Confrontation

Wow. I have been learning about the art and value of confrontation. It's a MUST in a Christian's life, or for that matter, anyone's life. So many people are in situations or places that are not right, yet out of so called respect or kindness, we turn a blind eye and hope they will change or fade away. We say to ourselves that it's someone elses responsibility and none of my business. WRONG! If you are a Christian and esp. if you are a friend, you MUST confront others. Yes, it's hard and can often backfire, but what is the alternative?

Recently, I have had to confront a number of people. People of all walks and for different situations. For that matter, my own wife is in that group. It hasn't been easy, and not all are success stories, but for the few that have turned out right, I'm blessed and sure that God used me in these people's lives to 'speak the truth in love.' To see someone receive the rebuke or challenge or feedback in the right spirit and commit themselves to change is a beautiful thing.

I just want to encourage you to be a courageous confronter. Pray hard, but be bold to speak the truth, to let someone know they are doing wrong, to share how people are offending or hurting you or others, to address performance issues and so forth. God will use you, as you stand for purity and righteous living, and express your love through confrontation.

Creator or Maintainer

Ever wondered why some leaders struggle to get off the ground and get things going, especially in an unstructured environment? One thing I'm learning is that some people are "creators" and some are "maintainers." These are just my words for the two different types of leaders I've experienced.

The creator is able to see things that don't exist and see paths and steps to get there. They can create something from nothing and it seems easy and effortless. They can create programs or ministries or strategies with little direction or input, just gathering ideas and direction from a couple of resources and then filling in the blanks. The creator manager struggles to understand why his maintainer employees can't get up and going. The creator pastor struggles to understand why his ministry leaders can't create a healthy and thriving ministry and raise up other leaders. They think that spending time and showing them ideas and outlines will somehow launch them, yet often get frustrated when they don't. From my experience, most of these individuals are really "maintainers" and they can't create. They can run on a prelaid track, and in some cases make improvments, but they cannot create from scratch.

Maintainers often feel like second class citizens. They feel like somehow they've missed some leadership principle, or that some process or tool, if discovered can solve their problems. They think that with some time and development they can be different. My opinion is that they can't. That they are only different. They are wired different and it's not a matter of learning.

The age old debate is whether leaders are born or bred? Whether it's a learned trait or just innate? I certainly weigh in on the innate side. Certainly "leadership" can and is learned, but can your really teach a maintainer to create? When people think of a "leader" I think they mostly think of the creator type leader or visionary leader. That's the image that comes to mind. But, if you reduce leadership down to it's lowest component, it's influence. In that case, we are all leaders and can learn leadership skills, such as how to communicate, cast vision, hold people accountable, recruiting and training, modivation, confrontation and so on. But, if you know these things and do these things, are you really a "creator?"

Are either any better than the other? No! Both are necessary. Both make the world go around. Life, ministry, and organizations need both types. The key is understanding these differences early, not getting upset or devaluing one or the other, being jealous or frustrated, or trying to force the maintainers to be something they're not. Instead, structure work for them, move them to different positions, or include them in the creation process to make what is created 'maintainable.' Afterall, once it's created the creator will be ready to move on and the maintainer has to keep it up and going.

I'm Online Now !

Well, I made it! Right into the 21st century and into a BLOG. I'll keep it short, until I have more to say.