Empowering Leadership
In today's Church culture there are many pitfalls to leadership. Many leaders are goal-oriented and long to see their vision come to pass. Often, many leaders have only seen a vision accomplished through manipulation and coercion. Some believe that authority equals control. None of these leadership types ultimately fulfill the desired outcomes of any ministry objective. They might produce a short-term gain with some sizable results, but the long-term gains of relationships and discipleship are sacrificed.
To empower leaders, there are three key elements that must be implemented and accounted for from the Senior Leader and all other leaders in the organization.
- Excellent character. We define character as having boldness in integrity, compassion, and humility. Another way to say it is that we must have the ability to see ourselves clearly, live honestly, and have the heart of the father.
- Have a clear vision. A good leader knows where they're going and has spent enough time with the Father to align their heart with His in discerning the direction of an entire organization. Most leaders have a strong vision for the future, but how that vision is achieved must come through cooperative development with other leaders who are coming along with them. One of the keys to achieving a healthy vision is learning how to communicate it. Communicating the vision must happen often and come as a conversation, instead of as a hammer.
- Develop boundaries for safety. Good leaders can know where the safety lines are. A young leader will draw safety lines too tightly because of a lack of trust or understanding. As a leader matures, they recognize the boundaries that are critical to the success of the vision and create a safe environment for everybody involved. i.e., membership before public responsibility, and background checks.
Hopefully at Harvest Valley we have shown that with the boundaries we've placed, the vision we've cast, and the character we model and strive to grow in, that we do all we can to empower people to lead.
Empowering cultures are ones that prize honesty and teachability above results. At Harvest we trade empowerment for teachability and humility. If you are willing to be taught and willing to see yourself clearly, you can lead with a lot of freedom with the full support of the leadership.
It's time to grow into our next season. Many of you are called to lead and have been waiting for the right time.
It's time.
Let's go!
Chris
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