I am a doer. I like to get things done, keep things organized and NOT spend time looking for them. I don’t like to waste time looking for them. Some people call that being a Type A personality; I call it someone you can rely upon to get things done.

However, as I continue to grow spiritually and focus energy on discipling people, I see that there is a danger of projecting that perspective on other people. In other words, the dangerous attitude is: if I can get people to see the task that needs to be done, they’ll do it and everyone will be happy.

It works great in the military! While they certainly spend a great deal of training time on professional character development, the task is primary.  It must be one of the reasons why I enjoyed the military so much. I could let people know the parameters of the mission and expect it to be accomplished. But that does not always work in the spiritual realm of ministry.

In pastoring, I seek help people see where we are going and then set up a plan to get us there. I cast a vision and help people see the steps for growth and tasks to be done so that the spiritual mission of discipleship and multiplication can be accomplished. It might be preparation of the bulletin each week or the coordination of youth events or operations of our Noah’s Ark Childcare. BUT, in all of these, what matters to me more than getting things done (besides the safety of all people involved), is character development.  And that takes time. That is the big picture! That seeks heart transformation of the person!

You can force behavioral change of people through lists, quotas and requirements. You can ensure the tasks get done for large scale operations. But if the heart is not transformed in the process, does it really matter? Behavioral change is important for children up to age five. But if parents and leaders do not start working on character development by age five, then resistance and rebellion can easily increase in the child and eventually the adult.

A leader must always see the big picture and realize heart transformation in people is the key! Change the heart and people will want to get the tasks done and done well.  What does that take? Let me give you five core values in leading for change. (This will be posted tomorrow!)

While you are waiting for that article, look at the character qualifications of 1 Timothy 3:1-13.  How many are oriented to task completion compared to character qualifications?