Welcome back Be the One family!
Pastor Steven here, I am so excited to go into the next part of our series on leadership, "How to Keep A Team"
One of the key elements of leadership is that people should be drawn to you. As people become free, influence and leadership are activated, but a leader who becomes free will produce more confident and capable teams. Creating a team has its challenges but keeping your team requires vision, clear expectations and intentional connection with the people you lead.
“If you think you're leading, but no one is following, you are only taking a walk.” - John Maxwell Organizations spend millions of dollars to get their teams in sync and producing well. Why? Because building a team takes work.
Matthew 4:18-19 “And Jesus, walking by the Sea of Galilee, saw two brothers, Simon called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea; for they were fishermen. Then He said to them, “Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men.”
This moment is remarkable and yet humbling. If Jesus, the son of God, had to build his team then we will also. Every leader should see themselves as a builder. Did that statement stress you out? Don’t allow it to, what God has done in your life will help shape the people you lead, if you use it. Leaders who lack “the why” element lose traction with their teams because of discouragement. For people to thrive on a team they need vision, clear expectations and someone to really connect and care about them.
3 truths about vision:
1. Vision starts with “here.” - Vision speaks to the logic of “the why” - Vision starts with where we presently are and looks forward. - Vision offers a solution to a problem. - Leaders give vision to their teams to show them “the why” we can’t stay “here.” People have to feel “here” isn’t working anymore, or they will choose comfort over courage. In the Bible, Moses was chosen to deliver the children of Israel out of Egypt. The people needed to see that Egypt was killing them and that ultimately they could not stay. To take the bold steps of faith requires courage. God uses leaders to move his people through vision. 2. Vision is about moving people “there” - Vision shows you how to see “the why” - “Here” is where we are, “there” is where we are trying to go. God and Moses told the people it’s better in Canaan. There is milk and honey for us “there.” - Vision thinks about what the people are asking. To move people to “there” we need to speak in picture form. We communicate what it looks like when we get “there.” One of the greatest skills a leader can possess is motivation. It’s incredibly powerful for a leader to tell a story, create a picture of when we get there and leadership makes the arrival personal. Leaders help their team see it. Say to them why we come to serve and show them the pictures of their “yes,” looks like homes healed, people saved, and children impacted. Leaders move people “there” strategically and intentionally. 3. Vision is motivated by burden - Vision teaches us The feeling of “the why” - We must communicate our burden. In Nehemiah 1, we feel his burden to end their disgrace. He says in verse 7 “We have acted very corruptly against you and have not kept the commandments, the statutes, and the rules that you commanded your servant Moses.” Nehemiah had a time with God and felt the burden for Israel and for him, it was not ok. Even here at Be the One, we work hard not because we want a great ministry, but we have a burden for this city, the next generation, for stable homes and marriages and for leaders! - Burden in leaders creates urgency. For us, there is an urgency to get “there” as quick as God allows. We believe our days are numbered and our work should be done with urgency. The way you keep your team is answering “there” questions with a sense of urgency. We want details and plans to be set in advance so those on our teams can prepare. As a church, we never want to be last minute. We want to create the space to give vision and as leaders, we never want a moment to be robbed from us. Leaders respond with urgency. Be the One family I want to challenge you with this, - What do you struggle with most about giving vision? - How are you currently moving your people toward a goal?
Stay tuned for next week for when we talk about, "Expectations"
Love ya, Pastor Steven Sexton