Mike Bonem
I was taking a walk between Zoom calls when I noticed something unusual just ahead. Six leaves were swirling in a circle a few inches off the ground. They reminded me of a carnival carousel, continuing their dance in the same place for well over a minute. While I’m sure a scientist could explain this phenomenon, it seemed almost magical to me.
Much of the leadership that we learn and practice focuses on control. Discern a vision and the plans to get there. Identify the levers to pull to achieve a desired outcome. Direct the human and financial resources based on the plan. Remove the obstacles that could impede progress.
As someone who loves a good plan, I won’t say that charting this kind of course is improper. After all, leaders should be wise stewards. Planning enables us to make good use of the precious resources of time and talent that have been entrusted to us.
But the swirling leaves remind us of how much we don’t understand and can’t anticipate. Even as we plan, we need to remember another central truth of leadership: we are not in control. Sure, there may be a variety of actions we can take to influence others and to move our church or ministry forward, but there is much more that is out of our hands. As we’re reminded in Proverbs, “Many are the plans in a person’s heart, but it is the Lord’s purpose that prevails” (Prov. 19:21).
For those of us who like to be in control, our response to a disruption in plans is often to grab reins even tighter, double down on our efforts, and work ourselves to exhaustion. Could a better response be to hold plans more loosely and allow room for spontaneity? Shouldn’t we pause long enough to ask what God might be doing and what we can learn in the moment? As we do that, we may gain fresh perspective on our leadership challenges. And we might even join in the dance with whatever leaves are swirling ahead of us.
