I have been reading Darrin's new book, Church Planter, and have really been enjoying it... like a well-timed kick in the butt. But that is pretty much how Darrin rolls. He says the hard word in a way that makes it less daunting and challenging in a good way... like a good coach.
So - anyway - reading this morning and was hit with this quote from Allender (from Leading with a Limp). It was what I needed to hear.
"Leaders choose daily, but the real weight on their shoulders lies in the need to decide. And there are no easy decisions. To decide requires a death, a dying to a thousand options, the putting aside of a legion of possibilities in order to choose just one. De-cide. Homo-cide. Sui-cide. The root word for decide means "to cut off." All decisions cut us off; separate us from early infinite options as we select just one single path. And every decision we make earns us the favor of some and the disfavor of others."
The first time I read this (when I read Allender's book a couple years ago), I didn't find this very encouraging - but today I did. This is simply the nature of leadership - and our responsibility is to be humble, seek counsel, and pursue wisdom... and then be decisive. This is what followers want and need their leaders to do - even if they criticize them for doing it.
Thankfully, the gospel speaks to this tension - while it is on me to lead well, in the end the results don't really sit on my shoulders - they sit on God's. And his shoulders are big enough to carry that weight - and me too.
So - anyway - reading this morning and was hit with this quote from Allender (from Leading with a Limp). It was what I needed to hear.
"Leaders choose daily, but the real weight on their shoulders lies in the need to decide. And there are no easy decisions. To decide requires a death, a dying to a thousand options, the putting aside of a legion of possibilities in order to choose just one. De-cide. Homo-cide. Sui-cide. The root word for decide means "to cut off." All decisions cut us off; separate us from early infinite options as we select just one single path. And every decision we make earns us the favor of some and the disfavor of others."
The first time I read this (when I read Allender's book a couple years ago), I didn't find this very encouraging - but today I did. This is simply the nature of leadership - and our responsibility is to be humble, seek counsel, and pursue wisdom... and then be decisive. This is what followers want and need their leaders to do - even if they criticize them for doing it.
Thankfully, the gospel speaks to this tension - while it is on me to lead well, in the end the results don't really sit on my shoulders - they sit on God's. And his shoulders are big enough to carry that weight - and me too.
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