Leaders & Pastors
Some choose their calling. Some are chosen for their calling. They are “called to ministry”.
The use of big words is not a sign of intelligence or leadership or a life of faith. They are often the mark of the insecure and imposters.
Lately I have become more and more jaded about the where and the why of leaders, especially leaders of the churches both at the local level and on the national level.
As a youth I started my quest of what makes a great leader as a Senior Patrol Leader in Boy Scouts. Having a father that helped plant new Troops, it became my job to be the SPL for a term of 3 to 6 months or until the Troop was on its feet. I think I grew to be a pretty good leader.
During that time, I moved from the person who had the answers and the clout to back them up to a burned-out young leader who was in the desperate need of a mentor.
Finding mentors in my Grandfather and later my wife’s Grandfather, I realized that I had been given the gift of speech. Both of these men sat me down and told me that with the gift came a responsibility to lead. Still not really knowing what that meant, I struggled through many years in search of not only the meaning, but what it meant to be “called to lead”.
It meant not just having the title or position. It meant becoming a servant to all those around me, those I was serving. When I bought my first copy of Servant Leadership by Robert K. Greenleaf it in itself became an eye-opening experience. I studied Stephen R. Covey, Ernest Thompson Seton, and John C. Maxwell.
What each had to reveal was that having a calling as a leader will not be smooth sailing. There will always be opposition and days spent in confusion and self-doubt.
So, what is the difference between a choice and a calling? A choice is normally driven by an easy way out. It is a place where the leader is eventually found out to be in it for their own gain and not as a servant to those they lead.
Those who are chosen, walk their talk. They never have the need to use big words and belittle the people they lead in the way they speak and act. It is never their way or the highway with them. They are blessed to serve, not be served.
D.W.(Dick) Powell
727-422-1833
Recent Comments