A Dream Within

A dream surges through me
Like a river in the mountains
Bubbling up like a spring
A boiling volcano
Waiting to explode.

A dream lies within me,
Plutonium in my depths,
Dangerous riches.
Beware the miner:
Under layers of rock and life,
Unstable matter,
Radiating into my dishes and handshakes.

A dream lives within me
Like a Shawshank prisoner,
Chipping at my walls
One pocket of dust at a time.
Am I warden, friend, or escapee?
Or will life prove me three?

Leadership Fundamentals

An MDiv student just interviewed me about leadership.  Here are my answers. 

1. In your opinion, what does good leadership consist of in your organization? Good leadership is: "to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ" (Eph 4:12-13). My job is to help our people do their jobs which helps us all grow up into the people God wants us to be. This plays out by investing heavily in our pastoral team, working closely with them to help them grow as leaders. Also, I need to spend time helping our board be equipped and inspired to lead - not just to fill a post. This is always something that I can do better. My natural tendency is to try to be the loan leader rather than to lead by equipping leaders.

2. What qualities are needed to effectively lead at the top?
  A) Humility. First and foremost, we must know our own weakness, fallibility ...