"Get out of the way" is not something you normally associate with strong leaders. But stick with me here. There are certain things a leader has to give up as he or she moves up in leadership. I want to concentrate on one of those areas for flock leaders.
The typical path to the flock leader role is to promote a current small group leader or couple. That means there is a decision to be made about the future leadership of that small group. Let me make this easy for you. When promoted to flock leader, the soon-to-be former -- that should give away what is coming next -- small group leader(s) needs to give up leadership and ownership of that small group. I say this for a couple reasons.
First, as a flock leader, you are now a leader of leaders. Your responsibilities have changed. You are now expected to identify, shepherd, train, equip and release new leaders. That should start with what until yesterday was your small group. (By the way, it was never your small group. Rather the Lord and church leaders entrusted you with the leadership of that small group for a period.) You have been leading this group for a while. That means you should have a well-trained apprentice in place. Your first place of identifying and developing leaders is right there. Start at home. In what will hopefully soon be your former small group.
Second, if you cannot give up leadership of the small group, how will the other small group leaders in your flock have the freedom to really function as leaders? The move up to flock leader takes you perhaps for the first time into an Ephesians 4:12 role. Your job is now "to equip the saints for the work of the ministry, for building up the body of Christ."
Remember what it was like to learn to drive or to teach your children to drive? As a parent, you don't teach your son to drive by having him sit in the back seat or maybe move up to the passenger seat while you continue to drive and perhaps talk to him about how to drive. Eventually you have to give up the driver's seat, move over to the passenger seat and let him have the keys. You do that at first in a safe environment, like the local community college parking lot on a weekend. (That worked well with my sons.) But eventually they get their license and you have to let them drive the car on their own -- without you in it. Otherwise you will never develop another driver.
Leadership is similar. Leaders develop leaders. When a higher level of leadership is entrusted to you, entrust your old position of leadership to the next leader and get out of the way.
The typical path to the flock leader role is to promote a current small group leader or couple. That means there is a decision to be made about the future leadership of that small group. Let me make this easy for you. When promoted to flock leader, the soon-to-be former -- that should give away what is coming next -- small group leader(s) needs to give up leadership and ownership of that small group. I say this for a couple reasons.
First, as a flock leader, you are now a leader of leaders. Your responsibilities have changed. You are now expected to identify, shepherd, train, equip and release new leaders. That should start with what until yesterday was your small group. (By the way, it was never your small group. Rather the Lord and church leaders entrusted you with the leadership of that small group for a period.) You have been leading this group for a while. That means you should have a well-trained apprentice in place. Your first place of identifying and developing leaders is right there. Start at home. In what will hopefully soon be your former small group.
Second, if you cannot give up leadership of the small group, how will the other small group leaders in your flock have the freedom to really function as leaders? The move up to flock leader takes you perhaps for the first time into an Ephesians 4:12 role. Your job is now "to equip the saints for the work of the ministry, for building up the body of Christ."
Remember what it was like to learn to drive or to teach your children to drive? As a parent, you don't teach your son to drive by having him sit in the back seat or maybe move up to the passenger seat while you continue to drive and perhaps talk to him about how to drive. Eventually you have to give up the driver's seat, move over to the passenger seat and let him have the keys. You do that at first in a safe environment, like the local community college parking lot on a weekend. (That worked well with my sons.) But eventually they get their license and you have to let them drive the car on their own -- without you in it. Otherwise you will never develop another driver.
Leadership is similar. Leaders develop leaders. When a higher level of leadership is entrusted to you, entrust your old position of leadership to the next leader and get out of the way.
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