building the Church while you build a church

The building process is usually a long one, and for a myriad of good reasons, our eyes are usually focused on the end of the process.

But I've been reading a lot about leadership lately. One book I recently enjoyed was Steven B. Sample's The Contrarian's Guide to Leadership. The underlying theme throughout the book is that leadership is a process, and it's less about the leader than most of us assume.

So I was thinking, if building a church facility is a process and leadership is a process, why not marry the two? Focus on the process of creating a building and the process of leading a strong organization at the same time - you'll probably end up with a better building, more respect as a leader, and a stronger church body.

For example, chapter five in Sample's Guide is called "Decisions, Decisions." One topic covered is that of delegation. "Never make a decision that you can reasonably delegate." Two reasons for this are developing strong "lieutenants," and developing a strong organization - those that don't hang on your every word, but could carry on if something should happen to you.

The building process is a good time to exercise what you've been taught about good leadership. Most of what I've been taught lately is that good leaders build good organizations and develop capable employees. Use this time to listen to people you have perhaps written off in the past, or delegate authority and responsiblity in order to grow the people on your team. You can come out of this with not only a new building, but a refreshed and energized church body.