The Shoreline Insider

I am away in St. Augustine for a time of prayer so I thought I would also catch up on my blogging. I was hoping to blog last week when I was in Iowa but with having to speak 4 different messages through the weekend, it didn’t leave me a lot of time for blogging.

Last week we looked at the first level of leadership, the Positional Leader, as taken from John Maxwell’s book, Developing the Leader Within. Everyone starts at this level. When I moved to Destin from Merritt Island, it didn’t matter what level of leadership I was on with people in Merritt Island, I had to start at level 1 with the people of Destin. Our goal, though is not to stay on level 1. Why? Well, maybe if we look at some characteristics of a positional leader, we will understand why we want to move to level 2.

1. Security is based in title, not talent. The higher the person’s level of true ability and the resulting influence, the more secure and confident he becomes. We had a couple leave the church recently because in the words of the husband, they were not getting fed. This man actually told my wife that when it came to spirituality that he felt that he was equal with me. That may have been so, but just the fact that he said that, proved undoubtedly that that was not the case. If you have to tell someone then you probably are not as mature as you think you are. The same can be said for your security as a leader. If you have to say, “Because I am the boss and I said so!” You are not leading, you are bossing.
2. This level is often gained by appointment. All other levels are gained by ability. That’s why when someone wants to lead at Shoreline, we ask them to serve because we believe through serving, you gift will open doors for you.
3. People will not follow a positional leader beyond his stated authority. They will only do what they have to do when they are required to do it. Low morale is always present. When the leader lacks confidence, the followers lack commitment. Most of us have bosses that are at this level and if one of them told us that we couldn’t eat at Taco Bell during lunch, we’d say, “you have no authority for that part of my life. Why? Because that boss is just a positional leader.
4. Positional leaders have more difficulty working with volunteers, white collar workers, and younger people. Volunteers don’t have to work in the organization so there is not monetary leverage that a positional leader can use to make them respond. White collar workers are used to participating in decision making and resent dictatorial leadership. Young people, for the most part, are unimpressed with symbols of authority. So, if you are leading a ministry at Shoreline and that ministry is full of white-collared young people, you better be paying attention.

Most of us have been taught that leadership is a position. Frustration rises within us when we get into the real world and find that few people follow us because of our titles. Our joy and success in leading others depend on our abilities to keep climbing the levels of leadership. This is absolutely necessary if you desire to lead in the church.

Next time, we will look at Level 2. Until then, don’t forget that Tuesday is Leadership Pipeline and let me leave you with a great quote:

“How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world.”
- Anne Frank

Which is an all-time great quote, closely followed by:
“The eyes are the groin of the head.” – Peter Griffin