Exodus 16:7

Being in leadership can be tough. People like to complain. To let you know how they would do things. How they don't like certain things that you do. Or how they have the greatest idea that they just want to share with you, but if you don't use it, then you're an idiot. People like to complain about leadership, until they are the one leading.
I hate leading outside of God's will. When you're leading within God's will, then you're really not even leading, you're just following and showing others how to follow you. When you're leading outside of God's will, you're forging the path on your own. Who knows where you'll end up then?
Within God's will though, leadership is just following and any complaints you receive are just complaints against God. Kind of removes you from the whole equation. God, I pray that I would be the kind of leader who follows you closely.
JM

2 Samuel 19:1-8

When you're in leadership you can't react to things the way that other people do. You have to be more concerned with the good of the whole. You have people serving under you that are looking to you to determine how they should react to things. The temptation is to selfishly show your emotions of regret, anger, disappointment, rather than showing the positive and encouraging hope. People don't want to follow someone who is a downer. They want to be inspired. They want to have hope. They want to feel a passion for something. I want to be that kind of leader. JM

Acts 5:22-28

I hate it when I screw up. When I make a mistake. I'm not a perfectionist or anything, but I like things to be a certain way and it bugs me when they're not and I'm the cause of it. I've screwed up enough to know how to handle it, though. A lot of people like to act as if they did nothing wrong. Either that nothing bad happened, or that they are not the cause of it. This just makes them look stupid.
I'd rather just admit fault, accept responsibility, work to rectify the situation, and move on in a manner that will hopefully avoid the mistake in the future. I guess that's hard for some people. I don't really know why, it seems the easiest way to handle it, although I guess it can be a bit humbling.
Because I like things a certain way, it's tough for me to delegate. We have a huge middle school event tomorrow night. I'm running through all of the details in my mind right now. I think everything is ready, but I delegated some of the tasks and I'm scared that they won't get done, or at least not to the standard of quality that I would hope for. I guess that's part of leadership, though, learning to let go. JM

Let's Not Have A Plan

It's easier to not have a plan. To go at things and just see what happens. But it's horrible leadership. It might make other people feel better emotionally, but it's probably not in their best interest. New Orleans has scaled back their rebuilding plan because of a lack of money. Instead of having a massive rebuilding plan, they are going with a "let's see what happens approach".

The plan -- the general outlines of which were approved by the City Council earlier this year -- is not the radical remaking of the city urged by some urban planners who wanted to see a New Orleans with a much smaller footprint, and with people moved out of flood-prone areas.

Instead, it largely embraces Mayor Ray Nagin's settle-where-you-will philosophy, while also endorsing the removal of blight and the creation of parks, affordable apartments and vibrant communities.

If you had any questions as to whether Ray Nagin was an incompetent leader, I think this settles it. Why not say we're not going to resettle areas that are 10 feet below sea level? Or come up with a plan that costs less, but still moves people out of flood-prone areas? Horrible. JM

Acts 1:23 - 26

This has always been one of my favorite passages. People love to talk about how they always know God's will in every aspect of their lives and they make it seem like there is no doubt for them. I don't typically feel that way. Usually it seems like there are a couple good options. Like I could choose any of several options and any of them would be in God's will.
That's what I get out of this. They cast lots to figure out who would replace Judas. Pretty important decision. And they couldn't make it.
I do think that they made a mistake here, though. I mean, where's the leadership? Why not say "Both of these guys are great, but we have to choose one, so it's going to be this one and here's why..." Now that's leadership. Not, "Uh, we can't make up our mind, so let's do it by chance and then nobody can get upset because it's just the luck of the draw..." JM

Really Lame Leadership

These are the 31 Refutable Irrefutable Laws Of Lame Leadership. It runs through 31 ways to be a horrible leader. I learn so much better like this, when people make you laugh, think, and then slam with you the truth. Pretty interesting read. (ht:Ben Arment) JM

The Joys Of Debate

I love that my senior pastor loves to debate. At staff retreat we were debating a point. I started saying something rather passionately, and then he started to talk over me. But I didn't stop. I just got louder. It was fun. Everybody joked that I was going to be fired, but he loves that kind of stuff. I think it actually made him like me more. I love that he doesn't just want us all to fall in line with whatever he says, but that he wants us to contribute and to be passionate about it. It's great leadership. JM

Colts

I love the Indianapolis Colts. I was born in Indianapolis, so when I started getting into football, they were the team I chose. And no I'm not a fair-weather fan. I've suffered through some rough times (3-13). I'm watching the game of the week recap of the AFC championship from last Sunday.

I love watching Peyton Manning. He's such a great leader. He knows so much about the game, but he's always trying to study and learn more. I love that he led them back after being down 21-3.

I also love that they were supposed to lose 3 weeks ago to Kansas City because they wouldn't be able to stop Larry Johnson. They were supposed to lose 2 weeks ago to Baltimore because they wouldn't be able to move the ball against such a strong defense and the Colts wouldn't be able to stop Jamaal Lewis. They were supposed to lose last week because Tom Brady is so "clutch" and Bill Bellichick is a coaching genius. And yet the Colts will play in the Super Bowl in 9 days. I'm so pumped. JM