LESSON 23 - CARDS

During September I'm blogging each day about one thing I've learned from 35 years of doing ministry.  Nothing about it is rocket science -- they're just tips that have served me well these past three decades.

Lesson #23 - Sometimes you lay your cards down last.

There are a lot of people on our team who have better ideas than I do.  I very often give them the opportunity to share their input before I share mine.

If you always lead with your own ideas, you risk choking off the ideas of others on your team.

Several years back our team worked thru a two-year process of re-imagining our mission, church purposes, core values and ministry model.  We did it together, all hunkered around a table for months and months presenting, debating, arguing, making up, going at it again -- and ultimately coming out with a vision that is carrying us forward years beyond.

Respectfully, I've watched other leaders with their group at team tables leading so far out front the team didn't see a reason to give input.  Their creative ideas and God-thoughts were shut down.

It doesn't advance the organization or the Gospel.

Leaders are visionaries.  But when they walk into a room and spill the whole plan with no feedback or hope of real involvement from the rest of their usually very smart team, the team realizes their input is unnecessary or unwanted.

Sometimes when you save your cards till the end you're able to glean some extremely critical input that otherwise you would have missed.  And now and then, you don't have to play your cards at all.

And be blessed.