In.Motion

Replacing Yourself seems to be the easiest to grasp yet hardest to implement in our own ministries. Replacing yourself in ministry means that you choose to embrace the truth that you will not always be leading in the way you are leading. The bottom line is that, as a leader, you only have two choices:

1. You can desperately hold on to your position until someone inevitably replaces you.

or

2. You can prepare someone to do what you do and strategically replace yourself.

The chapter talks about John Maxwell’s concept of “Leadership Lids”. Lids are anything that keeps a leader from growing. It could be an inability to let others into your creative process, not letting others give input on your system, or even getting possessive about your ideas. The writer expands this concept into “Leadership Walls”, which are things that keep future leaders out of your ministry.

I think that this practice is especially hard for us creative types. We tend to get quite attached to our visions or projects, which can lead us to being blind to other leaders or ideas. However, the truth is that if we don’t purposefully seek out others who are gifted leaders and volunteers and help cultivate their talent and leadership, the ministry will die off along with the natural life cycle of a leader. It may not be comfortable to talk about, but when you look at your ministry through the lens of the Kingdom, the need for replacing yourself becomes so much more evident.

When it comes to Worship and Creative communities, we have to be open and willing to welcome in and help develop young and upcoming leaders. Rather than fighting and holding onto whatever we “do”, we have got to embrace these people and build them up to eventually take over. This is how healthy ministries are built over time. It could be in a year or it could be in twenty, but either way, we need to start looking out for those who are to replace us today.

Have you been thinking about how to Replace Yourself?

One.Love

cd