Lead Vertically by Craig Johnson

Author:Craig Johnson [Johnson, Craig]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Christian leadership
ISBN: 9781441223944
Publisher: Baker Publishing Group
Published: 2010-01-01T05:00:00+00:00

Take Out the Trash

I love conferences and books, but I see too many leaders following a conference instead of a vision. They take the latest idea from the latest conference and end up acting like a fast-food restaurant that produces whatever they think might sell. Maybe our ministries don’t grow the way we want them to because we’ve piled up too many ideas and we can’t see anything over the pile!

Have you ever seen one of those television shows that feature people who behave like pack rats? They buy so much stuff, and it gets piled up so high that they can’t see out the windows of their house. The things they really need, like the furniture, counter space and washer and dryer, are hidden by the piles of stuff. All they really needed was what they already had.

Sometimes we get so overwhelmed by new ideas that we don’t have any room for what we really need: God ideas. God has gifted every leader with key abilities and vision that no one else can carry out. You get out of alignment when you start doing other people’s vision instead of finding the vision that God has already planted in you.

We also get out of alignment when we chase things that in the long run don’t really matter. Rather than impacting and building people, we end up doing things that are frivolous. We lose focus when we fritter our time on busywork instead of productive work. I’ve heard it said that sometimes we just have to take out the trash! The trash is anything that keeps us from the only thing that matters. The goal is never more important than the person: Invest in people.

Dr. Paul Osteen has been a great influence on my life. I’ve never met anyone who cares for the hurting and broken like he does. Through his example, I’ve learned that what you do for yourself will never mean as much as what you do for others. I’ve watched him walk into a room and make sure everyone else matters except him. His compassion for people compels others to be the hands and feet of hope to a hurting world. Why does he respond this way? Because he knows the goal is never more important than the person.

The apple doesn’t fall too far from the tree. Momma Dodie Osteen is an example who so many of us try to emulate. She cares for others like an angel of mercy. At 76 years young, she is a hospital to the hurting. One year she sent more than 16,000 handwritten notes to encourage people. She leads a weekly prayer service at Hermann Memorial Hospital as well as a prayer and healing time every Tuesday night at Lakewood. A friend wrote a post on her Facebook page about her mother-in-law’s cancer and upcoming chemotherapy. She wanted everybody to pray for her mother-in-law. I told her I would pray and also call Miss Dodie, who is a cancer overcomer, to pray for her as well.

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