on the walk

If you are a Star Trek fan (or simply a culturally aware person) then you know all about tribbles and you know all about the Borg. I don’t think this post has much to do with either one but I plan to mention both at different points so pay attention. I will be starting with the Borg.

The Borg have a simple strategy for growth. Assimilate everything. Take was is valuable and absorb it into the collective. I am a little like this with information. I don’t remember information, I assimilate it. If I hear something from a speaker that is good I take it and absorb it and make it my own. This is a terrible habit when writing a research paper. In research papers you are supposed to remember where all the ideas came from and you are supposed to give credit for what you say. It is also a bad habit when reporting on a conference. If I did not have my notes to reflect on I would have no idea the source of the ideas that I left with. In fact, if I weren’t doing this project I would just let them become my ideas. Some people use the phrase “my idea” to describe ideas that originated with them. I think that is far to limiting. In my world, and idea is my idea the second that I hear it, agree with it and assimilate it. I am like the information Borg.

This is all an intro to say that in my notes on Bill George’s session (see my last post for more on that) I have a bunch of stuff that I don’t remember him saying but I think that it is good stuff. But I can’t tell if he said it and I have just assimilated it or if they are thoughts that I had that came to mind as I reflected on what he said. So with that disclaimer if you think these ideas are good you can assume they are from him. If they offend you you can be sure that they are from me.

He was talking about empowering new leaders, and I wrote the following questions. (The reason for all this confusion is that I did not put them in quotes so I can’t tell if these are my questions or his.)

Am I giving people a clock or a compass?

Am I helping people use their own compass or making them use mine?

Even when I am trying to empower leaders, I often instead just use people for my agenda. I tell them what needs done and I give them the deadline. When all I give them is a clock, I do two dangerous things. The first is that I teach them that that the clock is what matters. I reinforce the desire to set milestones and then judge our lives by the rate at which they are passed. The second is that I assume that we all agree on the direction we should be traveling. I am giving them a task without a vision. I am saying to them, run but not telling them where we are going. I must share my compass before I share a clock.

But the second question takes it a step further. To empower leaders it is not enough to share my compass and share my vision and then once we all have the vision we go for it. I must help them follow their own compass. As I empower leaders, I cannot be surprised if they see a slightly different direction. If they desire and are called to go into new places where I have not gone and do not feel called. The real text for me if I am empowering leaders or just using people is if I can help them find and follow their own compass and call even if it is different from mine. If I can free them from the tyranny of time-tables give them the tools to seek God’s direction and run with perseverance the race that is set before them.

As I re-read that paragraph I realize, it is so much easier to just use people for my vision than it is to release people to pursue the call of God. But if we did it. If instead of trapping others with our clocks and making them follow our compass we could release them and even empower them to say yes to the call of God on their lives, then we could become a community experience exponential growth in leadership and service. (For those of you in the know you can see the intended tribble joke here, but somehow the tone got serious and it doesn’t just seem to fit. But if you want a chuckle you can picture that laundry chute thing overflowing with reproducing disciples.)
on the walk

-Ethan

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