the "buzz"

There has been much “buzz” in the church leadership world about betrayal. I’ve heard folks called pirates, parasites, and other such names. I have read blog after blog about the plight of church pirates, bad staff, and mean church folks. We are acting like being betrayed is something new. Let me just give you some base line stuff about leading people.
• They are not perfect
• Most people think they know more than they do, including me!
• They will let you down, they don’t mean to but they will
• Some people are just plain old mean
• Satan always has 8 to 10 people in every church he can use to give you grief. When one of them dies or moves he replaces them
• God is the God of folks who hurt you
• God filters everything, so you can trust Him
• You don’t know nor will you know someone’s motives including your own
• The ones closest to you can and will hurt you the deepest
• Loyalty breeds loyalty
• There are three sides to every story one of which is the truth
• Leading people is hard
• Lead yourself the most
I have been leading people for 27 years and I have had my heart broken more than I can count or remember. I have also experienced the joy of seeing God build lives. The thrill of seeing God work is worth the hurt.
One last thing, some of my greatest leadership lessons have come through the pain of betrayal. There have been times and I am sure there will be more times when the pain has made me want to give up but I am called by God to build people. His call compels me. So “Be kind tenderhearted to each other forgiving each other just as God through Christ has forgiven you”.