Dangling

The Lord will not allow your foot to slip; He who keeps you will not slumber… The Lord is your keeper; The Lord is your shade on your right hand. The sun will not smite you by day, nor the moon by night. The Lord will protect you from all evil; He will keep your soul. The Lord will guard your going out and your coming in from this time forth and forever. Psalm 121

The picture that's been in my mind recently is of the Lord being the strength behind my efforts to serve Him. Like the photo above, I've seen myself as a person sent and secured by God to help rescue people. But I'm not alone in my efforts; my contribution is a small fraction of the big picture.

I easily get stressed and overwhelmed when I imagine that it's all on me. But the Lord is reminding me to relax into the "harness" that's securing me; that He's holding onto me so that I can hold onto others. Every now and then fear tells me that God might lose His grasp on me and that both I and those whom I'm serving will be swept away. But again the Lord reminds me not to fear, and that He's holding me securely. When I am reassured of God's strength and promise, then dangling out there to rescue others becomes the greatest adventure and privilege imaginable.

Being Critical of Leaders

I try to make a habit of reading Daniel's travel journals. It's refreshing and encouraging to me just "hear" his voice and perspective. His most recent post includes a lament about the criticism many pastors endure. He's not talking about people who lovingly and carefully bring constructive thoughts and observations, but about people who sit back in judgment (as if it were "American Idol" where the goal is to get rid of the non-superstars).

Over the last several years, I have come to peace with what I have had to face in this role. I don't point you to Daniel's lament for my sake, but rather for the sake of the pastors we will raise up and send out. As one young man (who I hope will pastor someday) put it, "I am just scared to step out and really lead because I think people will reject what I have to offer."

Obviously, this is a fear that this aspiring leader will have to overcome if he's going to lead. His broken perspective is NOT everyone else's fault. BUT if we want to raise up more leaders we collectively need to work at creating a culture where:

• Love and acceptance are the foundation (rather than being rewards for good performance).
• It's OK to make mistakes (mistakes are evidence that we're on the right track in promoting people who are in a learning-process).
• Everything is an experiment (success is measured by our ability to help people get past their fear to try something new, not by their ability to produce an amazing program or event).
  

Sending out leaders will be part of our future once again... not just a dusty relic from our past. But we must start by asking God to change us individually -- asking the Lord to transform us into the kind of people that can nurture others' growth rather than critique their performance.