Being or Doing? A Steward Leader's Goal

I enjoyed attending our former church in the desert this morning; I'm here for an annual visioning retreat. Pastor Bob Thune's message dealt with growing beyond the basics of the Christian life. But I'm realizing that in seeking to be a better leader I can tend to forget the basics of stewarding my own life. I have been reading, researching and writing on missional leadership for some time now, but the need to lead oneself is a daily task. Scott Rodin's book, “The Steward Leader” found its way in my bag, and it is very revealing as to what is required of those who would be a leader of influence. Being comes before doing. Stewarding an organization and staff can only be done by a leader who is stewarding his or her own life.

When decisions need to be made, “being” is not my first tack . . . as I am a very pragmatic “doer.” But we need to ‘be’ well before we can ‘do’ well. I need to commit to understand being well enough to lead LBRM through its current phase and beyond. I’m glad that my leadership team have strengths* enough to keep us in check. (*Strengths Based Leadership, Tom Rath). Please continue to pray for us as we seek God's direction in tough economic times. We need to be strong in order to serve those who are weak.