Leadership- A Means or an End?

It’s been a few days since I posted.  I’ve had a lot going on doing my church ministry as well as hospice ministry.  As time has gone by I’ve been chewing on some thoughts from a recent post about the popularity of ministry and leadership conferences.  I’ve also listened to a friend of mine talk about attending the most recent leadership conference and how incredible it was and how he felt that one half-hour session was worth the $200+ conference fee.

He said the conference was full of cliches, lots of scarfs and Toms’ shoes, and people who were too old to be wearing such items who were wearing such items.  He gave some credence to my thoughts prior to the conference.  So why has this cultural idea refused to leave me alone like an itchy shirt tag that rubs you in the most unconvenient way?  I think I’ve figured it out.

We have made leadership a goal, not a tool.  So many people are seeking to influence as many people as we possibly can and amass lots of “followers” on our blogs and social media outlets so that one day these people will want to buy our book.  Why?  So we can have influence.  To me, this is very self-focused.

In my opinion, we should be focusing more on what to do with our leadership skills, rather than simply seeking to be great leaders.  After all, what good is lots of influence and having lots of followers if we do nothing noble with that influence?  I suppose we need balance.  We need not only great leadership skills, but we also need to be putting time and energy into how we utilize those skills.  I think the church and modern culture need to be reminded that leadership is a tool we use to accomplish greater things for the Kingdom.  Our goal is not met when we simply have a lot of influence.  In my opinion, that’s when we are just getting started.  What do you think?

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