Leaders need to be led.
Throughout childhood and continuing on into adulthood, I have always been a leader. I have always been one to take on too much and try to handle it all. I have always had tendencies to take charge and boss people around. I don't know why; it's just who I am! Once I got old enough, I decided to become a part of the leadership team at my church's youth group. I started leading worship occasionally, I started organizing an international missions trip, and eventually I developed an amazing Odyssey team for Rogers State, which I have continued to lead! Leadership is who I am.
Just because I lead doesn't mean I am necessarily a good leader, though. As I have matured, I have learned some very important things about leadership. First of all, I learned not to just boss people around because I quickly realized that made enemies, which is rather counterproductive in the leadership realm of life. I also realized that the more practice you have at leading, the better leader you become. Communication is also critical to successful leadership. These are all vital points to becoming an excellent leader, but the most valuable thing I have learned in my experience is that leaders need to be led.
You are probably familiar with the saying, "Behind every great man is a great woman." It doesn't necessarily have to be a man and a woman, but behind every great person, there is another great person. Some of the best leaders I have met have people who lead them. They have someone they can turn to and rely on for tips, advice, and support. In the country, our leader is the president and even he has people like the vice president and the cabinet to go to for decisions. In businesses, this same kind of principle applies: There is the CEO, VP, and the board.
The area where I have seen leaders who lack a leader the most is within the church. Head pastors have the weight of the world on their shoulders dealing with emotionally broken people, illnesses, surgeries, weddings, and death. They are expected to be everything for the people who have nothing and no one. In my experience in leadership in the church, there are times when I need to be led and spiritually poured into so I can lead others successfully and pour into their lives and my leadership position is minute compared to that of a head pastors.
One of the common practices of my church, as well as many others, is praying over people for healing, forgiveness, peace, etc. It wasn't until this Sunday that I saw a pastor be prayed over and it really got me thinking about how the congregation often overlooks the pastor's need for support. I had already thought about how I needed the prayer and support from others, but even in my own selfishness, I had not thought about my head pastor and other leading pastors.
My lead pastor is amazing. He is truly an admirable man who can mix serious issues with humor, which is a special kind of gift! He is also completely upfront and honest about his past and how his heart has changed throughout the years. He is someone who ministers to a congregation of about 300 or 400 people and is at the hospital visiting those who had surgery or who are sick. He is someone who goes out of his way to check in on the people of the congregation. I have been driving down the road to get food when my phone rings and it's him calling just to say hi and see how my week was going because he happened to pass me on the road.
This guy is awesome, obviously. But like I said, he is honest about his past and even his present. He gets emotional, and he needs to be led and poured into sometimes. He needs the love and support of the congregation he has poured so much into. All lead pastors need to be led, prayed for, prayed over, and even called randomly to see how they are doing.
This goes for everyone. People who are always giving their time will need your time. People who are always listening need to be heard. People who are always supporting, need to be supported.
"As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another." Proverbs 27:17
When it comes down to our biology, we are all equals and we all need each other to uplift, encourage, and support.
