Friday, April 10, 2015
Thursday, April 9, 2015
Just don't do it - benign neglect can be your friend
For many leaders there is the temptation to jump in and do what needs to be done when it appears to them that others are not going to take care of it. It is often a mistake and it trains people to passively allow the leader to do it for them. For a leader this is a non sustainable model because there will always be things that need to be done and often what we jump in and do takes us away from the most important things we do.
Benign neglect can be a friend. If certain things are not done and people notice it raises the question, "Who should do it?" If it should be done at all which is a good question. But when a leader defaults to doing it himself or herself they lost the opportunity to engage others in things they ought to be doing, not the leader. They also train people to expect that they will always take up the slack.
Pastors often fall into the trap of doing what others have not done. This is usually caused by anxiety over what people will think if something is not accomplished. But why should it fall to the pastor to plug the dike unless it is in their job description? If it is truly important then there should be a willingness on the part of the congregation to do it. Leaving it be raises the questions: Should we be doing this? Why do we do this? And, Who should do this?
Sometimes your best action is no action.
Posted from Oakdale, MN
All of T.J. Addington's books including his latest, Deep Influence, are available from the author for the lowest prices and a $2.00 per book discount on orders of ten or more.
Benign neglect can be a friend. If certain things are not done and people notice it raises the question, "Who should do it?" If it should be done at all which is a good question. But when a leader defaults to doing it himself or herself they lost the opportunity to engage others in things they ought to be doing, not the leader. They also train people to expect that they will always take up the slack.
Pastors often fall into the trap of doing what others have not done. This is usually caused by anxiety over what people will think if something is not accomplished. But why should it fall to the pastor to plug the dike unless it is in their job description? If it is truly important then there should be a willingness on the part of the congregation to do it. Leaving it be raises the questions: Should we be doing this? Why do we do this? And, Who should do this?
Sometimes your best action is no action.
Posted from Oakdale, MN
All of T.J. Addington's books including his latest, Deep Influence, are available from the author for the lowest prices and a $2.00 per book discount on orders of ten or more.
Wednesday, April 8, 2015
Tuesday, April 7, 2015
Five ways that a proper understanding of grace impacts leadership
There are few issues more important to us personally or in our leadership than a proper understanding of grace. Our understanding or lack of it has significant implications for how we lead and how we respond and interact with others. It is one of those areas where theology and practice intersect in important ways.
First, leaders who understand and live in grace do not have a need to prove anything to God or to others. If I live in grace, I do not need to worry about being wrong nor do I need to live with defensiveness. Many leaders in the Christian arena are more about proving they can be successful than they are about serving Jesus. Grace frees us from the need to prove anything to God or others and therefore allows us to live in freedom.
Second, leaders who understand and live in grace don't need to seek perfection which is really all about proving something to others. They can rest in the fact that God is in control and while we do the best we can we can leave the results to God. We sow and water but only God can bring the harvest. Without grace, leaders feel they need to produce results. Living in grace allows us to rest in Him, do the right things and trust Him for transformational results.
Third, leaders who understand and live in grace are able to extend grace and understanding to their staff. This is not an excuse for allowing shoddy work. It is a posture of wanting the very best for others and extending the same grace that Jesus extends to us. Harsh leaders simply don't understand grace. Think of the Fruit of the Spirit and you get the picture of what grace looks like in relationships.
Fourth, leaders who understand and live in grace create cultures in their teams and organizations of grace. The culture of an organization is often a direct reflection of the leader's own spiritual and emotional health. Legalistic or harsh cultures simply reflect the ethos of its leadership. Where a leader understands and lives in grace he/she creates that culture in their organization.
Fifth, leaders who understand and live in grace create cultures where there is no fear of candid dialogue and diverse opinions because grace allows us to live with a Nothing to Prove and Nothing to Lose attitude. Without defensiveness, we can invite honest dialogue, deal with elephants and create a culture of grace and truth. Where that is not the case, I would argue that the leader (and or staff) are not living in grace.
I would guess there are many other implications of a life of grace. What I do know is that leaders who understand and live in grace create healthy cultures and those who don't won't.
Posted from Oakdale, MN
All of T.J. Addington's books including his latest, Deep Influence, are available from the author for the lowest prices and a $2.00 per book discount on orders of ten or more.
First, leaders who understand and live in grace do not have a need to prove anything to God or to others. If I live in grace, I do not need to worry about being wrong nor do I need to live with defensiveness. Many leaders in the Christian arena are more about proving they can be successful than they are about serving Jesus. Grace frees us from the need to prove anything to God or others and therefore allows us to live in freedom.
Second, leaders who understand and live in grace don't need to seek perfection which is really all about proving something to others. They can rest in the fact that God is in control and while we do the best we can we can leave the results to God. We sow and water but only God can bring the harvest. Without grace, leaders feel they need to produce results. Living in grace allows us to rest in Him, do the right things and trust Him for transformational results.
Third, leaders who understand and live in grace are able to extend grace and understanding to their staff. This is not an excuse for allowing shoddy work. It is a posture of wanting the very best for others and extending the same grace that Jesus extends to us. Harsh leaders simply don't understand grace. Think of the Fruit of the Spirit and you get the picture of what grace looks like in relationships.
Fourth, leaders who understand and live in grace create cultures in their teams and organizations of grace. The culture of an organization is often a direct reflection of the leader's own spiritual and emotional health. Legalistic or harsh cultures simply reflect the ethos of its leadership. Where a leader understands and lives in grace he/she creates that culture in their organization.
Fifth, leaders who understand and live in grace create cultures where there is no fear of candid dialogue and diverse opinions because grace allows us to live with a Nothing to Prove and Nothing to Lose attitude. Without defensiveness, we can invite honest dialogue, deal with elephants and create a culture of grace and truth. Where that is not the case, I would argue that the leader (and or staff) are not living in grace.
I would guess there are many other implications of a life of grace. What I do know is that leaders who understand and live in grace create healthy cultures and those who don't won't.
Posted from Oakdale, MN
All of T.J. Addington's books including his latest, Deep Influence, are available from the author for the lowest prices and a $2.00 per book discount on orders of ten or more.
Monday, April 6, 2015
Saturday, April 4, 2015
If there had been no Good Friday or Easter Morning
We take much for granted. As you walk through this week, consider the gift of the death and resurrection of Christ. Because if there had been no Good Friday or Easter Sunday….
You would have no church
There would be no Holy Spirit resident in our hearts
Funerals would be the final farewell
Guilt would last forever
Good News would be absent for all
Life purpose would be absent
Prayer would be futile
Reconciliation with God would be impossible
The evil one would have the final say
Evil would not be mitigated by God’s love – anywhere
There would be no New Testament
The failures of our lives could never be redeemed for a greater good
Suffering would have no meaning
Future hope would be non-existent
The One Friend we can always count on would be absent
Love motivated by Jesus would be non-existent
There would be no final justice
It would be a life without Jesus
There would be no Easter
Take time this week to reflect. Good Friday and Easter Morning are the game changers in human history - and in our own history.
Posted from Oakdale, MN
All of T.J. Addington's books including his latest, Deep Influence, are available from the author for the lowest prices and a $2.00 per book discount on orders of ten or more.
Posted from Oakdale, MN
All of T.J. Addington's books including his latest, Deep Influence, are available from the author for the lowest prices and a $2.00 per book discount on orders of ten or more.
Friday, April 3, 2015
The day between Good Friday and Easter
What do you think it was like the day after the crucifixion of Christ? Did Pilot wake up with a guilty conscience and wonder if he had done the right thing? Did the guards who had mocked Jesus and then seen Him on the cross, wonder if an innocent man had died? Did the crowds who had called for His life keep an embarrassed silence in a quiet Jerusalem? Someone was nervous for they asked the Roman garrison to post guards at His tomb. On the day after, Jesus' friends mourned, the Romans were nervous and some who had watched the execution were sure He was the Son of God.
It had to be a day like no other in Jerusalem. It had to be a day of quiet and consideration. It had to be a day of sober doubt after a day of impetuous action. I'll bet there were many disturbed consciences that day. The day between death and resurrection. A day of uncertainty and guilt. A day of hopelessness and sadness.
We have days like that! I have experienced whole periods of life that hang between hope and despair. Uncertainty reigns. Sadness is prevalent, maybe dominant. It is the time in between life as it was and life as it will be - but not yet knowing what will be. It is the dark night of the soul with all the questions, uncertainties and unknowns.
It is the day between Good Friday and Easter Sunday. It is real and it hurts and all of us experience it just as the disciples did, only in different ways. But there is another day coming...we know and we look forward to that day of hope. Always remember in the day of despair. The morning comes, and it comes with hope and resurrection power and salvation. In the in-between times, we need the words of Habakkuk, "Be still and know that I am God." Easter comes and so does Hope.
Posted from Oakdale, MN
All of T.J. Addington's books including his latest, Deep Influence, are available from the author for the lowest prices and a $2.00 per book discount on orders of ten or more.
It had to be a day like no other in Jerusalem. It had to be a day of quiet and consideration. It had to be a day of sober doubt after a day of impetuous action. I'll bet there were many disturbed consciences that day. The day between death and resurrection. A day of uncertainty and guilt. A day of hopelessness and sadness.
We have days like that! I have experienced whole periods of life that hang between hope and despair. Uncertainty reigns. Sadness is prevalent, maybe dominant. It is the time in between life as it was and life as it will be - but not yet knowing what will be. It is the dark night of the soul with all the questions, uncertainties and unknowns.
It is the day between Good Friday and Easter Sunday. It is real and it hurts and all of us experience it just as the disciples did, only in different ways. But there is another day coming...we know and we look forward to that day of hope. Always remember in the day of despair. The morning comes, and it comes with hope and resurrection power and salvation. In the in-between times, we need the words of Habakkuk, "Be still and know that I am God." Easter comes and so does Hope.
Posted from Oakdale, MN
All of T.J. Addington's books including his latest, Deep Influence, are available from the author for the lowest prices and a $2.00 per book discount on orders of ten or more.
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