tension

Re-post: Has God Called Your Team to NOT Take That Hill?

February 1, 2011 By Scott Cochrane 3 Comments

So much of leadership is inspiring and vision-casting our teams to ‘take that hill for Christ’; to enable those we lead to see beyond their fears and insecurities, and to instill within them a belief that we can accomplish more than we thought possible.

And sometimes God is quietly telling us to stay right where we are… to NOT take that hill… to allow God to fulfill His purposes precisely through our inaction.

The prophets Jeremiah and Ezekiel both warned the people of Judah NOT to resist the conquering Babylonians. While other false prophets were whipping the people up to go to war with the Babylonians, God’s true prophets were saying, “No. Wait. Don’t resist. Don’t fight.”

Why did God deliver this warning? Why did He have to tell His people not to fight?

1. The urge to take action is not always God’s plan.

This is not to say that as Christians our leadership should be passive. Far from it. What Bill Hybels calls the “bias towards action” is a critical piece in the leaders arsenal. But so is discernment. So is discretion. So is a listening ear toward heaven to understand God’s greater purpose.

2. God’s timing is not always in alignment with our timing.

God had a time-table for the deliverance of His people. It was to be a 70 year ordeal, during which time God would be teaching His people some important lessons. And sometimes God still uses timing we don’t understand to fulfill His purposes.

So, as leaders what do we do with this? We live in the tension between our ‘bias toward action’ and having the patience to wait on heaven.

For leaders, leading through this tension is one of the most challenging, and most important, skills we will ever develop.

How do you know when to ‘fight’, and when to wait?

Filed Under: Action, Leadership, Tension Tagged With: fear, fight, inaction, Leadership, prophets, tension, timing

How Your Family Can Survive Multiple Christmas Eve Services

December 17, 2010 By Scott Cochrane 5 Comments

If you serve on the staff of a church with multiple Christmas Eve services, you may already feel the tension mounting.

You know that this is one of the highest-impact seasons on the church calendar, and yet if you have school-aged children (or younger) no season of the year demands more of your family’s attention.

It’s the classic Christmas tug-o-war.

In my early days as executive pastor in a church of 2500, with six Christmas Eve services, I felt this tension mount every year at this time.

On the one hand, since Christmas Eve was like our church’s ‘Super Bowl’, I felt I needed to lead by example by being there for each service.

On the other hand, we had family Christmas traditions to uphold, and I

didn’t want to let down my wife and children.

By my third year, however, I had learned that it really is possible to be fully engaged in multiple Christmas Eve services, and still be fully present with my family. And if you find yourself in the same stage of life, this can be true for you too.

The key, I learned, is to fully engage your family in your church’s Christmas Eve celebrations. Rather than looking at our Christmas Eve services as something that was taking me away from my family, all five of us became volunteer maniacs at Christmas, and it became an irreplaceable part of our family Christmas traditions.

Specifically we learned four vital ingredients to achieving this:

Getting your children excited about the genuine fun of serving in the Christmas Eve services.
Guiding them into volunteer roles that interest them and suit them.
Reconnecting as a family during breaks between services.
Throwing yourselves a family party when the last service is over.

Try it. You really can win the Christmas tug-o-war

How do you manage this tension?

Filed Under: Church, Community, Joy Tagged With: a family party, Christmas tug-o-war, family Christmas traditions, fully engage your family, fun of serving, lead by example, manage this tension, Multiple Christmas Eve Services, Reconnecting as a family, tension

Guest post by Bill Donahue – Why Leaders Don’t Share Leadership

December 14, 2010 By Scott Cochrane 4 Comments

Leaders face an ongoing tension between hanging on tightly to the reigns of their leadership, versus allowing others an opportunity to step up…and quite possibly fail. My friend Bill Donahue has written an insightful piece on how leaders can manage this tension.

Take a moment to read Bill’s post, and then weigh in on how you’ve managed to navigate this leadership tension yourself.

Click here to visit Bill’s Blog

A communal or shared approach to leadership is threatening to some leaders. High-control types fear that the purity of their vision will be compromised. Others would rather delegate to others rather than develop them.

Here are some common reasons why leaders fail to share the leadership load.

Loss of control: “Who knows what will happen if I let him/her lead?” There is always risk in leader development. Others will likely disappoint you. When that happens, remember the early days of your own leadership journey.

Feelings of inferiority: “What if my protégé is a better leader than I?” This is actually called “success” in leadership development. If this is true, light that candle don’t pour water on it. Feeling threatened is not the mark of a quality leader.

Self-centeredness: “I need the attention and I like people depending on me.” Ok, so we are all narcissists at some level. Let others shine. The day will come that you will be so glad they are getting the attention. And you can focus on your next vision.

Feelings of Inadequacy: “Why would anyone want to learn leadership from me?” Some leaders wonder it they have anything to teach others. Here’s the reality– if you have been leading, you can be teaching. Everything you have done is really part of a learning laboratory for leadership. Got to school on it and pass it on.

Fear of Failure: “What if I pick the wrong person and they screw up?” You will both learn a valuable lesson. The leader gets wiser in choosing protégés and the apprentice learns from mistakes, or has to develop character, or might discover they are not a leader (at least in this context).

Short-sightedness: “There just aren’t any other leaders around.” Some team leaders believe no one can lead like they can, and therefore there are no prospects. Remember, a prospective leader is not the most capable person in the room–they are the most teachable. Look at what people can become, not just at what they have done.

Misperceptions: “People just don’t have the desire to help!” Sometimes we think no one wants the burden of leadership. In reality, we just have not asked. We do not invite people into the drama of leadership development because we believe that secretly they hate the idea. Not true. So many people feel unworthy to lead; but if you believe in them and call out the best in them, you will be pleasantly surprised at how many respond and will work hard at it.

Ready to share the load? What stands in the way? Who is you next apprentice?

Filed Under: Development, Discipline, Leadership Tagged With: Fear of Failure, Feelings of Inadequacy, Feelings of inferiority, Leadership, Loss of control, Misperceptions, Self-centeredness, Short-sightedness, tension

Has God Called Your Team to NOT Take that Hill?

November 26, 2010 By Scott Cochrane 1 Comment