by Duane Stine
Asher is 10 years old. He is the son of friends of ours and Sue has been “baby-sitting” him since he was two months old. Due to the crazy work schedules of his parents, you can find him at our home at various times of the day, evening, or even overnight.
Asher likes “helping” me with projects around the house and we have a lot of fun doing them together. A few weeks ago, my latest project required digging a large hole along the house wall to place a window in my basement. I have a small backhoe attachment on my tractor and I figured that would be easier and more fun than digging with a shovel. When I first got the backhoe, Asher wanted to run it, so I got him on it for a few minutes in the middle of an open area and left him “play” with it.
When it was time to dig the hole along the house wall, he was convinced that he was the “man for the job.” Though apprehensive, I did not want to disappoint him, so I set up the machine, put him on the operator’s seat, and stood beside him with my hands on the controls. We slowly started the digging process, and to my amazement, he caught on very quickly. Within about ten minutes, I backed away – out of reach of the controls. By the time ten more minutes had passed, I left him completely alone to dig while I went to the other side of the house to get supplies. That evening, he dug a perfect hole about four feet deep and never hit the house in the process! Needless to say, he was extremely happy and satisfied with the work he had accomplished and so was I.
As I reflect on the experience, I cannot help but draw some parallels to leadership in ministry. Here are a few for your consideration:
Leadership’s primary motivator is love. For the leadership development area of leadership, we like to say, “Loving Shepherds Lead”. It should be our desire as we follow Christ’s example to lead out of a heart overflowing with love for those under our care and for the task at hand.
For my home project, the entire process was driven by love. I love Asher and long to see him learn and grow. He loves me and desires to help where he can. And who doesn’t love the opportunity to dig holes with a backhoe!
A good leader will always be observing people and looking for opportunities to help them step up in their ministry leadership. Get to know your people. Build a history. Look for opportunities. Don’t wait for them to be “completely ready” before trusting them with responsibility.
Asher has been showing great signs of responsibility and has demonstrated good listening skills in the past. We have a history of working together and it seemed like the right time to give him a chance.
Releasing control can cause angst in our soul. It is normal, but it is necessary to push through this for the sake of developing others.
Asher and I were both a little nervous. My thought was “I hope he doesn’t hit the house.” At the same time, Asher was thinking “I hope I don’t hit the house!”
It is wise to be prepared for the times when it does not go according to plan. Giving grace, keeping perspective, and planning your response can be the difference between a setback being viewed as a steppingstone or as a permanent roadblock in development.
I needed to process how I would handle myself if things did not go well. Before the bucket ever touched the soil, I thought through what could go wrong and how I would need to react. I would not have wanted this to become a devastating experience for Asher.
Getting others involved and up to speed will take longer than just doing it ourselves. But the reward in the future is well worth it. People are developed. They may actually do it better than we did because they look at it from a fresh perspective, can focus more energy towards it, and it may align with their gifting more so than our own.
I could have dug the hole faster myself. Asher was slower, but once he got the hang of it, I could do something else while he kept digging. And who knows, on the next project, he may be able to do even more.
Joy is multiplied as people are developed. They experience the joy of working in their gifting and experience God working through them. Our joy increases as we watch them grow. The ministry expands, and more people are reached with the Joy of the Lord!
The joy on Asher’s face was a sight to behold. The joy I experienced was just as great!
As you consider these in your own life, I hope that it leads you to consider how important it is that loving shepherds lead.
The Leadership development area is one of the district’s six areas of focus in its mission to “develop kingdom workers for increasing Gospel impact.” We will continue to unpack this vision at District Conference in September and invite you to prepare to engage in the various aspects of conference as we explore our theme “The Gospel for All of Life.” For more about district conference, please visit www.epdalliance.org/dc20.