replacing me

first of all, if you haven't read Andy Stanley's book 7 Practices of Effective Ministry, you need to! this is great stuff - principles that are essential to developing and leading ANY successful organization.

last night i read the section called Replace Yourself, and though i have heard this concept many times before (i.e. "work yourself out of a job," "grow yourself out of your position" and other common phrases), the principle struck quite a different chord this time.

before even reading the section several convictions came over me: "who am i to even consider myself necessary to replace?" and "what does 'replacing me' really look like?"

well, I am still working on the answer to the first questions, but I think i have to see myself as one chosen to be a part of the work i am involved in but in no way indispensable. i must realize that there are others that could do what i do better and likely produce more growth for our organization than i ever will. it is part of my calling to find and recruit those with great potential and pour into them everything i know, giving them the freedom to own a piece of the vision.

ultimately, i must trust others to lead, allowing them opportunities to fail. i must even allow others to do what i do, even if at first it is not as well or in a designated way. this is two-way, in that they must earn my trust, but i must extend it and allow failure as they experiment with their own style, coaching and encouraging them along the way.

too often, this is not how churches of the past or present have been led, but it is how successful organizations in the future will need to be led. smart, gifted, passionate people will no longer tolerate a lack of mentoring, job coaching and development - they will move on to a different place where they will be further equipped and released into leadership. if we want to keep our young talent, we are going to each have to take responsibility for developing and encouraging them.

p. 161 of 7 Principles outlines 6 types of leaders and their respective strengths and weaknesses: entrepreneurial, nurturing, charismatic, innovative, managing, and high-performance... maybe another one needs to be added - the developing leader. if you have the book, take a moment to access which type best describes you and realize the strengths and weaknesses of that, then realize that we may need to develop a leader with a totally different style than us to replace us. what may be causing you to build leadership walls in your own area of ministry?

in addition to our focus being on us maximizing our potential as leaders, we must also spend time thinking about "what will make others greater as leaders?" i don't think i spend enough time concentrating on this and therefore am not investing enough in the development of others.

where are you in this process of replacing yourself? what are you actively doing about it? what are some of your greatest challenges in releasing leadership?

whether you are a student, in your first years of ministry, a seasoned pastor, or the one in charge, we all can be more effective in creating a legacy of excellent leaders in our ministries. let us remain vigilant in remembering that we are building His Kingdom and not ours, His Church not ours, His Ministry not ours. we may not be the best leader for this ministry tomorrow even if we were one of the most successful in years past, just as there is probably a place of greater effectiveness waiting for us to grow into.

keep the Kingdom growing...