Ever wish you weren’t a leader?
Good leaders take people to places where they don’t always want to go. If people want to go there on their own, either they don’t need a leader or you’re not leading them–you just happen to be on the front of them.
Since leaders are broken people leading other broken people, there are going to be natural landmines, pitfalls, and barriers along the way. Leaders face incredibly difficult decisions: they may need to confront a student, cancel a program, resolve a difficult conversation with a parent, apologize for a mistake, or have a tough talk with the senior pastor or supervisor.
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In this three week sermon series, Doug tackles some of the more difficult
roadblocks that can hinder us from serving God freely.
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If you are a leader, it should be easy to identify your next tough decision.
It’s that icy cold grip of fear that holds your heart in a death clutch making you wish you weren’t a leader and longing for a set of adult diapers.
We promise you that we can relate (especially to the diaper part–Matt has has 5 small children, and Doug has been pricing adult diapers.) Here are some ideas that have helped us as we wrestled with tough decisions:
1. Determine your resolve. In the beginning, you need to commit to seeing the conflict through to the end. If you’re heart isn’t in it, you’ll waffle at the wrong moment or do the right thing for the wrong reason (like confronting out of resentment). Push through all the way!
2. Establish your conviction to follow God’s way. Ministry is personal! This makes the highs higher and the lows cut deeper. Tough decisions are a crucible for character and it takes integrity to lead out of your faith in Jesus. Commit the entire process to prayer so that you can follow God’s way rather than your own.
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In this three week sermon series, Doug tackles some of the more difficult
roadblocks that can hinder us from serving God freely.
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3. Investigate the truth to determine your options. Many leaders lack patience and can be quite impulsive and need to learn that making a tough decision too quickly can make things worse. Learn to gain perspective so you can find objectivity. Asking WHAT IF several times can help you arrive at some good options. Consider all the angles (not just your own) and the implications.