I’ll admit, as a leader it’s quite easy to get caught up with a vision. It’s natural because as leader’s we’re encouraged to look out for opportunities and then take the lead in making things happen. But sometimes we find ourselves alone out front, and wonder what happened to the people we’re leading? Why aren’t they with us?

Going Fishing – Who’s in?

Take a scenario of a group of people going fishing on a lake. Typical leaders get the vision, jump in the boat and are off to fish straight away. But the rest of the group may take a different approach. As the leaders look back they find that half the people are still on the river bank. Some are still prepping their fishing gear.

Some are just starting to launch their boats. Others are on the water but are heading in the opposite direction. Some are going in circles and still others haven’t yet even decided if they feel like fishing after all. That’s when you realise that only leading from the front doesn’t always help facilitate transition.

John Maxwell in his book Winning with People admits that patience is not one his strengths. He says:

“When I was younger I constantly cast vision for the people in my organization and then left them behind – not a good thing for a leader.”

2011 saw some exciting changes at Mars Hill Baptist. But as exciting as that vision of building was, we know now that in the process we left some people behind. There were parts of the process where as leaders we simply dropped the ball. During this three-part series, I’ll share three humbling lessons learned.

Mars Hill Renovation (2011)

Lesson 1 – Buildings House Memories – Don’t Erase Their Significance

Mars Hill has been part of the Austin community for more than 30 years. Families have celebrated many memorable weddings. Parents have introduced their children to the church and sat Sunday after Sunday in the pews together. Others have said goodbye to loved ones and those last few words in that place were significant.

People have heard from God in their own quiet way through listening to a particular sermon or whispering a quiet prayer. And all of that happened in a place that is now looks completely different. Walking through the front door no longer triggers those memories.  Memories hold significance and give people a sense of belonging.

So when everything looks so different it’s easy to understand how the memories maybe won’t seem quite as real and people feel left out. One of the ways in which we as leaders dropped the ball is that we didn’t take the time to understand the significance of these memories and that for some the transition would be a little more difficult.

Mars Hill Renovation (2011)

Do you believe buildings house memories?