I was sitting in a coffee shop, looking out the window at the adjacent playground, and I noticed a 4-year old boy climbing up the slide from bottom to top. We’ve probably all seen this dozens of times. It seems to be a fascination with children. Perhaps it should be a fascination with leaders.

First, pause to consider why a child goes up the slide in reverse of the intended direction. In some cases it is an act of rebellion – they’ve been told that the slide is a one-way apparatus. But more often it is an act of creativity or exploration or challenge. It’s as if the child is saying, “I want to do something different” or “I want to discover something new” or “It’s easy to slide down – the challenge is to go up.”

Is your leadership characterized by creativity and exploration? Do you embrace or avoid challenges? Far too often, pastors and ministry leaders seem to settle for just going down the slide. And they often do so cautiously, like the child who uses her feet as a brake to keep from building up momentum.

Of course, the reasons for a lack of creativity and exploration are legitimate. Churches and ministries create many barriers to experimentation. Leaders who pursue new ideas are often punished. Even if the threat isn’t this direct, venturing into the unknown takes time and attention, something that seems to be in short supply for ministry leaders. 

While I recognize these reasons, I’m convinced that we will never reach our potential if we don’t take some risks and experiment with new ideas. So take an afternoon to sit on a park bench near a playground, and dream about the slides that you want to climb. 

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