Unfortunately this is infinitely easier to write about then it is to actually do. I am not dissing you at all, Im just saying that leading up sucks!!

I have been leading up for several years. I cast vision for an organization that is not my own. I determine the strategy, I set the meetings, I create the systems… and it sucks!! Many positive things are happening around me but it just feels weird. The people recognize it. It is the elephant in the room.

It feels like I am raising someone else’s kid. Who am I to determine the direction of this church? How can I set the core values? How can I lead my pastor?

I remember what Jim Collins said at Catalyst this year. “Who you work for is way more important than where you work.”

He then dropped the bombshell of an answer to the question, “When should I leave my church/place of employment?

— “When you start asking that question.”

I know it may sound cliche but I have stuck my hands over my eyes/ears a thousand times and repeated the mantra, “I work for Jesus, not any man!” It is the only way that I can do what I am currently doing. It is how I lead up without giving up.