Austin

I just returned from leading a church planting conference in Austin. I had a great time teaching church planting to this eager group of folks. As I typically do I began "pulling on the roots" of all that transpired during those few days. I came to several conclusions.
First, everything rises and falls on leadership and that we are all called to be leaders. I realize that we all have various levels of leadership competencies but none the less we are to lead well if only leading our selves. In conservations I could almost spot who would be effective and who would not based on the passion and vision that comes with the leadership gift.
Second, if God doesn't move it doesn't matter. No matter how gifted or equipped I am if God is not in what I am leading it will go nowhere. I am not talking about some kind of "wishy washyness" of God that says "I will bless one and not another" but I am talking about a holy dependence on God that leads to a life of faith. Pastors are called to be Holy Men first and foremost! Leading must come from that dependence. The truth is that we will not know the true impact of what we are leading until eternity.
Third, God is "mending me" so that He might use me and I will not experience the fullness of His "mending" until He is using me. I am broken, flawed man but the God of the ages has called me to do His bidding. I need mending. He does and as He does I find His spiritual healing. This life of leadership is all about God and not about me. God does something in me in order to do something through me for His glory.
This brings me to the point of this rambling. God wants me to be connected to Him as I am connect to those I lead. I can't not lead from a distance, it is all about relationships, relationship with God and with those I am called to lead. I have just made a major transition for leading a large congregation to leading a small congregation. In the large I could hide in the small I can't. I hope I can learn the leadership lesson of leading in the open from the small to the large. I quote Paul in Philippians "follow me as I follow Christ". If you don't know me then how do you know that I am following? Maybe if pastors and leaders would learn to lead through relationships and lead in the open then God might move.