If We Don’t Equip Them, Someone Else Will.
The #1 rule of leaders-sitting-around-a-table-drinking-coffee is that as some point, you have to talk about volunteers: how few you have, how you don’t have the right ones, or how that one guy named Bill is going to be the death of you. It’s a leadership law or something.
I’ve noticed a recent trend that disturbs me on multiple levels: the trend of “Other people are taking my people, and making them their people.”
You’ve seen the phenomenon: a long-time Guest Services volunteer bails in favor of the Kids’ team. Or a student small group leader steps down in order to lead a local outreach effort.
For me, the disturbance isn’t so much that ministry leaders are possibly stealing sheep. The disturbance goes much deeper:
We don’t realize the investment we just lost.
Because you see, there’s typically a parallel conversation that happens with the my people are becoming their people woes. It may not be clearly articulated. It may not be spoken outright. But the sentiment is there:
I didn’t raise that person up to be a leader, and now I’m upset that someone else is going to.
Every single one of us have leaders in our ministries. We may not know it yet. They may not know it yet. But they’re there. With talents untapped. Skill sets still covered. And if we don’t find them, someone else will.
Or we have leaders in our ministries, and while we may not know it yet, they certainly do. They know they have more in the tank than we’re asking them for, and they’re waiting to be equipped. To be trained. To be raised up and handed responsibility and called upon to do more. And if we don’t do that, they’ll find someone who will.
So here’s my question:
Why not us?
Why shouldn’t our ministry area be the one to call out talent and raise up leaders? Why shouldn’t we be the ones who have the privilege of equipping the saints for the work of the ministry? Why should we whine about our losses rather than recognize our opportunities to invest?
Why not us?
Why not you?
