Learning to Lead from Jesus

This season of my life has been pretty stretching to say the least. New baby, new responsibilities at church, new living situation, new everything. I actually love new things. But on the flip side, I get really bored with...semi-new things. And in the language of being productive, that means that nothing really ever gets done well. I mean I can do things pretty good. But nothing gets the attention it needs from start to finish.

I'm kind of seeing this trend in my relationships as well. I LOVE meeting new people. I love talking to people about future working relationships. And the more people I meet, the more I'm like, "Dude, let's work!" But then comes the hard reality. Relationships take time. And relationship building is not for the A.D.D. at heart. And let me tell you...sometimes I've got A.D.D. in HD! So what happens when I reach out to someone initially, offer to collaborate with them somehow, and then don't take the time to nurture the relationship? People get burned. And if that person actually respects me and what I do, they get offended. And it's my fault. I'm super guilty of this.

So, as always, I have to look to the example of the Lord. I find that God had the same goal that I feel that I have at times. His goal was to be intimately acquainted with billions of people!! The thing with God is...He actually did it. And his strategy was simple. Invest everything into some instead of investing some into everything. Simple. So I have to ask myself, "Who have I been divinely assigned to pour into during this earth experience?" My life will doubtlessly touch others as Jesus' life did. But Jesus didn't pour into everyone. He poured His life into a few and was confident that the movement would continue because He was in them.

As a leader, it's scary to let go of the controls. When I narrow things down to a point, I feel like I'm being limited to some degree. But the TRUTH is that if I don't become intentional about relationships, then my life will be comprised of random, ineffective...stuff! I don't want that to be me.

I'm learning that most leaders don't intentionally hurt people. It's the accidents caused by reckless, random, passionate "driving" that sends the people we love to the emotional ICU. We've got to be intentional. Stem off the temporary rush of business. Don't believe the lie that says, "More is better." Believe in delayed gratification. This will take us farther and help us to multiply ourselves long after we're gone.

Thanks for reading,

Jarrell