Voids

There are certain professions which require an audience with engagement.  I am not talking about concerts and theatres; performing can, although probably not for long, have its own reward.  There is one type of role which doesn’t happen without another; leadership.  Leaders require community.  Leaders do not function with engaged people (supporting or resisting).  Leaders are only needed, can only function, and only exist to serve the needs of  the group.  It is easy for a leader to forget her or his audience. 
 
Sometimes hearing and reading about leaders and their handiwork is painful.  Having forgotten their place, leaders have pursued a tangent without a posse.  This is embarrassing to say the least!  Having lost sight of true leadership values and priorities, leaders have sought to manipulate and coerce.  Rarely does any team survive very long under this regime.  The truth of one’s leadership is always lurking nearby.  And then there are those who try to lead for their own purposes; as if we are all here to make them look good.  Yet again, in almost all circumstances the truth arrives with time.
 
When the  bad stuff happens, a scene out of hell itself plays out.  “Vultures and skunks will police the streets; owls and crows will feel at home there.  God will reverse creation.  Chaos!  He will cancel fertility.  Emptiness!  Leaders will have no one to lead.  They'll name it No Kingdom There, a country where all kings and princes are unemployed.”  (Isaiah 34.11, 12)
 
I wonder if I realize the foundation on which I am employed?  You may not realize it, but you are a leader – we all are.   You may reject the call, yet others will look to see what you do, how your pursue your goals, and what works in your life.  Whatever you do, say, and choose will be part of your relationship with others; your leadership.  God calls us into the void of relationship.  We are called to be in and demonstrate what it is like to walk with confidence.  It is, or can be, our first step of leadership.