Our church planting team has found it quite difficult to devote time to work full time in normal jobs as well as make and carry out plans for our church. Bivocational work is tough. There’s no one to point to when something needs to get done; we have to actually decide who will do what, and that’s a matter of personal initiative, or volunteering.

All of us are just busy enough that we’re keeping up with what we have started to do, like the Film & Spirituality gatherings, but we’re finding it tough to add new challenges and new activities. I wouldn’t say that as a church we’re doing too much; life in general is just busy with work and school and having free time and everything.

So this is a prayer for initiative. Father, I pray that each of us would take leadership in ways appropriate to our God-given gifts, personality, and calling; that we would not be held back by distractions, yet still take time to enjoy life and pursue outside interests; that we would find and maintain balance in all these things; that you will make the path clear to us; that you will show us new and better ways of leading your church; that we will not fall into cynicism about the old ways or smugness about our new ways; that we would take on the mantle of leadership personally, and view it as a normal Christian calling to take initiative, in ways however small, for you and your Kingdom. Amen.

Previous Leadership Paradigm posts:
1 - On Being a Monk
2 - Webmaster
3 - Cultivator/Gardener
4 - Friend
5 - Coach
6 - “I help people do things”
7 - Humility // Capacity // Connection
8 - Power // Love // Self-Discipline // Suffering