Follow My Lead...

It's Friday afternoon and I'm sitting in the office feeling very much like Josephine March in my wool hat and scarf; freezing as I'm working. All I need now is a candle and a very dramatic story to be writing. Unfortunately all I have are the tales of my daily life which are not as dramatic but at least they're entertaining to some degree.

We had a Christmas party for the first schools club we help Mike with on Thursdays yesterday. There was a pretty highly charged atmosphere as all the kids were like "Christmas and sugar!!!" Always a very good combination for a nice quiet afternoon...HA! We played pin the tail on the donkey and one little girl decided it would be a good idea to pin the tail to me during her go much to the extreme humor of all the other kids. It was actually a pretty cute moment and I had to laugh myself even though I had to question whether she thought I was a donkey....hmmmm.

There have been a few things that I've been meaning to blog about lately but haven't had the time to do so; some thoughts that have been on my mind the past month.

We had a church meeting the end of November and the elders brought forward the suggestion of possibly combining our church with the Baptist church. It was an interesting meeting and I went home chewing a lot over the thought of leadership.

I think the conclusion that I came to and have come to time and time again is that leadership is not an easy position. The year that I spent leading TC was more than enough proof for me. It was one of the most challenging experiences of my life and I don't think that I would wish for another role like that unless I knew specifically it was what God was calling me to do it. There were some days when I would constantly be muttering under my breath either "I'm gonna shoot someone!" or "I'm gonna shoot myself!" People in leadership are constantly facing the disapproval of the people they're leading and every decision they make is scrutinized and even criticized. I can remember being so distraught sometimes because no matter what I did there was always someone who was unhappy and it used to tear me apart. As someone who has a personality that generally likes to please people and can't stand it when someone's upset at me I was going mental some days. But that said, I think that it has given me a real appreciation and understanding of the people I know who are in positions of leadership and what they're going through. It has also helped me realise how important that it is for me to support, encourage and pray for them because it's not an easy task by any means. I think it is especially important to pray because I want my leaders to be hearing from God and following him even if it means doing things that the people don't approve of and that can be so difficult sometimes. I mean look at the prophets in the old testament. Listening to God meant having to run for their lives from angry mobs sometimes! I know that there are things I don't necessarily approve of at times and the way situations are handled but in the end the bible says people are in positions of authority because God has put them there.

Another thing I learned through leading TC is that leaders are not perfect. I know this because hey, I know me, and I am not a perfect human being despite what some people might think! I made so many mistakes and there are so many ways I could have done things more efficiently and effectively. I am so thankful for the grace of God but I knew sometimes I was wishing for more grace from the people I was leading. Not to harp on them at all or say they were horrible. On the contrary it was really great to see how they grew that year in their faith and to see what they're doing now.

We need to extend grace towards people in leadership and understand they are in fact human as much as we are.

Hebrews 13:17 Obey your leaders and submit to their authority. They keep watch over you as men who must give an account. Obey them so that their work will be a joy, not a burden, for that would be of no advantage to you.

1 Peter 2:16,17 Live as free men, but do not use your freedom as a cover-up for evil; live as servants of God. Show proper respect to everyone: Love the brotherhood of believers, fear God, honor the king.

Anyway, as I have gone on longer than I intended and have to head out for our Friday evening youth club I'll have to blog about the other things another time.

Jennaquebolt*