Summer Reading Part II

Here's what struck me in the Spiritual Leadership book, continued from yesterday:

Domestic: A well-ordered home where mutual respect and supportive harmony are the keynotes. To reach this goal, a spouse must fully share the leader's spiritual aspirations and be willing to join in the necessary sacrifices. Many a gifted leader has been lost to high office and spiritual effectiveness because of an uncooperative spouse. Paul implies that a person's ability to lead at home is a strong indicator of his readiness to lead in ministry.

Maturity: Spiritual maturity is indispensable to good leadership. A novice or new convert should not be pushed into leadership. A plant needs time to take root and come to maturity, and the process cannot be hurried. They must first be tested. A promising convert should be given a widening opportunity to serve at humbler and less prominent tasks that will develop both natural and spiritual gifts. He should not be advanced too fast, lest he become puffed up. Neither should he be repressed, lest he become discouraged. Maturity is shown in a magnanimous spirit and broad vision. He must be prudently self-controlled, sober, frugal, enduring in toil, intelligent, without love of money, neither you nor old, if possible the father of a family, able to speak competently, and of good reputation.

I agree with these definitions. Above, it warns us not to advance someone too quickly or they can become puffed up, or too slowly or he will become discouraged. I've seen the opposite of both of those happen as well. I have advanced a leader too quickly and they became discouraged because they were overwhelmed. I've seen someone promoted prematurely and they became puffed up. If you're a leader, you undoubtedly should be thinking of how you can replace yourself. It's important to raise up leaders beneath you who can carry on the ministry should God call you elsewhere. In the corporate world, we called this Succession Planning. But there is also a very fine line in discerning who is ready for leadership and/or advancement. As a wise man seeks the council of others, a leader should be communicating with the leadership above them to check their plans for giving people additional ministry responsibility. Almost everyone is should be willing to take some step in ministry. As a leader, it's important to keep in mind that we don't use people to get ministry done, but we use ministry to get people done.