Thank You!
“The first responsibility of a leader is to define reality. The last is to say thank you. In between, the leader is a servant.” Max De Pree
Yesterday I said “thank you” to a great congregation I have been leading for a little over 5 years. As a leader and visionary I still have lots of thoughts for this church, but someone else will be responsible to lead it now, and I am no longer their pastor. The most appropriate thing to do yesterday was not to share vision, but to simply say “thank you…Thank you for loving Deborah and the kids and me. Thank you for caring for one another. Thank you for keeping your eyes on Jesus. Thank you for your heart for the lost.” I didn’t get to say all the thank-you’s I was thinking about, but thank-you has been the posture I’ve tried to take as I’ve been leaving.
Last week I started to define reality in a new assignment I just accepted as the District Supervisor of the Greater Los Angeles District. There is a wonderful staff working in the office and a fantastic community of pastors. In the middle of all of those great people, however, are some practices, procedures and processes that do not produce health. My primary job right now is to recognize what is so that we can have a clear starting point. You can’t get to point “B” if you are unsure of where point “A” is. Reality v2 electronic cigarette is sometimes daunting, but ignoring reality will undercut your ability to ever get to where you want to go and fulfill the vision God is giving you.
“In between, the leader is a servant.” I’ve said thank you, and I’m defining reality. In some ways, those are the easy parts. It’s the day-to-day work of supporting and serving others that in the end defines good leadership. I’m looking forward to developing better systems so we can better serve the pastors and churches in our District. I’m looking forward to meeting pastors and leaders, and serving them by dreaming with them about how we can partner together to reach and disciple the lost. I’m looking forward to helping leaders find their ways out of ruts and back to a passionate pursuit of Jesus. These are a few of the ways I’m excited to serve; there are many more.
Finally I wanted to say thank-you to you! Imagine my surprise when I went to my blog this morning and saw almost 30 replies to my previous post about continuing the discipline of writing. Your response was very touching. One reader said that I should consider writing a part of my new assignment, because it is a great way to connect with and equip people. The encouragement to integrate writing and work was just one of many comments that will keep me “lashed to the mast” when the siren song of responsibility pulls me away from what brings you—and me–life.