Easter, Letting Go, and Reflection

 

    Today I have three separate thoughts that aren't necessarily directly correlated but they've been on my mind.

    Coming off the Easter season, the joy and celebration of the risen Savior is fresh on our hearts and minds. But, if your life is anything like mine, it is easy to move past Easter and return to normal or mundane life. However, the reality of what Easter means is exactly was should inspire, prompt, and motivate us in living out the Great Commission. We serve a risen Savior; not just a good teacher, not just a great leader, and not just another prophet. Every other religion can make these claims but none of them can say their prophet, leader, and teacher rose from the dead and lives forever more. This understanding is what should give us hope, confidence, and authority in directing the teams we lead to live out the purpose and vision we’ve been given. Additionally, the promise from Jesus to be with His disciples is also something we should be doing as a leader, never leaving behind those we lead.

    In Acts 13:1-4 it says, "Now in the church that was at Antioch there were certain prophets and teachers: Barnabas, Simeon who was called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen who had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch, and Saul. As they ministered to the Lord and fasted, the Holy Spirit said, 'Now separate to Me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.' Then, having fasted and prayed, and laid hands on them, they sent them away. So, being sent out by the Holy Spirit, they went down to Seleucia, and from there they sailed to Cyprus."

    The lesson I take from here is the importance of not holding onto people or things. Sometimes God will relocate or call individuals into new opportunities to accomplish His purposes and our response must be one of blessing and sending them out. While I wasn’t the leader, I do remember when one of my favorite coworkers left the radio station. He felt called to return home to another state, where he was from, to enter into a different season of ministry. Personally, I wish I would have been more supportive at the time but instead I let my personal disappointment seemingly control my response. But, if the Holy Spirit is actively working in someone’s life and leading them or calling them to new or different places, this should cause blessing and rejoicing to see the gospel going forward. Sometimes too, this may also occur within a team where a team member comes forward with a desire to serve in a new compacity. Instead of relying on our own intuition of deciding how and where people fit in, we must have an openness and receptiveness to where and how God might be challenging and growing both individuals and the team collectively.

    One of the greatest practices a team can have it taking time to reflect after both success and failure. On one hand, if you don’t know what went wrong, you’ll never know what mistakes to avoid making again. Alternatively, if you don’t take time to analyze why things go right, when they do go wrong, you may have no idea how to re-replicate what was previously successful. This understanding will not only inform future decision making, but it will also help to shape a culture of communication, effective problem solving, and collaborative brainstorming. This also doesn’t have to be a boring or cumbersome process; I have heard of many creative ways to garner and compile feedback. Deciding how this is done could also be something that is done together, giving team members an opportunity to be collectively creative may increase participation and team bonding.