August 2024
David McCullough, in his book Brave Companions, explains why he preferred a traditional watch to a digital. The digital watch “tells us only what time it is now, at this instant, as if that is all anyone would wish or need to know.” The old-fashioned clock has two hands and a face “that shows what time it is now… what time it used to be… and what time it will become.”
Pastors and church leaders who want to influence a church toward revitalization must keep those three time elements in mind: what do we need to do now, what has the church done/been in the past, and what should the church look like in the future?
The easiest way to lead is to be like the digital clock, thinking only the present matters. How were our services Sunday? What was the attendance? How was the music? If that is the extent of your thought process – just making the present as good as you can – your leadership will lack the depth you need to succeed at transformation.
McCullough highlights one particular clock which hangs in the Statuary Hall in the Capitol Building in Washington, D.C. It rests at the feet of the marble sculpture of Clio, the Muse of History, who is riding in the chariot of Time and taking notes of the events in the chamber below. The members of the House of Representatives (who met in the Hall 1819-1857) worked beneath her gaze, reminding them that they “were part of history, that their words and actions would face the judgment of history,” and that they were forming the framework for future generations.
In our leadership team meetings, our committee meetings, our business meetings, the choices we make are more than just humans discussing ideas; we are engaged in God’s great agenda for the ages! Let’s keep in mind that the local church has its roots in eternity and we are considering matters that belong to Jesus Christ, Who is the Head of the Church!
Dr. Lynn Hardaway
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