Self-Aware leaders

This morning it was time for an oil change in my wife's car. While sitting in the garage waiting room I was reading The Hidden Lives of Congregations by Israel Galindo. In the chapter I read Galindo spoke about the importance of a minister being a self-aware leader, and near the end of the chapter he wrote, "For self-aware leaders, merely being in touch with one's personal deficits and shortcomings is not sufficient. They work at overcoming those limitations by developing new skills, investing in lifelong learning, and constantly retraining and retooling, because they know that an effective leader is not born but cultivated and formed through intentional effort. Becoming an effective leader doesn't just happen; one has to make it happen." He challenged his readers to think about where they wanted to be in the next ten and fifteen years in their lives and their ministries and to ask what they needed to do to be able to reach those goals.

I'm concerned that too many bivocational (and fully-funded) ministers are content to relive yesterday and continue to do the same things they have always done. Their sermons sound the same as they did ten years earlier. Their ministry style and focus doesn't change. They read the same books and magazines they have always read. In short, they simply stop growing.

A few years ago I realized that the magazines I had read for years no longer spoke to me and canceled my subscriptions to every one of them. I began looking for different authors who would speak new thoughts to me and stretch my thinking. I decided to go ahead and pursue that master's degree that I had put off, and when that was finished last spring I enrolled in a DMin program. I didn't need a degree for the ministry God has given me, and I'll be 60 years old when I finish my doctorate so it's not like I'm preparing for my career! It is just a way to learn new things and grow as a person and as a believer in Jesus Christ.

What dreams do you have for your future? Has God challenged you to do a new thing, but you find yourself frightened every time you think about it? Are you enjoying regular growth in your own life, and if not, how do you expect to lead your congregation to experience growth? A little naval gazing isn't a bad thing. Becoming more aware of your self and your needs can help make you a more effective leader.