~leadership 101~

One of my prayer request for this month was for wisdom to lead the team I am currently in. And God sparked this truth in me this as I was reading 'Jesus Driven Ministry' (yes i am taking quite a long time to finish this book). In summary, Ajith Fernando links leadership very closely to parenting. There are roughly 3 stages when it comes to leadership.

Stage 1:
We protect and guard those we lead closely in the beginning in order to see them grow spiritually. We make sure we don't expose to unnecessary evil and spend a lot of time building their foundation using the Word of God. So there will be certain things we won't share with them, like conflicts we face within the church and work, difficult apologetic questions etc., until a suitable time.

Stage 2:
At this stage, we need to let go more and allow them to be more independent, to explore, try out and learn for themselves, with us providing the guidelines when necessary. By now, we cannot expect everything done our way or we will be seen as too rigid and a control freak. This is also a good time to learn from the young ones in the way they make decisions and do things.

Stage 3:
This is what I believe as the most ideal stage. It is when we are able to relate to those we lead as a friend. Friends talk more than just work. Friends share about life. Friends do things outside 'work'.
Friends enjoy each others company. And friends spur one another towards love and good deeds. No doubt there is still a need to lead, but the relationship at this stage will have more depth and bond.

Definitely one of the things I would need to put in more effort in doing is to spend time with my team outside "ministry". That means catching more movies with them, having meals with them, doing sports together, or even going M'sia for a short shopping trip with them! My prayer is also that this attitude would not just be for my team, but that conscious effort to reach Stage 3 will be what I aspire to do for my own children, If God is willing for me to have kids. But in the meantime, let me first think about the spiritual children I have under me. :)