[This post is a part of a series of notes from Catalyst 2011]
Andy Stanley opened up the Catalyst Conference in typical Andy Stanley fashion with a solid lesson on leadership. The following are some of the notes that I made from his talk.
"The more successful you are, the less accessible you become."
This reality often will drive us in one of two directions. Either we will refuse to face this reality and burn out or we will use this success as an excuse to allow ourselves to become more inaccessible then necessary. The latter is driven by the reailty that "unawareness is bliss." The truth is that as we invest in relational ministry, it is messy. It becomes difficult as we really begin to know the needs, hurts, and pains of those we are ministering to. It is significantly easier emotionally to avoid this reality and be unaware.
In the book of Galatians 6:10, Paul writes, "Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers." There are two difficult realities in this verse. Paul tells us that we do good to all people; everyone. But he also tells us to do this "as we have opportunity." Paul tells us to do it for everyone; and do it when we have time.
We concluded the session with 3 Tips for leading well:
1. Go deep rather than wide.
2. Go long-term rather than short-term.
3. Go time, not just money.
As Andy unpacked these tips, he shared an important reality that I have heard him say many times. "Do for one what you wish you could do for everyone." In other words, your ministry doesn't need to be fair. You don't need to refuse certain ministry opportunities because you can't do them for everyone and on the same hand, you don't have to give ministry opportunities to everyone because you did it for someone else. Do for one what you wish you could offer to everyone else.