Mike 
After a hot, dry August, we’ve had a number of rainy days in Houston. One of the natural occurrences with this weather pattern is the sudden appearance of mushrooms. I wondered why mushrooms seem to appear out of nowhere after the rains, so I looked it up. The answer is that a microscopic version of a mushroom was already there, waiting to spring to life.
In other words, the potential for large, visible mushrooms is sitting in the grass all along, but is only activated by the damp conditions. If we were talking about volunteer leaders in your church or ministry, how would the same sentence read? The potential for more leaders has been sitting in your pews all along, but they are only activated by ____.
What goes in the blank to complete the sentence? I think the answer is four words rather than one. The potential leaders who are sitting in your pews need opportunity, encouragement, mentoring, and freedom:
- They need opportunities that match their gifts and experiences. Some leaders are untapped because no one has presented them with the right opportunity.
- Encouragement is a logical progression from opportunity. No one wants to just fill a need – they want to believe that they have a unique contribution to make and that doing so will truly make a difference for the organization.
- Some would-be-leaders don’t see how to convert their raw potential into actual results. A mentoring relationship is more than encouragement — it provides the guidance and fuel to bridge this gap.
- When a person has true leadership gifts, they don’t need to be closely monitored or told step-by-step what to do. They need freedom to use their gifts and lead.
