Many Christian leaders have had those meetings where the agenda was set, the materials were passed out, the DVD was cued and the clock was ticking. We had our agenda ready to go. We knew what we needed to accomplish and where we needed the meeting to go. But then something happens. God shows up. I mean we usually pray that God would be with us in the meeting but I don't know how often we're ready for Him to show us and take control of the meeting.
At this point, we as leaders have two options. One, pull the meeting back to our agenda; or two, follow the lead of the Holy Spirit and go where God wants the meeting to go. Here are three things that can happen when we surrender control and follow the Holy Spirit's lead.
1. We find alignment in our discussion. Allowing the Holy Spirit to lead allows us the opprotunity to let go of our own personal agendas and find alignment in the group. Often the people that are gathered in the room, at the table, or on the committee bring their own perspectives on the issues. This isn't good or bad - it just is. But when the Holy Spirit leads the meeting with His agenda we see how our perspectives fit in the overall picture instead of being elevated above another person's. At the end of the day we should want what God wants.
2. We learn to trust each other. There comes a point in the meeting when we realize that God is doing something special and that returning to the original agenda is not a priority. At this point everyone begins to lean into the conversation a little more and share more freely. Because we've already surrendered to the Holy Spirit we begin to see the hearts and others and we begin to affirm each other. This builds trust. You can do a ropes course or a trust fall but allowing God to take control and surrender to him is better.
3. We are reminded that God is bigger than our ideas. We are finite and we are short sighted. When God takes over he expands our horizons and extends our view. As we find alignment in our conversations and trust among each other we see how big God is and how little our ideas can really be. I think he loves our individual ideas but I also think he longs to share with a team collectively his grand ideas. More people, more alignment, more trust.
Sometimes the best meetings are the ones where we never even get to the first bullet point on our agenda. Allowing God or better following God as he takes over is the best decision a leader and a group can make.
When was the last time you allowed God to take control of your meeting?
So what is it that keeps you from following God's lead?
What would happen if your agenda never got accomplished, if the blanks were left empty, if the outline was never completed ... could you be at rest with that?
No comments:
Post a Comment