Back to work

Well, we made it back to SC today at 12:00, so I decided to head over to the office to see how things are going. I was amazed at how the new building looks with the driveway paved. It's getting very close.

While I was away I had some incredible thoughts about leadership. One of the thoughts that has been marinating in my mind is the qualities of a good leader. I thought I would share a little bit about this.

It occurred to me that great leaders are generally visionaries, and have the ability to take that vision and make it reality, but even more important than that, I believe that great leaders are agents of change. They don't just tolerate change, they embrace change. In fact I'm convinced that the best leaders actually look for things to change, not for the sake of change, but they seem to have an intuitive sense when things are in need of change. For instance Steve Jobs, Apple CEO has an uncanny ability to initiate change. Where most people wait for things to bottom out before they change, Jobs makes changes to products and services that are doing well. The new iPhone is a good example of this. According to reports, the first edition of IPhones which came out only one year ago and have already captured 27% of the smart phone market, yet rather than rest on his laurels Jobs has introduced the new iPhone which sells for $199 (about 1/2 price of the first iPhones)and has even more features. Why would he make changes when things are going so well? Simple, he's a great leader. He knows that if you ever stop to pat yourself on the back, technology will pass you by.

In the church world generally there has been a resistance to change, and the consequence is that churches are dying in record numbers. Some church leaders now see the need for change,and are reacting, but unfortunately for many of them it's a little too late. Great leaders are people who initiate change at the right time (usually when things are going well). Great leaders help people to become what they desire to become, by creating enough tension for things to change.

In a few weeks we are going to introduce some incredible change. I mentioned in this post about our 2 worship service strategy. The obvious question is with how well things are going,why change? The answer is, because it will allow us to reach even farther into our community with the gospel of Jesus Christ by offering additional choices. I am so pumped about what God is going to do here at Foothills!