Guardrails and Warning Signs

I’m thankful for guardrails on highways. Fortunately, I’ve never had a close encounter with one, but I’m sure that many lives have been saved because a guardrail kept a car from plunging over a cliff or into a river. Recently as I was driving on a highway, I saw a temporary orange caution sign that said “Guardrail Damage Ahead.” Within half a mile, I came upon a bridge where someone had bounced off the guardrail, causing damage to it. The state highway department had been alerted to this damage and had put up the sign as a warning until the guardrail could be repaired. The money spent on building (and repairing) guardrails is well worth it, but I’m not so sure about the money spent on the signs. Do you really think that a driver sees the sign and thinks, “Oh, wow! I need to be more alert on that next bridge since the guardrail may not protect me”? Do you think that the sign saves any lives? I doubt it. And yet, somewhere in the bureaucracy of the highway department, a decision was made to use warning sign to “improve safety.” As leaders, we need to distinguish between establishing a guardrail and putting up the sign. One is valuable, even necessary. It protects people. It reduces the risk of catastrophe. The other – the warning sign – seems like a good idea to someone. It’s hard to argue that it’s a bad idea, and it may seem relatively inexpensive and harmless. But when we try to anticipate everything that can go wrong or protect against all possible risks, vision and bold leadership often die. What is a leader to do? Establish the kinds of guardrails that are appropriate – protect children, provide guidelines for starting ministries, insure that small groups are focused on discipleship. But skip the warning signs – you’ll spend a lot of time for very little value and will frustrate those who want to sail down the highway toward an exciting future. It’s easy to receive my blogs by email. Just sign-up on Feedburner by clicking here.]]>