The Empowerment of Leadership

Are you a natural leader? Have you ever been asked to lead? Have you ever asked someone else to lead? Do you run when you hear the very mention of being the leader of something? This post might be for you.

Recently, I was graciously asked to be the leader of the Producing Team at CCC Montgomery. I was humbled to accept the position, knowing that it would be a challenge for me. I have only "officially" been the leader for a few days now, but I can tell you there's something special about it. Now let me make this disclaimer early and strongly: I do not view myself as anything better than you. I am merely a man who said yes to a call. Anyone is capable of it and I encourage you to do the same someday.

Now that that's said, let me continue. In my experience of leadership, the same feeling has always come to me when there. There is truly a phenomenal empowerment in being a leader of something. This something could be anything from a class group to leader of a country. The true challenge for a leader is how he handles this empowerment. I personally try to keep this in check constantly. If I am in a leadership position, that means that others are expecting me to lead. How can I lead when my ego leads only to destruction and failure? Herein lies what I feel is the greatest challenge of being a leader--keeping it in check. This isn't anything new. You've all heard things that reflect the same idea. A leader can easily fall into the trap of thinking it is all about himself/herself. With leadership, though, it is the exact opposite. LEADERSHIP IS ALL ABOUT THOSE WHO TRUST AND FOLLOW YOU.

For me, that empowers me in a totally different way. Once my ego is aside, I can truly be empowered to put other people's hopes and dreams first. I can be empowered to invest in someone and see the fruitful results of this. Empowerment is what encourages me to keep going. It is not a selfish empowerment that keeps me striving as a leader; rather, it is the exact opposite. If people on my team are happy and accomplishing things together, then we are all empowered, but the leader can be even more. There's satisfaction in this empowerment that many don't find.

When Christ said, "the first shall be last," I think he was warning those who let the empowerment go to their head. But I think he was encouraging us in how we model our leadership as well. When you are a leader, you should be encouraged to put yourself last. There is no better position than that! We have all seen it in real life: the best leaders are those who are servants.

If you are a leader today or tomorrow, take encouragement in Christ's model for you. If you don't think this will ever be you, I think you might be wrong. No matter what your leadership is, you can and will be empowered by it. What will you do with that empowerment?

Maybe someone will read this someday...

Well, I've had a blog now for a little bit of time, and I've tried to keep it entertaining, yet informative at the same time. Now, the time is upon me when I must reflect...I think maybe two or three people might be reading this. So let me introduce you to some blogs that I love to read hoping that maybe one of them will catch this and return the mention, or just rip on me. Either way, it might be worth the publicity. Here's the list of my favorites:

www.daveferguson.org - Dave Ferguson; Lead Pastor and Co-Founder of Community Christian Church

www.multisitearts.com - Bill Carroll; Creative Arts Champion at Community Christian Church

www.cartermoss.com - Carter Moss; Campus Pastor at CCC: Montgomery

ericseddyfications.typepad.com - Eric Bramlett; Community Christian Church

charissaholland.blogspot.com - Charissa Holland; Creative Arts Director at CCC: Montgomery

soniarae.blogspot.com - Sonia Arkkelin; my wonderful and insightful wife

delpper.blogspot.com - Bethany Delp; a good friend of Sonia and I who is a great artist and fun to read


So, maybe I've sold out. Maybe I've broken some rules of blogging. But I have appealed to the greater good of those I religiously read. Maybe someone will read this someday...:)

Dave Ferguson seems to always find a way to see where people are writing about him. Dave, if you are reading this...thank you. That is all.

Tumbleweed

Today it is very windy. For those who live in this area, that might be an understatement. I was on my way to work this morning and driving along when I see something crossing the road. Sure enough, it was a HUGE tumbleweed...yes, my friends, a tumbleweed...this thing could have taken out my car... Okay, what?! I'm in northern Illinois...close to Chicago...this is an extremely populated area. There is no reason, nor any source as far as I can tell, for tumbleweed. I'm just saying it...scared the crap out of me.

Of course...as windy as it was, it could have been an entire bush...

Board Games

For anyone that doesn't know, I work at a Cafe in a subdivision called Hometown. But that's not real important here. I was working there on Saturday morning and this lady came in to get some coffee and hang out in the Cafe. After awhile, her sister came in and got some coffee too and sat down with her. Then, the first lady pulled out this box and I realized they were playing a board game. Now these ladies are probably in their mid- or late-40's. I only say that because I was really touched by this. My family has a serious addiction to board games and I've never been a huge fan, but I don't mind every now and then. But here's two ladies who are taking a Saturday afternoon to just relax and play a board game with each other. I hope that someday I can have that type of relationship with my siblings. The cool thing is I remember them being in there another weekend before playing a card game, so this seems like some sort of tradition. I can't think of a much better way to spend a beautiful afternoon with a loved one. It's the simple things...you know?