[00:00:00] Are there things that we can do to invest in habits and disciplines that lead us in a positive
[00:00:06] direction in our leadership so that those things over time become like second nature to us?
[00:00:12] We just, when something second nature to you, you don't have to think about it. You just do it.
[00:00:18] Welcome to episode 321. For most of us, throwing a Christian, we start to get to know and follow Jesus and the Holy Spirit's growing the fruit of the Spirit and these things.
[00:01:40] But it takes time to cultivate a discipline around that where those things that imitate
[00:01:47] Christ become second nature in our leadership. So we're gonna dive into some of these things today and I wanted to start with what are some things that are second nature to you, that you don't even have to think about anymore. They just happen because you have enough experience and time spent with them
[00:03:00] that they just are part of who you are now.
[00:03:02] Anything like that come to mind?
[00:03:04] So anything-
[00:03:04] Yeah, I mean just a couple of things about like,
[00:03:06] always we're always evaluating what we're doing about it anymore. I just did it. It was natural to me. It was like second nature, but I had to start somewhere and learn along the way. And I had to grow in that ability through what? How do you get better at throwing and catching? Practice, time spent investing in it. And when I started coaching literally, I remembered kids don't just naturally know how to throw and catch. And I was like,
[00:04:24] I don't even know if I know how to teach someone how. So there are some things that come as second nature to us. Some of them are probably positive and others. Maybe our staff or others would say, maybe that's not the best second nature thing for you now. But I wanted to pick out just a few things that I hope can become second nature for us in leadership.
[00:05:45] So we don't even have have you ever come across that moment when you're like, I would rather not deal with this, but I know if I don't, what the possible outcomes and cascading effect might be? Yeah, I know. Absolutely, my goodness, yeah.
[00:07:02] Hey, Reclaim Leader Community.
[00:07:06] Based on last week's episode, promise you, you'd rather stir the pot on your own terms than have it stirred for you and you have to respond to it. You're gonna be glad that you did. You're gonna be glad. I think one way, I mean, there's a lot of cliches we could throw at this, but don't put off it until tomorrow what you could do today. Yeah. Get out in front. You're gonna save yourself so much stress and anxiety and frustration if you learned
[00:08:21] just to be proactive.
[00:08:22] And I don't know, our generation, Jason,
[00:08:24] or at least for myself, I grew up,
[00:08:26] and for some reason, picking up the phone
[00:08:28] I was allergic to. put it off maybe ask yourself what that's about. Why don't I want to do it? And I imagine it has to do with some fear or something associated with what you think might happen if you address it. But if you don't get out in front, you're going to pay the price. So that was my first one. Be proactive. That's a good one. And if that becomes second nature to us, it's going to serve us so well in our leadership.
[00:10:43] connect to the big picture direction that God has us moving in. So developing that discipline of keeping the big picture in mind,
[00:10:47] being vision oriented all the time so that that becomes second nature.
[00:10:51] In any meeting, any conversation, our session meetings, our leadership teams,
[00:10:54] we're pulling back up and reminding people of why we do what we do.
[00:10:59] And how does this fit in with the direction that God is leading us in?
[00:11:04] So vision, big picture, mind because it gives a direction or a meaning to all the other things that we're doing. This is why we do what we do. And
[00:12:21] now we can go and have that conversation about how we're
[00:12:23] going to do it, but got to keep the big picture in mind. So
[00:13:22] I think this is the tricky thing. Delegating authority means truly handing something off
[00:13:25] to someone else and trusting them to get it done,
[00:13:29] to do it well, to take it and run with it,
[00:13:32] and to do it by keeping the big picture in mind.
[00:13:35] But we're handing something over and saying,
[00:13:37] I trust you to get this done,
[00:13:40] and I'm not gonna be looking over your shoulder
[00:13:42] the whole time questioning every decision
[00:13:44] about how you're getting it done.
[00:13:45] That's a hard thing to do.
[00:14:43] I think I always remind myself, I'm like, Jesus delegated, I think you could delegate too.
[00:14:45] Like, I think maybe he had a little more important things
[00:14:48] and he delegated them.
[00:14:49] So listen, we just gotta learn to get better at it.
[00:14:51] So that we're not the ceiling on our own church, right?
[00:14:54] We're not the lit.
[00:14:55] And I think that's spot on.
[00:14:56] And I think we can be clear.
[00:14:58] We can delegate clearly.
[00:14:59] And we can delegate with clear agreements
[00:15:02] and make sure that it is moving in the right direction.
[00:15:05] We can schedule check-ins with that person
[00:15:07] to make sure they're than I should have. But I felt the Lord nudging me and definitely did it. And it's so much better. It's so much better in a lot of ways.
[00:16:23] So, but that's an example of like you might have to protect the DNA for a little while or whatever the thing is, but eventually you got to let that thing go.
[00:16:26] Yeah. That's tough. That's one that I'm still working on having become second nature to me. I still have a gravitational pull as a lot of leaders do. I think towards control or getting my way and making sure that it's right because I because I really want it to be good. I want it to be effective. Letting go is hard.
[00:17:40] Delegating is hard.
[00:17:41] It comes from a good place.
[00:17:42] You want it to be as effective as it can be.
[00:17:45] You feel like you're the why we did it the way we did it. And if you don't like it, you can leave that our first reaction would be the humility of
[00:19:03] non-defensiveness. Just tell me what you're, Christmas on the hill. And there was a woman here, she must be in her 90s. She was here back when the OG pastor was here. You know, every church has like the original pastor that when the church was at its biggest
[00:20:22] and their legendary buildings are named after them.
[00:20:24] We have one of those here.
[00:20:26] Dr. Weiserner said, talking about like out because we don't pass the plates anymore, how we should pass the plates at Christmas Eve and like that. And she's like, well, Dr. Webster would always do it this way or something. So then 24 hours, I had two people like comparing me and then not positive, if didn't feel positive.
[00:21:41] And I got really defensive. What's interesting I first took over after Pastor John retired, 25 years he'd been here, and we were changing a lot of things. And the vision was this direction as a leadership team, we had decided about that and discerned it. And we had one elder that was not on board and kept
[00:23:00] just saying over and over again, well, Pastor John, well, Pastor John, well, Pastor John,
[00:23:04] which Pastor John is awesome and I love him and it I'm going to be open to any feedback, non-defensive. That was my perspective or my attitude going into that meeting. And what happened in that meeting was that I think I surprised this elder with my
[00:24:24] non-defensiveness and my openness and my willingness to admit that I'm not perfect and I don't do to us, that we weren't content to just play church and maintain things, but we're as part of our just second nature. I see a well-deserved risk. Let's go for it. Let's, as you like to say, let's swing for the fences. Let's do something rather than just sit still and do the treadmill thing. So wouldn't it be awesome if it was second nature to us as leaders to our leadership
[00:25:43] teams that we are a community that is willing. So there was just five of them today to think about in your leadership,
[00:27:00] how are you cultivating these things,
[00:27:02] investing in them, moving in this direction
[00:27:04] so that over time you'll look up one day and just go,
[00:27:07] it just comes like,
[00:27:07] it's just second nature to me now.