Lead or Leave

I don't mean this post's title as an ultimatum. Far from prescriptive, I'd like to consider for a few lines here that it might in fact be descriptive. Maybe it's the answer to the perennial question of why young people largely don't remain in the church even if they start out there. Could it be that "Lead or Leave" is the instinct that many young people feel, and those that don't (ie, the natural followers) are just following the leaders who leave because leading isn't an option offered by most churches?

It seems that we're most likely to follow our peers first before we'll go out on a limb with people that are of a significantly different demographic than us. And those that are the natural leaders, then, have the greatest influence over those in their own demographic. So here's this great synergistic ecosystem of thoughts, actions and influences flowing between leaders and followers in every generation. But the church almost completely lacks the mechanism to matriculate that generation into the mainstream flow of church activities because once they outgrow the "youth ministries" box, they are not allowed to take the helm at the next logical echelon, that of adult ministry.

Sure, we'll let a few through. Those that are willing to march to the beat of our drum. But those that are doing their own drumming and the peers that are marching with them, are for all intents and purposes shown the back door because we don't give them control of the front door. And they very effectively march onward and outward but not with our blessing and not with our vision.

Ahem...

It's been a long meeting and others have made their points over and over. You're beginning to think all the options are on the table and then, someone new clears their throat. All eyes turn to the understated member of the committee who has been thoughtfully listening, and when they begin to speak, clarity seems to come into the conversation like fresh air from an open window.

Ahhh. To be that person.

Solomon prayed for wisdom and I'm still not sure why God gave him all the other things because in the end it seems like it was those other things that diluted the wisdom gift and ultimately posed the greatest threat to it. So let's just stick with wisdom. Or better yet, Wisdom. Because in the book of Proverbs, Solomon personifies wisdom and points it right back to its divine origin.

So as much as I'd like to be the person that listens and then has the last, magical words that draws everything together into a wise package that everyone agrees on, it's really all up go to the real Author behind my life. So I'll try spend more time listening to Him too, before I speak.