Need

I once had a boss who used to trumpet “Ask for what you need!” She was adamant about stepping up and making your needs known. She used to say that people operated on assumptions so much of the time that it was no wonder we “got it wrong” as much as we did—as we do, because we’re reluctant to “just ask” instead of hoping someone will notice, or guess, what we need. In fact, said she, it was amazing we ever got it right at all!

Now as I’m reading over last week’s Distinctive blog post, one sentence that jumps out at me is this one: “the sermon is based on the what the leadership team perceives is needed in the congregation.”

If you’re part of a leadership team, how much time to you spend trying to perceive the needs of your congregation? If you’re part of a congregation, do you have a way to let folks know your needs? And all of you, what part of your time is spent trying to figure out what your community needs from you?

From where I sit, it seems we spend a whole lot of time guessing what others need, regretting which of our own needs are not being met and forgetting entirely that we just might be the means of meeting many of those needs, both inside and outside a traditional congregation.

I do know we have some people in our lives who are very, very needy. Maybe there are some who would happily fill your ears with their many unmet needs. But as a truly perceptive leader, shouldn’t you be finding ways to deal with those persons in a pastoral way (maybe by delegating to those with a nurturing gift) while you work with your team as a whole to be about “what matters most”? It always seems to come back to this, doesn’t it?

Join our conversation friends. What bits of this whole conversation are resonating for you?

Posted by Marion