Watch out for that right hook!

I was sitting at work the other night, watching a computer screen and reading Tony Morgan's new book, "Killing Cockroaches" when I had 2 serious conviction come over me. I thought I was going to throw up. That is how strong these were. Those thoughts were: "Why do I volunteer at my church?" and "Is my leadership what it should be?" I'll unpack these ideas one at a time.

1st Up: "Why do I volunteer?"

Now listen, I love volunteering at my church!!! The statement I am trying to make here is, "What is the motivation behind my service?" Am I motivated by what God has told me I should do, or am I motivated out of personal gratification? Serving does make me feel better about myself, but why does it? At first I was having a terrible thought, "I volunteer because I was others to see me volunteering." But the more I thought about that, the more I realized that I am probably the most unrecognized volunteer at my church. A lot of people see me, but they do not know how I am serving. I started a security team for Revolution Church that grew from 2 people to 20 people in 2 years. I cast a vision for that team and thankfully, people bought into that vision and helped me accomplish what I had set out to do. Another point of pride for me is that 2 of the first volunteers that I started with are still volunteering on the team.

Paul tells us in 2 Corinthians 9:7 that, "Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver." Volunteering is a way to give back to the church, but I think that you must do it happily because that is what is most pleasing to God. So I think that my heart is in the right place when it comes to Volunteering.

Next up: "Is my leadership what it should be?"

This one is the one that I am having the most problems with. I have been exposed to leadership principles my entire adult life. I've spend my entire adult life carrying a gun and a badge. During that time, I had the great honor of serving my country in the United States Marine Corps. There are 11 Leadership Principles and 14 Leadership Traits that are ingrained in our heads during our service. They are meant to challenge and stretch us to be functional and outstanding leaders. I try every day to function within these guidelines to develop myself as a functional leader. I heard, and took to heart, a quote from Tim May, Revolution Church's Executive Pastor. He said, "If you can lead volunteers, you can lead anyone." That has stuck with me and I imagine that I will remember that for the rest of my life.

Have I been an effective leader? I don't know. And not knowing is that part that stresses me. I guess that only time will tell, but I feel confident that I can continue to improve in this area of my life. I have come to learn these few things:

1. Leadership is not about yourself.
2. You must be in the trenches if you want the respect of those you lead.
3. People don't care what you know until they know that you care.
4. You will go farther with people's hearts than you will with their hands.
5. Leading is not easy, or popular for that matter.

But this is just what I have been experiencing. Feel free to leave some comments and share your thoughts.