Leadership vs. Management

Some time ago, I heard or read something that proposed that "leadership is doing the right things," while "management is doing things right." For several days, this thought has come back to me.

In many ways, management is easier than leadership. We can get comfortable learning a specific task. Over time, we can get faster & more efficient at doing it. However, the danger of management thinking without some leadership thinking as well is that that we can get very good at doing the wrong things. What was right and proper and effective to do at one time can easily become an irrelevant dinosaur in just a short period. For example, I could get very good at digging trenches with a shovel. However, with the right machine, what took me an hour to do by hand could take 2 minutes with a machine.

In terms of ministry, techniques or strategies that were effective one day can quickly become outdated or unfruitful the next day. Sometimes what works in one context might not work in another.

When we returned to Paris, the first sermon we heard was from John 15 about God's pruning in our lives for fruitfulness. Somewhere else in John, Jesus talked about only doing the works that the Father had prepared for him.

As we look at this fall season of ministry in Paris, it's important to try to listen to God and discern what are the specific works that He has for us. For it's God who gives the fruit. Of course, this doesn't mean just to do passively wait and do nothing, even though we sometimes need to actively wait. Nor does it mean to plow ahead with our plans and ideas and then ask God to bless them.

Sometimes an activity or opportunity that seems small does lead to something major that God wants us to do.

When we returned to Paris last month, there was an e-mail from Jason in Arizona about 2 backpacks that had gotten left at Roissy DeGaulle Airport. One of them contained something very precious to his 7 year old son Damon. This treasure was the toy bear that Damon had slept with every night since he was a baby. These backpacks had gotten transferred to the lost and found office in Paris. If they were not picked up within 10 days, they would have been destroyed.

When I first got the e-mail, I thought that it was just another request from a tourist. It seemed like a waste of time and I didn't want to get involved. However, God changed my heart and I did end up picking up their backpacks for them, then shipping them back to the U.S. Strangely, I received much joy knowing that a young boy who had been praying every day to get his bear back would be happy. From what his father wrote, it was a joyful reunion.

This morning I received an e-mail from a pastor friend in Florida, who asked if I had been able to find out about a concert pianist in Paris who was the son of a friend of hers. Again, this seemed just like another thing to do. However, I did look up his name and it looks like he's in Paris, although I don't know where. He apparently isn't doing well with the Lord.

I'm wondering if this will be a season of seeking out precious treasures who are lost in Paris. Perhaps the lost teddy bear wasn't just a coincidence, but a picture of what part of this season will be for us. In the parable of the lost sheep in John 15, Jesus said that there was more joy in heaven about 1 lost sheep who was found than about the 99 who were safely back at home.

In any case, lost people are a priority to God. They need to be sought after intentionally and proactively, rather than just passively waiting for them to come to us. May God change our hearts and our schedules so that His priority of helping the lost get home will be accomplished. This is a leadership issue, as it won't necessarily happen without a decision.