Scott Harris

The future of the church belongs to leaders and artists working in tandem to liberate the laity into an explosive movement. Whatever else we do, our visions better include letting people be the saints they already are. They are the Church. We (the so-called clergy) are simply called to equip and release (Eph 4). Anything less is not the Church! Like a gun shooting blanks. Big sound, little impact.

The churches of the future will be equipping centers. We will create the systems that the people will lead within. We will provide the canvas that the artists will paint upon.

Releasing leaders and artists for the advancement of the Church. To that end I’m giving my life.

Leadership is influence. Everything else is management.

You can get people to go someplace but only if there’s something in it for them.

Unless.

Unless they trust you. And trust is the foundation for leading. They must trust that your vision is indeed the preferable future that they should pursue. They must trust that you’ve bought what your selling. Otherwise getting them to move is simply a matter incentive.

As a leader, I take peoples trust very seriously. Without it all I have is people who put in the minimum because that’s what “the management” requires.

We live in a culture that offers no sympathy for being tired unless you’ve built something of “significance” with your efforts.

Read that again.

In other words: you have no right to be tired for your hard work unless you’re “successful”. Whatever “successful” is.

My heart hurts for all those church planters and pastors of smaller churches who are working their butts off and can’t seem to get any validation for their weariness because, well, there doesn’t seem to be any reason they should be exhausted. I was that guy. Church planting and busting myself day-in and day-out.

And if you’re that guy/gal too. I’m praying for you!

I’m not going to waste your time, giving you advise about narrowing you focus, delegating and all the other things you’re supposed to do because you’re already doing all that to the best of your ability.

I just want you to know that even though I don’t know you personally…

I’m praying for you!

A month or so ago I hired a great guy to join our team. I’ve known him for a couple years now so I’m not sure I really needed to call his references but I wanted to do this thing right! After all, the mantra is hire slow, fire fast.

Anywho, I decided that there’s no way in Fife that he’d give me references that would tell me all the scoop on him (surprise, surprise, surprise) so I decided to frame an entirely different set of questions.

Questions like:

• You know Bob (not his real name) better than I do. What would you say he would be expecting from a boss?
• What kind of work environment would you say Bob would make the greatest contribution in?
• As his potential future boss, can you give me two or three insights into how I can best lead Bob to produce his best work?

The motivation was pretty simple: I’d hear more accurately about who “Bob” is and I just might learn how to be a better leader so that we both win.

The other day in our creative meeting one of my ideas for our fall series was challenged. Now, this wasn’t some video idea or another creative element…it was something that is very personal to me and that I desire to see more people engaged in for their own spiritual growth. It was something that I believe if people would try it just might radically enhance their own relationship with Jesus.

Back to the meeting… It was tense, I felt defensive and someone said, “I would never do that.”

I had a choice at that moment as the leader in the room (not the leader of the meeting); shut down debate because I was uncomfortable or rise to the challenge and defend my idea (not as the senior leader but as a member of the team). I chose to engage in the discussion.

Here’s what I believe about teams. If you shut honest discussion down because you’re threatened or you feel like it’s not going your way then you lose in the long run. You lose because the best idea’s leave the team when team member after team member leaves to create somewhere else.

Leader, if you think you’ve got good idea’s, defend them on their merit alone and not your authority. Over time the best idea’s will rise to the top and your team/congregation/company will be the recipients of this process.