I have the most wonderful privilege of working with some incredible people at Preston Hollow. The staff and volunteers are amazing.
There are all kinds of leadership styles which fit all sorts of personalities and situations. Some leaders prefer to manage every detail, other’s prefer to guide and allow others to use their creativity to meet the needs of what is being worked on. Some leaders prefer to give direction, and have staff and volunteers carry out what they have decided. Still other leaders prefer a softer more inclusive approach, collaborating together.
I don’t pretend to know which style of leadership is best, or fits every situation. What I do know is, when you allow others the freedom to pull together what they are responsible for, it generally tends to be far superior to what one could have ever dreamed up on their own.
That being said, of course leadership also provides direction and gives a sense to those they work with of the vision for ministry. That goes without saying. But how that vision gets fleshed out, how that vision is brought to fruition, those working in the ministry together will totally astound you when they are freed up to use their talents, skills and creativity.
Here at Preston Hollow we’ve been using the series The Chosen as a springboard for our bible study. Our own Jim Gray has taken the lead and brought that together. He knows church, he knows congregational development. He understands the need to eat together, to study together, to form community together. He has done that so well in our time studying the Bible.
One of the things The Chosen has done is, it has humanized Jesus in a way that makes him so relatable. Jesus casts a vision for his followers, then he allows them the freedom to bring it to reality. He knows which ones are good leaders, he knows which ones are good at detail, he knows which ones can simply make things happen. He frees them up, because he knows they are the church and the ministry will flourish or dwindle based on how they are led.
This year we are engaging in VBS with the children in our Child Development Center. This is a labor of love from Bobbye Little and Cody McAdoo. I am astounded at the joy and the creativity they have brought to this. They are working with some 90 or so children and it is beyond amazing. I had nothing, absolutely nothing to do with this, and that is truly a blessing. They know our vision of reaching others with the love of Christ, and they are doing it in a top notch way.
You probably have no idea how much Mike and Maria do to keep our church functioning. They are the backbone and the behind-the-scenes folks who grease the wheels and gears, and make sure we have all we need to be a welcoming place where all feel loved and accepted.
Reverend John Ed Mathison served 36 years as the senior minister of Frazer Memorial United Methodist Church in Montgomery, Alabama. He has preached and taught all across the nation. One thing I heard him say once has stuck with me ever since. John said, “If you know everything that is going on in your church, then you don’t have enough going on.” He went on to flesh that out to say, ministry is best when it is a shared endeavor. Give people a vision and direction and turn them loose! God will bless their efforts in ways you will never imagine. But if the pastor has to do it, it will be too small, too ineffectual.
I have found collaboration is the key. Getting information from all involved helps to make for a much better process. We are growing as a community of faith. We are learning as followers of Jesus. We are finding new ways to present the Good News to new people who haven’t been in church in a long time, if ever. This is happening because of all of you. Staff, volunteers, members, of Preston Hollow are nothing short of amazing. I love you all, and I love how God is using each of us to bring a little bit of heaven to bear in our corner of the world.
God bless and keep each of us. May we always give God the glory and honor for all that is happening now and on into the future.
Your companion on the Way,
Pastor Tom