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. 🪑
Some ministry work gives you a clear answer by the end of the day. You made the call, solved the problem, finished the plan, or got the event ready. Other work is much harder to measure. You listen to someone. You encourage a leader who is discouraged. You teach the same truth again and wonder if it is taking root.
I’ll admit that I’m drawn toward the work I can finish. There’s a certain relief in checking something off a list. People rarely fit neatly on that list, though. Growth takes time, and most of it happens where I cannot see it.
I’ve been asking myself whether I’m still willing to give my best attention to the slow work. I believe God is at work in conversations and ordinary acts of faithfulness, but I don’t always live as though I believe it. I want visible progress, especially when I’m tired.
So I’m trying to notice the person in front of me instead of measuring every moment by what it produces. I may never know what a particular conversation meant to them. I can still be faithful in it.
ONE Scripture I'm processing. 📚
(1 Timothy 4:15) "Be diligent in these things. Give yourself wholly to them, that your progress may be revealed to all."
I find it encouraging that Paul speaks of progress, not perfection. I want to stay teachable and keep growing in the calling God has given me, even after years of leading. I hope that the people I lead can see a leader who is still learning to follow Jesus.
ONE Thing to Try This Week. 😎
Try this: Choose one decision you would normally make this week, give it to a developing leader, and agree on when you’ll check back in.
A real decision gives someone more room to grow than an assignment with every detail already decided. The check-in gives them support without requiring you to hover. You may learn something from the way they approach it, too.
ONE Thing Worth Your Time. ⏰
READ: Leading Yourself Well
While I have a million and one issues with Andy Stanley's theology these days, Stanley asks leaders to be honest about their motives and to choose what they value most over what they want right now. It’s a useful prompt for those of us who can spot leadership problems around us more easily than the ones in ourselves.
ONE Question/Thought For our Spiritual Formation 🧐
Question: What has been happening in my heart that the people I lead can probably feel, even if I haven’t said it aloud?
Our frustration, fear, and fatigue often affect the room before we realize it. Naming what is going on inside us gives us a chance to respond honestly instead of letting it quietly shape how we treat people.
Keep learning. Keep leading. Keep following Jesus.
— Dr. Cannon (Fellow Traveler)
