I’ve always been more comfortable as a follower than as a leader. I am first a follower, a follower of Christ, a follower of the people who have been put in my life to lead and direct things of which I am a part. If you don’t learn to follow well you can never lead well when that necessity arises.
I like it when someone else has the pressure of taking the risk, when someone else takes the hit when something goes wrong, someone else has to make the hard calls and I can do what I do best without those added pressures. But throughout my life I keep finding myself in the place of leadership, not because I want to be or need to be, but because it is necessary to steward the call of God upon my life and to accept the weight of giving something of myself and my experience to someone who is on a transformational journey themselves.
I would not say that I am a gifted leader. Because leading what I saw in my spirit was not an option I did my best to learn. I worked hard at learning what a Christ submitted leader was and how they should lead and respond. I worked hard to understand that the way the “world” leads is different than the way Christ calls us to lead. As a Christ-following leader, Christ is the lead leader and I follow his lead. As a Christ-following leader I am a servant leader, meaning that for me to lead is for me to serve. When I of necessity lead, I do not seek to achieve the things that I want, the things best for me, but I seek to serve Christ and those who depend upon me to be a good leader for the sake of Christ and them.
As a Christ-following leader I am a transformational leader. Jesus’ leadership was about leading people toward personal and spiritual transformation. I cannot transform anyone but I have learned that if I lead like Jesus I can cause transformation in someone else by leading them to the source and resource of transformation. As a Christ-following leader my only focus is serving the mission of Christ and leading in such a way as to accomplish the mission while simultaneously lifting, nurturing, encouraging, and causing Holy Spirit initiated transformation in their lives.
We’ve heard people talking about a “new normal” or “when things get back to normal.” It occurred to us that sometimes “normal” gives way to a new reality full of purpose, hope, and opportunity. Having lived through a deep grief process, we’ve simply recognized a grief process at work in the world around us. In this episode we are talking about “Grieving the Death of Normal.”
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In today’s podcast we want to focus on opportunities. This fully hit home to me about a month ago on a zoom call with a leader. I could see the weariness in his eyes and we talked about it.
Transitions and change are always difficult.
We’ve been in an increasing time of discontinuous change for about 2 decades, or more. Change used to be more predictable, but it continues to lack continuity. The change in our lives for the past couple of decades has included unpredictability.
I recognized the weariness in this leader and it began to settle in on me for the first time that we are grieving the death of normal. (CONTINUE FOR THE REST OF THE ARTICLE)
Embracing adversity, being willing to say “yes” to the tough stuff gives us new lenses to see things differently, it exercises atrophied muscles needed for new adventures and callings, and it deconstructs our inferior plans to make way for God’s excellent plans. In this episode we talk about saying “yes” to adversity in expectation of the joys ahead.
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Yesterday, I found myself being thankful for the Covid-19 disruption. I was taken by surprise by my sudden fondness. Why? Because I got a glimpse of the positive, of God’s hand working us through adversity. I got a fresh look at our partners and their tenacity as God emboldens them and carves new paths for them.
I liked the world the way it was. I did not want the world to change. I liked fundraising the way it was pre-Covid, not to say it won’t go back. I liked the way the world and the markets functioned pre-Covid. I have moments of wanting to run back to the pre-adversity ways. (Continue for the rest of the article…)
On David’s 60th birthday, his journal entry included 7 things he will do in the next 20 years based upon lessons learned in the previous 20. In this episode David and Donna talk about reflections on joyfully living, leading, and loving.
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Turning 60 this week caused me to look back and to look forward. 20 years ago in April of 2000 I isolated in a cabin for 3 days of prayer and fasting to plan out the next 20 years of my life. Part of the plan was repeating the 3 days of prayer in isolation in April 2020. Little did I know that most of the world would be in isolation in April 2020. My life doesn’t much look like the dreams and strategies of that 40 year old, but the core foundation is intact and while I did not see thing happen as I envisioned them, the important things happened, just in a way different than I thought — but I wouldn’t change anything! (continue to read the rest of the article.)
Those we lead have the opportunity to see who we really are when we lead them in and through a crisis. Our heart, our character, our resolve, our faith, our love, and our motivations are all revealed. In episode 148 of The Calibrate Life Podcast, we discuss 8 things for a leader to keep in focus while leading during a crisis.
Listen or subscribe to the Calibrate Life Podcast in Apple Podcasts, in Google Podcasts, in Stitcher, or in any podcast player.
This episode is being recorded in April of 2020, at what we hope is the height of the Coronavirus/Covid-19 pandemic. Leadership is not business as usual. We are leading in a time when our nation is in crisis. Some are hurting badly, others are not as affected. Spiritual leaders are important in times of crisis.
Leadership is defined in crisis. our heart, our character, our resolve, our faith, our love, and our motivations are all revealed in times of crisis leadership. Those we lead have the opportunity to see who we are when we lead in a crisis. (Continue for the episode notes / article…)
David and Donna Delp are the founders of Calibrate360 and host the weekly Calibrate Life Podcast. For more info about them visit our About Us page. To learn about their mission, visit our Mission Africa page.
