A long obedience in the same direction.
Hello leaders.
Here is this week's round-up of the things I have been learning as I try to follow Jesus while helping others do the same.
ONE Thing I'm Learning While Following Jesus from the Leadership Chair. 🪑
I’ve been thinking about how often I say I want to develop leaders, then step in the moment something starts to wobble. I can tell myself I’m being helpful. Sometimes I am. But sometimes I’m taking the work back because it would be faster to do it myself.
That may solve the problem in front of me, but it doesn’t help someone else grow. A person needs room to ask questions, try something, and learn what they would do differently next time. I’ve needed that room throughout my own leadership, and I still do.
This is a hard lesson for me because I care about doing things well. I also care about the people who will be affected if we get something wrong. So I’m trying to get better at staying close enough to support someone without taking over. That might mean making the goal clearer at the beginning or asking how they’re thinking through a decision before I offer my answer.
I want to build a church where more people can lead. For that to happen, I have to make room for leadership that doesn’t always look exactly like mine.
ONE Scripture I'm processing. 📚
(Mark 10:45) "For the Son of Man also came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many."
Jesus keeps bringing me back to the purpose of leadership: serving people. I can get so focused on decisions, plans, and outcomes that I forget to ask what the people around me actually need. I want my leadership to look more like his, especially in the ordinary moments when serving costs me time and attention.
ONE Thing to Try This Week. 😎
Try this: Read one short passage of Scripture this week without preparing to teach it, and write down one sentence about what it brings up in you.
Leaders can become so used to finding something for others that we forget to listen for ourselves. Writing one sentence makes it harder to rush past what caught your attention. You can return to that thought in prayer later, even if you have no polished insight to share.
ONE Thing Worth Your Time. ⏰
READ: Rhythms of Work and Rest for Ministry Leaders
Ministry can make exhaustion feel like proof that we care, which is why this piece is worth sitting with. It invites us to consider how rest, prayer, and honest limits shape the way we lead.
ONE Question/Thought For our Spiritual Formation 🧐
Question: What am I carrying right now that God has not asked me to carry alone?
Leaders can become so used to being the person others turn to that we stop noticing when we need help ourselves. This question may reveal something to bring to God, share with a trusted person, or hand to someone else.
Keep learning. Keep leading. Keep following Jesus.
— Dr. Cannon (Fellow Traveler)
