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Magnetic Christian Leadership
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Some people are like magnets that gather other people to the Christian faith and community. There are Bible study leaders, youth leaders, clergy, and musical leaders that have that capacity to attract and inspire others. Effective Christian leadership will attempt to cluster these people who are specially gifted by God. Great Sunday schools, great youth groups, and great churches are often the result of great leadership.
The cluster needs to be supported, equipped, resourced, and deployed usefully. People are the foundation of great churches. As Jesus said of Peter, "on this rock, I will build my Church". The process of building such a life-giving cluster is a divine miracle. There are elements, however, that we can understand.
1. Engage: Go fishing. Encounter a wide circle of people in the neighbourhood, through community activities, marriage preparation classes, hospital visiting, baptismal preparation, pastoral visiting, and parish enquiries.
2. Inspire: Offer healthy opportunities from your parish that will gain interest such as: teaching programs, mission nights, family camps, outreach projects, thrilling music, and quality worship.
3. Invite: When you see faith and leadership potential, take small steps to invite the person to confirm your intuition. An invitation from the rector to be a greeter, join the altar guild, come to the Alpha program, join the confirmation class, etc. can be a small step toward a long and magnificent journey.
4. Honour: If the invitees decline your invitation, accept their response. Also, hear their reservations, acknowledge their requests for more information, and reassure them in the face of the temerity we all feel as we start on a faith quest.
5. Challenge: Respect the gifts that people have by challenging them to make sizeable contributions. Why can't our parish address global poverty, AIDS, addictions, etc.? Help gifted people feel they can make a serious difference.
6. Expect the Miraculous: People are a continuous surprise. Clusters of disciples can do remarkable things. Stifle your insecurities and rejoice when others achieve what you could not have predicted.
7. Connect: Connect people with each other for caring and sharing. Good energy is set loose and the results are not limited to what one pastor can monitor.
8. Celebrate: Celebrate the community's achievements first by thanking God, secondly by acknowledging our utter reliance upon Him, and thirdly, by honouring His gifts in our fellow disciples and building upon them.
Item 67
©2005 Ronald C. Ferris
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