Which kind of leader are you? The Wannabee. This person wants to be a leader or an entrepreneur or a church planter or a ... fill in the blank. Why? Because it's the cool thing to do. It's trendy. The wannabee doesn't have a personal sense of mission that is driving his or her decisions. Without a deeply-felt sense of purpose, the wannabee drifts from conference to conference looking for what is currently in style. The Knowitall. Most of us have known a know-it-all. This is the person who has an answer to everything and therefore doesn't seek out the answers of others. The knowitall already has it figured out. What may be projected as confidence is really insecurity -- and a fear that they will be found out. At the root of the knowitall is pride and an emphasis on "I". The Sponge. How can you discern a sponge from a…
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Passing along an interesting video of Seth Godin speaking about "This is Broken." Seth Godin at Gel 2006 from Gel Conference on Vimeo.
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Here's an interesting summary of a recent survey of people who sit in church pews. This one relates to preaching.
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It's why we call it the World Wide Web. Just yesterday, I was spending a few minutes reading blogs I like to follow. I started with Mac Lake, a blogger who writes about church leadership issues. He led me to Casey Graham, who writes about church finances. Casey led me to Mark Clement, a filmaker who uses his giftedness to shine God's light through media. And then I came to this article by Mark Clement: "I Couldn't Have Done it Without Him." In the article Clement mentions a fellow who I attended college with -- John Marc Green. It's a small world.
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As leaders, we often think in terms of vision casting. It's our responsibility to discern where God wants us to go and then to paint the picture for those we lead. In many respects, this is a top-down process. We hear from God, our churches/members/employees hear from us. I also believe part of our mandate as leaders is to help bubble up vision from within the hearts of those we lead. God doesn't speak only to me; he is constantly at work in our world to establish his kingdom. As a leader, I need to be sensitive to what God is saying to those around me. What are their dreams? What inspires them? What is gaining momentum in their lives? Casting vision isn't always about shouting from the rooftops; it's just as often about keeping an ear to the ground.
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