Jump Start # 3444

John 15:15 “No longer do I call you slaves, for the slave does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I have heard from My Father I have made known to you.”

Last Saturday, a group of guys from our congregation met at the church building to spend a few hours studying and talking about leadership. We call this our Leadership Workshop. We do this every year. Much too often, the only time a congregation thinks about leaders is when there is a crisis, such as an elder moves away or one steps down because of health problems. The congregation panics. The preacher hurriedly races through the qualifications found in Timothy and a couple of names are brought before the congregation. Men are appointed and everyone breathes a sigh of relief. And, nothing is said about leadership until the next crisis.

That is just not a good way of doing things. Every disciple is a leader. That’s where the salt and light ideas come in. Every husband is a leader. Every father is a shepherd. His flock is his family. Getting us to see our roles, mentoring, developing and growing is healthy for a church. These qualities involve vision, legacy and planning, all the characteristics of a thriving congregation.

In our Leadership Workshop, we have three lessons and in between those lessons we have break out sessions. I divide the guys up into three or four groups. Each group becomes elders in a congregation. I hand each group a situation, most of them things I have experienced, and they must work together as a team to come up with a Biblical and reasonable solution to the problem. It is really eye opening for many of them. It helps them to see some of the things shepherds go through.

My lesson this year was on “The Importance of Communication in Leadership.” Our verse today was one of the key passages I used to introduce this concept. Jesus told them all things. Jesus didn’t keep secrets. Jesus didn’t tell some, while not telling others. When communication is lacking, people do not feel valued.

This is a major problem in marriages. “He just doesn’t talk,” the wife says. Or, “He does things without telling me.” That communication problem begins to chip away at the trust between the two.

Years ago, I was talking with a church about moving and working with them. I sat down with a group of the deacons. I asked them how things were going. All seven said that they had written letters of resignation. I was shocked. I asked “Why?” They all said, “We don’t know what’s going on here.”

In the Lord’s illustration of the Good Shepherd, in John 10, the sheep know the voice of the shepherd. They listen. There was a confidence and trust among them. The congregation takes clues from the leadership. This is how the DNA or culture of a church can be changed into something more positive and more Biblical. Expressing what our purpose is, our theme, our goals, is important. Around here, every Sunday, the congregation hears the expression that “Sunday is the best day of the week.”

Great communication can create a spirit of calm even through storms.

In our Leadership Workshop I shared “A Dozen Qualities of Communicating.” Here’s the list:

1. Authenticity: being trustworthy
2. Consistency
3. The stronger you believe it, the more people will feel it.
4. The choice of words and your tone matters
5. Understand the value of timing
6. Think things out before you speak
7. Be able to explain things simply
8. Your words can change the temperature of a room
9. Repeating things reinforces foundations
10. Know the difference between a faucet and a drain
11. Set the table so others will know good food is coming
12. Your walk and your talk must match

These dozen traits work in the home. They work at work. They work among brethren. And, they are a must for leaders.

Jesus said in John 14:2, “…if it were not so, I would have told you.” Communication—it’s one of the keys to leading people.

Roger