One of the most challenging tasks for any of us as leaders is to do what we say leaders ought to do, or in other words to practice what we preach. As we read anyone’s book or post on leadership it’s easy to think, “Wow! It sounds like he (or she) has it all together!” Sometimes reading a leadership book or attending a leadership seminar can be discouraging for that very reason. We get a lot of great information, and it seems like the person offering it is already doing it, and it’s one more thing to add to our to do lists that we aren’t yet doing.
I write that to say I have already written several posts about margin and rest, about the need to step away from our work to be renewed and refreshed. It’s easy to write about such matters, but for me it’s the hardest area of leadership to practice. Over this past weekend, I had the opportunity for a time of rest and renewal with my brothers, Tom and Kenn. We were all going to the Pirate game on Sunday. I knew I was going to do it. It had been on my calendar since January. The challenge was how much work would I mix in with the rest? How soon could I leave for the game, which didn’t start until 1:35 pm, when we had three morning worship services at 8:30, 10:00 and 11:30 am? Mark, our discipleship pastor was preaching, so I wasn’t needed at worship for that. Since it was the first weekend of the month, we celebrated the Lord’s Supper, and I typically lead that when I’m not preaching and am at worship. But I didn’t need to do that. I spoke with Mark earlier in the week and told him the situation. He said he would be glad to lead the whole service, so I didn’t need to be there.
We have worship on Saturday evening and three worship services on Sunday, so the truth was I could attend the Saturday evening service just because I wanted to worship with the New Life family, and then take Sunday off to be with my brothers. There was no good reason I had to be at worship at all on Sunday. Yet, I struggled with taking the morning off to be with Tom and Kenn. Why was it such a big deal for me? Trust and control? Did I not trust the team could handle things in my absence? Of course, not! After all, I go away several times a year and I’m not even in town on those weekends. Everything goes great in those times. Guilt? People might wonder why the lead pastor wasn’t at worship if he weren’t away? Possibly. But the church isn’t about Chris Marshall, it’s about Jesus Christ. With our full and part-time staff growing to nearly twenty people, I’m just one piece in the overall leadership at New Life. Part of my work as lead pastor is to show the rest of the leadership team that while we need each other, we must all take time to rest and renew. The best way for me to do that this past weekend was to be with my brothers.
It took me until after worship on Saturday night to tell Mark and Brad, our worship pastor, that I wouldn’t be there on Sunday. Mark smiled broadly, shook my hand and said, “That’s a really good decision.” Brad said, “Great. We have this.”
Maybe you’ve never struggled with practicing what you preach in the area of taking time away, but I’m guessing you struggle with it in some area of your life. How do you let go of whatever it is, or hold on as the case may be? It really does come down to trust versus control. Do you trust your other leaders? Do you believe the business can operate for a day without your input in a certain area? Do you know you need training in a certain area, but worry that you’ll look like you aren’t a great leader if you admit holes in your leadership? Do you think you can’t take any time away from leading, because too much will fall through the cracks? These are legitimate questions. Over time, as you develop other leaders who lead the other leaders and workers or volunteers in your organization, the time comes to let go and let them do what they’re equipped to do.
After all, we’re all temporary in our positions, right? If you don’t believe me, ask yourself, “Who will be doing what I’m doing fifty years from now? It will likely be far less than fifty years from now, but I wanted to make sure we covered anyone who’s really young and thinks you will be around forever. the best leaders recognize we need to equip other leaders around us and then empower them to lead by taking our hands off the controls and giving them the opportunity. That’s a big part of practicing what we preach when it comes to leading, because every good leader says, “I’m equipping the team to take over when I’m not here.” Believing it by stepping away from time to time and letting them do it is one test of practicing what we preach. (I went to breakfast with my brothers and to the game. We had a great time, and church went well. One step forward in practicing what I preach!)
Here’s to leading better, by taking one, tangible step in practicing what we preach, by giving someone else the opportunity to lead–today!