Most people are enamored with the thought of being a “leader.” It’s ego-boosting. Leaders usually get paid more. Maybe a bigger office [or an office at all]. And – best of all – they get to tell people what to do!
The truth is not as glamorous as that. With leadership comes responsibility – you are held accountable not only for what you do, but for what your team does. You must simultaneously be the organizer, the motivator, the corrector, the encourager, and the example. And – ultimately – you can’t make anyone do anything. You may be able to use positional authority and fear for a while, but eventually people will either tire of your ego or crack under the relentless pressure and quit, whether they are volunteers or staff.
The best way to lead is to help people “get there” themselves. They will often need some significant handholding and guidance early on, but then will then only grow if they are put into situations where they have to think for themselves – situations in which they may temporarily fail. Most of all, they need to know the “why,” not just the “what.” They need to understand the reason that something is the way it is to be able to understand how to best support it.
“Because I said so” doesn’t work – you’re not their mom…
“When you become a leader you lose the right to think about yourself.” – Gerald Brooks
Hmmm - well, let's see...
I'm a Christian, a husband, a dad, a son, a pastor, a consultant, a musician, a writer, and bits and pieces of a bunch of other things. My work life has followed three main phases - business to teaching to church. I was the Weekend Services Pastor for nine years at Northview Church, an awesome church in the Indianapolis suburbs. I used to work for Willow Creek, another awesome church in the Chicago area. Plus I've written for various magazines and websites, and other freelancy sorts of things... My life mission is to help the church be as excellent as it can be.
Oh yeah - the name's Greg. Greg Wallace. But not the race car driver or the major league pitcher or the British celebrity chef. Just the creative worship guy. Hi.
It's my hope that these ideas, musings, rants, raves, etc... will inspire you. They're just my opinions - but again, I hope that they'll help to inspire you. Because the church really, really needs inspired creative types. If you're a creative type (and most people are, deep-down), ask God for help. Then take any ideas that are useful to you - borrow them, nab them, use them, adapt them - and make them into something greater...
You can head over to my Instagram site for an abundance of shorter posts: creativeworshipideas. If you're looking for consulting - especially on weekend services, team leadership or multi-site strategies - I'd love to help. Just message me here, and I'll be in touch - Greg
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