YouTube recently decided I’d be interested in a TedTalk video called “The rarest commodity is leadership without ego.” YouTube was right :).
In the video, an older highly successful businessman gives his short take on leadership. Here is a quote from him that stuck out to me…
Power comes when the people that you are leading give you their support. They offer you the power and then they watch you. If you take that power and then deflect all of it back to them, then they give you more. And if you give that back to them in a second wave, they give you even more.
But if you start to take some of that power, they start giving you less. Those leaders that accept the power make a critical mistake because the power that’s going to come and give them more and more and more power falters and goes away. Leaders falter because they take the power.
But since we’re talking about church life here and not business, I’m going to tweak his quote a bit to better apply it to church life…
Power comes when a community gives you their support to operate within the gifts God has given you. They offer you power in that particular area and then they watch you. If you accept that power and then give it back to them by using your gifts to build them up, they give you more. If they give you more and you keep building them up with it, they give you even more.
But if you start to use that power for selfish gain, they start giving you less. Those Body parts that accept the power make a critical mistake because the more power they take and keep to themselves, the more it falters and goes away. Leaders (defined as everyone with a spiritual gift!) falter because they take the power.
God’s power is a beautiful and wonderful thing. But He is only the Source of the power if it is not kept to oneself. True power in His Kingdom is sacrificing and losing.
Just like the Godhead participates together in a divine dance and rotate taking the lead, a healthy church sees power being shared and rotated among it’s members. It’s passed back and forth and used only to look to the interests of others.
Michael Fleming
Mike Fleming is the creator of Finding Healthy Church. Over 20 years ago, he was sparked by the frustration of failing to experience what the biblical story claimed a healthy church was like. He caught a vision and passion for seeing local churches be what they were designed by God to be. He shares what he's learning along the way so the health of local churches around the world are improved. He’s currently working on an eye-opening book that will help better understand what it means for a church to be healthy.