I think you could sub-title this chapter "Practice What You Preach." Hybels points out that those leaders who don't take their congregation from vision to completion will "eventually lose credibility." (51) On page 57 Hybels brings up the book Built to Last by Jim Collins. In that book Collins talks about Big Hairy Audacious Goals, or BHAGs. You might remember that I traded that name for what I call God Inspired Grand Ambitions or GIGAs.
But who sets the GIGAs and who follows through with their completion? Enter "Champions". Once the vision is set, traditionally by the defacto leader, these are the people who are leaders willing to grasp a vision and to see it through.
I like the part where he realizes that there was still something missing. It was where they recognized that everyone was pulling, just not all in the same direction. Alignment needed to happen. Everyone had to be on the same page and about the same ministry vision and goals. How do we bring about unity of goals as church leaders?
1 comment:
A lot of good stuff in this chapter.
I think my favorite part of this chapter was the section on what it means to be a diligent leader, especially this quote, "I want to challenge all of us leaders to put ourselves on intense grwoth tracks, to read and reflect, to travel and seek training, to look for mentors, and to begin a nonstop search for the best leadership models we can find. I am asking leaders to be humble enough to learn." Good, good stuff.
I also enjoyed the challenging questions at the end of this section, because they are valid. "Did God have goals and strategic plannin in mind as useful tools to serve the church's mission? Or are we just superimposing worldly business practices into the spiritual world where they don't belong? With our emphasis on leadership are we at risk of strategically planning the supernatural power of the Holy Spirit right out of church?" How we at Good Shepherd answer those questions will affect how we are able to build consensus on our goals in ministry.
Good, good chapter!
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