Leading Well

Shifting gears a bit tonight... I'm taking a few days out of my 'regularly scheduled' life to participate in a conference. It's the first event I've been to in almost two years--hard to believe! My old life kept me in conference mode on a frequent basis. At any rate, I spent six hours in a room with mostly strangers. We jumped from a dialogue about change to conflict resolution to gossip and more. And I'm sitting here now with my head spinning...

It's amazing how difficult it is to lead and how simple it is all at once. The things we worked through in six hours tackle the root issue of so many experiences I've had this past year in the church planting arena. I can't wait to see what's in store for tomorrow. There were two things that stood out above all else today...

One

"If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together." 
--African Proverb

It's so easy to want to go alone. We see where we're going and can strike out, unhindered, on what seems a very clear path. Trouble is, there isn't anyone there to really enjoy the journey. At some point, even if other people follow after us, we'll likely want to keep moving and they might not be able or ready to do so... What then? Do we keep splitting? Do we keep leaving people behind because we want to get where we're going fast?

Two

Gossip: When someone says something negative about someone who is not part of the problem or part of the solution.

Gut buster! I mean, seriously... When I consider these months and months in my new world, how many conversations have I been a part of or even instigated (gasp!) where GOSSIP was the main course on the menu?! What if we all made a personal rule not to do it? Not to hear it?

When someone comes to us, what if we did what I learned tonight...
Ask:
Are you coming to me to gossip?
Are you coming to me for counsel?

If it's the latter, he told us how he literally gives the person a deadline by which they need to go talk to the person in question OR he tells them that if they don't do so within that time frame, he'll reach out to that person to help in the reconciliation process. What in the world? So simple. SO hard. So, so good.

Imagine the change though... Actually dealing with our issues. Being honest and vulnerable. Inviting others to do the same. Beautiful.

More soon. We're starting at 8 AM sharp so this girl has to get some beauty sleep...