Leadership Thought: A Wonderful Feeling Following a Church Leadership Meeting Last Night.

Dear Friends,

George S. Patton once said” If everyone is thinking alike, then somebody isn’t thinking.” I thought of Patton’s words this morning after attending a leadership meeting last night at our church. Our elder board was discussing a significant renovation issue with which we had been wrestling for over a year, and at one point during our discussion, one of our members suddenly raised his voice a level or two and began passionately arguing in favor of his preferred position.

Yes, I confess, that member was me, and I acknowledge I may have been a bit too ‘exuberant’ in my protestations., I had definitely ‘stirred the pot,’ but thankfully what ensued was an honest an open discussion regarding the question at hand. While differences in opinion can easily divide a leadership team, differences of opinions can also lead to its progress, especially when those leaders are mature, respectful, and are seeking the greater good of the ministry or organization they represent.

All of this got me to thinking about a conversation Beth Moore, a noted evangelical bible teacher had with the late Bill Bright who was the founder of Campus Crusade for Christ. Bill Bright had magnificently led Campus Crusade for Christ on a path that enabled the organization to bridge the gap between denominational and non-denominational churches.

Beth pointed out to Dr. Bright, that most leaders go to one extreme or another, and she wanted to bridge the denominational non-denominational gap like he had done, and she wondered what kind of advice he would offer her to be able to accomplish such balance in his ministry. She asked, “What would you tell me? What advice would you give me so I can do what you have done?”

Bill Bright was laboring to breathe, with a disease that he had been bearing for so many years, and taking a deep breath, he said, “Beth, love, love, love, and when you are tired of loving, you love some more. And when you really don't agree with them, you love them even more. You just continue to love, love. Make the mark of your life love- that when you die, they will say, didn't she love? Make it all about love.”

How we need to hear that message in our fractured and polarized culture of today. Whether we are in the world or in the church like we were last night, the key to accomplishing anything of significance is love.

The fruit of the spirit is love, and if that love is genuine, that fruit will look, and smell and taste like love. If that fruit is genuine, it will be seen in our lives and in the life of our church. I remember someone saying, “nothing happens through us until it happens to us,” and how true that is. If we want our culture and our churches to be characterized by love, then we must be sure that each of us individually manifests the fruit of that love in our lives.

And when I went to bed last night following our sometimes-heated meeting, I felt loved. I may not have convinced our church leaders of my position, but I knew one very important thing and that was that I was still loved and when you know you are loved nothing else matters.

Yours in faith and friendship,

Tom