Lids and Shepherds

My people have been lost sheep.
Their shepherds have led them astray
and turned them loose in the mountains.
They have lost their way
and can’t remember how to get back to the sheepfold.

Jeremiah 50:6

Leadership is something that we can all see, but few of us want to take responsibility for. We know it when there is effective and transforming leadership, but when we are called to lead, we often buck the responsibility. We look for other reasons for failure and try to assign blame to others.

For instance, my first reaction to chastisement over leaving my clothes lying around is to blame my children for distracting me. I use them as a scapegoat for my fault and irresponsibility.

Jeremiah draws attention here to the real problem - the shepherds who lead. Why do organizations wander, go astray and find themselves in trouble? It is a lack of leadership. John Maxwell calls this the "Law of the Lid" - the leader is the lid on the jar of potential - only as the leader grows, will the organization grow.

I see this to be true in my own leadership. I haven't seen growth in those I am leading, unless I myself am growing.

Jesus, today I pray that I would continue to grow as a leader. Help me to become who I am supposed to be. Thank you for never neglecting me.