Leadership: Energy

This is the second in a series of six posts about Leadership. We talked about loyalty yesterday. Today we consider the next characteristic of leadership that Zoller and Gilbert discuss, which is energy.

I like their definition of energy so much that I'm going to quote it. "We mean a fortitude to focus on the task at hand, employing all ofthe leaders' innovative gifts and graces."

My son G demonstrates one kind of energy -- that bouncing off the ceiling, talking too fast, running around kind of high octane energy that I sometimes believe that only young people possess.

Energy in leadership is a different thing. Leadership energy is that characteristic which enables a person to surrender all of his or her gifts to the work of God. It is the characteristic which enables leaders to adapt and overcome problems. I think leaders with this gift are involved in many aspects of the church, as they demonstrate the energy necessary to share all of their gifts with the church.

I want to tell you about Mary and Jeff. Mary and Jeff are good friends of ours, but they are also high-energy leaders. They give to the church of all of the gifts that God has given to them, and we as a church are blessed beyond measure because of their energy.

God has blessed Jeff and Mary with countless gifts -- the ability to teach, proclaim, organize, and affirm. They give us all of their gifts and they give of that precious gift called time.

At various points in just the last couple of years, both of them have worked in vacation Bible school, served in the nursery and in children's church. They write for our devotional ministry. Mary teaches children; Jeff teachs adults. Jeff preaches. Mary facilitates our reunion group. They are both youth leaders. Jeff cooks for our church, often. They organize, they serve, they gift unceasingly of their gifts. And all of that is just the beginning of the list of ways in which they serve the church.

Why to they do it? I've never asked them that particular question, but I imagine they do it because God has called them to do it. They do it because they care. They do it because they cannot not do it.

They are the hands, feet, voice and face of Christ in our church. They are both examples to me, to our church, to our youth and to our children of servant leadership, and we are blessed beyond measure because of them.

I thank God for Jeff and Mary.

Images: Hummingbirds outside this morning.