoons, coupons, helpful content, wisdom, and questions for discussion can make passing content along even more desirable. Even the visual appeal can make a difference.
- Informal settings can be used to gain insight, especially prior to making key decisions at the leadership level. The right use of provocative questions during coffee breaks and parking lot conversations can help those looking for perspective and response find it in a non-threatening way.
Thus:
One other word of advice. Publicly acknowledging that both styles of communication are important and will be put to use is a wise course of action. Blurring communication styles as an act of slyness is to withhold communication and undermines the very result you seek.
-mark l vincent
Inconspicuous Leadership
For every visible, celebrity leader, there are several inconspicuous leaders in the wings, working to make the visible leader look as if they are almost single-handedly bringing the organization’s mission into being. Think COO, Provost, Administrative Pastor, Office Manager, Executive Assistant, Personal Coach, and Spouse. By sheer weight of numbers we need to focus on developing scores more of them.
My favorite illustration of an inconspicuous leader is that of Blackie Ryan, the priest and novelist Andrew Greeley’s inconspicuous monsignor, bishop’s assistant and mystery solver among Chicago’s Irish Catholics.
Blackie isn’t noticed really unless he wants to be.
He is happy to let others take the credit for his brilliance.
He is much loved by his family.
Those he works for feel he is indispensable.
He is effective.
When he is needed to lead publicly, he does so.
When his public reponsibility is over he fades into the background once more.
He knows what is truly important and pursues it instead of getting distracted.
He solves locked door mysteries (a metaphor for finding a way through deep-seated, almost impossible problems)
We need more of these inconspicuous leaders if we are going to work our way through the great problems of our day. And where better to find the next round of celebrity leaders than among those who know how to work inconspicuously?
-mark l vincent
leadership limits
Our son gets married this coming May, which means looking for a dress for the mother of the groom. In an act of impulsive love, I cancelled late afternoon plans and took my beautiful bride shopping. A mistake?
I am good at being patient while Lorie shops. I take a sincere interest. On occasion, I have even been helpful in choosing something she enjoys and wears frequently. But there are some stores where the husband is not welcome. The tension is up from the moment a person possessing male appendages walks in.
I had dropped Lorie off and parked the car, entering a few minutes after her. By then she was at the back of the store perusing the racks. Entering the door, a saleswoman accosted me, demanding to know my name to prove I was actually with someone already in the store. Already uncomfortable, I moved to where Lorie was and began my patient wait, moving several times as other shoppers approached the rack where I was standing, making it known I was not welcome to stand there while they looked at the rack. It was a warm day for early March, a hint of spring in the wind, but only frosty estrogen inside.
What would have happened if I had said: “I’m not a predator! I’m married! I’m not going to peek inside the dressing room curtains! I’m not thinking about what you would look like in a size 20 evening gown! I’m happily married. I’m a father of an adult daughter. I am a business owner, a respectable citizen, an ordained minister. Please, I mean no harm.” I doubt anything I could say would have helped.
An insight underneath all of this is that no-one can expect to be welcomed everywhere, to be loved by everyone, or to always be looked to for the role one is most accustomed to playing. By walking into that store as a man I was a problem, and there was little to nothing I might do to change it during the fifteen minutes or so we were in the store.
Other rooms into which I might walk will cast me as a leader, but only a few. Most of the rest I will simply be a spectator, a potential source of income, a family member or friend, a volunteer, or a participant under the direction of another. Life can be lived well if I craft my skill at moving comfortably between these roles.
If you immerse yourself in leadership theory, you quickly learn that a key issue is the leader who cannot distinguish when they have responsibility from when they do not. In short, the best leaders are also excellent followers. They understand the limits of leadership. At Design Group International, we seek to model this in how we set up and administer projects on behalf of businesses, non-profits and ministry organizations. Any one of our consultants might be lead on a project, provide project assistance under the direction of another, or even provide back office service to make sure the job gets done well. Anyone who thinks too much of their self, or believes they have more gravitas than others within our common practice is not going to fit well among a group of people who are trying to grow themselves into excellence as both followers and leaders.
Beyond this, and in tribute to the dress store experience, I must also become more comfortable with those settings where I am not readily welcomed, even when following my wife.
Honey, I’ll go shopping with you anytime.
-mark l vincent
Horribly unthinking and public statements
The mayor of Sheboygan, Wisconsin was recently censured by his city council for horribly unthinking and public (and drunken) comments he made about his sister in law (http://www.fox6now.com/news/witi-090924-sheboygan-mayor,0,157572.story). To his credit he has apologized and accepted the city council’s decision without any defensiveness. Still, one wonders about his ability to govern from here.
What I find amazing are the unthinking, insensitive and public statements I have heard by people who are not inebriated when they say them. Once uttered, especially by a leader, it makes it difficult to respect the person behind the words ever again. Recently, while driving to and from Florida on our vacation, my wife Lorie and I wrote down some of the most unthinking comments we have witnessed. We replay them here well aware that we are guilty of regrettable words ourselves. Interestingly, all these comments were made by church folk in church settings. We have tried to render them as accurately as possible.
Perhaps you have an example of two that would help us chronicle the attitudes we should leave behind and certainly never bring before the people of God. These are good reminders to guard our tongues.
- If you prayed for your mother every day she would get better.
- If our nation’s enemies don’t convert, kill ’em.
- (During announcement time at Sunday morning worship) Stop using so much toilet paper! The basement toilet was clogged again and I’m tired of plunging it out!
- I hate it when the scriptures are read in a worship service.
- Your music is demonic because I don’t like it.
- All muslims are terrorists.
- I will always be the worship leader.
- I hope you aren’t offended that God healed me and you are still sick.
- God might love homosexuals, but if they come to this church I’m going to castrate them.
- You are sitting in my seat. I always sit there.
- My bud and I intend to be the last two people here when they close this church down.
- God is a Democrat. Really.
-mark l vincent
The consulting marketplace
1991 was the year my consulting work began. That is long enough, I think, to give me some sense of the field. Here is my construct–a map if you will–that helps me understand the consulting marketplace. Perhaps it can help you also.
First out of the gate is Low Knowledge/Low Service, the largest segment of the marketplace. This quadrant can be divided into two camps: (1) Many but not all of the single shingle operators trying to keep their income alive as they enter retirement, and a good number of high octane firms with really good marketing and sales departments, but little substance. The second type is especially dangerous because of the rates the consultant must charge in order to maintain their really good marketing and sales departments. Watch out for anyone that tells you about how large their firm is in total revenue! The purpose of a consulting firm is to increase your revenues and assist you in managing your problems, not to tell you how much money their company makes.
The client’s best interest: Hang up the phone!
Next is High Knowledge/Low Service. This quandrant can also be divided into two groups: the rest of the single shingle operators, and firms with high expertise but little attention to follow through. If you hire a single shingle expert, many of whom will prove to be extremely reliable, be prepared to provide office support for them, an additional cost to you. If you hire a firm that seems to fit, be prepared to receive reports and advice about what your company should do, but little ongoing assistance to implement or manage any projects that grow from the consultation. Be prepared for persons in this job quadrant to be eager for a full-time job, if offered, perhaps compromising their consultative objectivity.
The client’s best interest: Looking for a low cost but strong option? You might find one here among the single shingle operators.
The next quadrant is High Service/Low Knowledge. Here one finds a number of firms who also have good sales and marketing departments. But they also have good product offerings that are repeated everywhere, perhaps with slight adaptations that help the firm claim to have your company’s interests in mind. Service from these firms will be especially good in helping projects get established. White papers generated from firms like these tend to be introductions to consulting products rather than original research or timely information. These firms are reliant on product offerings and hype over the process of creating knowledge and developing your personnel.
The client’s best interest: Make sure the product offering is an exact match with your company’s needs. You might find the quickest timetable to an effective solution here, but you will need to have a lot of initiative and follow through.
The final and smallest quadrant is the one where High Knowlege/High Service can be found. It might be surprising to discover that not all marketplace entrants aspire to this. A few do arrive at it on occasion. Some do it consistently. These firms treat their clients like partners, developing approaches to managing organizational issues. They DO NOT expect that what worked on the last project will necessarily work in a new setting. Contracts with these firms tend to reflect mutually defined objectives that will be addressed rather than products purchased.
The client’s best interest: This is a more detailed and deliberate approach. Sometimes it is the most expensive. The client must remain engaged, and if so firms like these offer the strongest likelihood of success.
It is the testimony of my clients and all clients served by Design Group International that determines whether we reside in this 5% category. I also know, however, that this is our aspiration among a lot of consultative carnage inflicted by those who remain unapologetically low in either knowledge or service.
But let’s not forget all the self-inflicted injury caused by the incompetence of managers and organizational leaders! This is why the flame for consulting still burns brightly in my heart. When organizations are well-matched with consultative expertise it is a beautiful thing.
-mark l vincent
Successful Succession
I’ve witnessed many leadership transitions and led several during my career. These experiences led me to develop a theology of ending well, studying biblical accounts of when leadership succession worked and when it didn’t. I wanted to know if divine guidance was present in any of these stories.
I learned that every situation is uniquely constructed and that good leaders are helped to pay attention to the context, not just their methods. Here are some other insights:
1. Succession works best during an economic upswing. Leaving when trend arrows point down looks like failure and creates a desire to clean house. Similarly, succeeding to the leader’s role is more easily done in the upswing. Ascending then trend arrows point down looks like incompetence and creates a rebellious ferment (Study the successions of David to Solomon and then Solomon to Reheboam to see the contrast).
2. Succession works best when there are clean boundaries in place. The outgoing leader most hold a well-defined line between managing ongoing affairs without obstructing changes the new leader may wish to bring. Failure to keep this clear leads to meddling and handicapping one’s successor. It is better to be seen as detaching from the role too early than holding the reins too long. Similarly, succeeding to the leadership position means the successor must hold a well-defined line between getting resources in place without showing disrespect to the leader they succeed. Better to be seen as slow in getting started than as a usurper. Many people study the presidential transitions of the United States as a good example of managing succession (One might also study Queen Athaliah as an example of someone who destroyed rather than lose access to power. The succession of Moses to Joshua, by contrast, is one of the best case studies in human history).
3. It DOES matter what people say about you when you are gone. This is not an obsession about one’s image, but a realization: If succession is led well and leaves fertile ground for the successor, there will be new opportunity for the outgoing leader. If succession has been poorly managed, however, each subsequent interaction with one’s former colleagues will be tinged with stress and regret. Whichever reputation one has forged during the succession process will become an oft-told tale, perhaps even an epitaph (Consider the reputations of King Saul and King David as examples of this contrast).
I am writing these insights down because I am in the middle of a transition. For the past 3.5 years I have been privileged to work with North Suburban Mennonite Church in Libertyville, Illinois. A finer collection of spiritual pilgrims and talented people cannot be found. Pastor Roland Kuhl assumes the pulpit at the end of June, a definite upgrade from my pastoral skill!
If I do my part well, he will have every opportunity to thrive and to lead the congregation into new ministry efforts that invite people to embrace the kingdom of God. If not, then I will have handicapped his ability to lead the congregation into deeper worship and greater outreach.
Stating this concisely and theologically: There is no room for mediocrity for one who loves God and is entrusted with a leadership role. It is among the highest of leadership arts to master effective leadership succession, then to do it repeatedly in a variety of contexts.
Theological Muse
A recent McDonald’s visit left me scratching my head. An old geezer (I use the word advisedly) returned to the counter to return his sandwich because it had cheese on it. Since the sandwich comes with cheese normally, he would have needed to request it to be removed, which he had not done. I know this because he made his order loudly and I was standing behind him in line.
He used the occasion to argue just as loud as he had ordered.
“Everyone knows I can’t eat cheese!” (Apparently he was a regular)
“McDonald’s cheese looks like something in my grandaughter’s diaper.” (Ewwwwww!)
“Come here in the evenings and all you get are a mess of lazy kids working behind the counter.” (I was thinking “work here in the evenings and you get customers with nothing better to do than hang out all evening at McDonald’s”).
With every comment Mr. Geezer looked me in the eye and wanted me to agree with him. What was I supposed to say?
“Sorry I didn’t know that cheese is a problem for you. I’ll try to remember that in the future even though I live four hundred miles west of you and will probably never see you again.”
“Now that you’ve spoiled my dinner with the grandaughter’s diaper comment, would you do me a favor and ask them for my money back?”
“Actually, I think young people today are filled with hope and promise. I guess you find what you are looking for.”
I write all this because bringing leadership isn’t something someone can do 24/7. I can’t be the customer police, retool the McDonald’s menu so it clearly says “you get cheese on your sandwich unless you request it to be removed,” nor provide a customer service lesson to the employees currently working on that shift.
The leadership point of view is something one carefully cultivates, but one must also carefully cultivate when to put it to work. Focus on right now things or nearby things and the long-term gets removed.
I’ve been impressed lately with the life of King Hezekiah as an example of a leader who kept the main thing the main thing. See 2 Chronicles 29 and following in the bible for the story of his life, and the inspiration of his example. He carried out his mission of reform in spite of the many distractions that could have derailed him. Items like threats of war, religious diversity, and corruption didn’t get in the way of what he new needed doing.
-mark l vincent
The Muse 
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