Musings on the GLS applied to church

I had the opportunity to attend a live stream of the Global Leadership Summit. I have been working through what it all means since. I went, not considering myself a leader, simply a person who has been thrown into leadership positions. Other people lead much better than I do. It is just one more area I muddle through.

However, the GLS challenged that assumption, with a new assumption: I am in leadership positions; I had better lead well. Then it gave me some practical suggestions for leading. I gave a report to the Board about how to apply it there. I am still working through what it means for my home. And I became convinced that I needed to step down from leadership at my church.

This last issue is a big step. I have known that I needed to step down for a while. Even going into it, I said I was going to be a transition person - a temporary fix - not a long-term administrator. So I have been hemming and hawing about making changes, trying to make everyone happy, feeling burnt out, and putting things off until the last minute. But now that I have an end date in place, I am motivated to complete the transition.

Today, however, I felt my resolve being challenged. Today was Rally Day. The biggest day of the Sunday School Year. We had more kids than I expected: 27, if I remember correctly. The teachers were excited. The kids had fun. A few of them even wanted to invite their friends for next week. I love these kids and these teachers. I want to see them succeed. And I am their leader.

That comes back to the GLS. People are desperate for good leadership. People want to see their talents being developed to support a mission they believe in. People want change, but don't like the feelings of uncertainty that comes with change. People need hope - something to believe in, and someone to believe in them. People want to be listened to, valued, inspired.

I realized something. I thought of myself as a leader of the children. But really, I am a leader of the teachers, helping them be leaders for the children. If I can inspire them to be leaders, then the Sunday School program will succeed, without me.