Which is true, "If your church does not break 200 in the first 36 months it never will!" Or, "The best years of a pastor often begin in years 5, 6 or 7?" Two very different viewpoints! Maybe both are true! But if you are past year 3 what do you do now?
The time value of money says invest your money in the right places, consistently and over time you will experience the results. Watching churches and church leaders across the country, I see the same power of exponential impact is often catalyzed by leaders who consistently build a culture of outreach, develop leaders, and hang in through the ups and downs.
Leaders want to make a difference. We want to see progress and impact. We do the reading. We go to conferences and experience a dream moment there. When we hear of a church that has reached the pivot moment, explosive growth, we mistakenly ask the leader what catalyzed the pivotal moment. The mistake is thinking that if we could harness that one pivotal moment and inject it into our church we could ride the wave as well.
However, what is most often overlooked, are the day by day steps the leader took leading to that pivotal moment. Success and impact is never the result of one decision. It may be the result of "one more" added decision that catalyzed the move. More often, that move began decades earlier when the church decided to relocate to a growing side of town, focus on the children's ministry, become outward focused, or call a new leader. The day-by-day process of forming disciples who live missionally, give sacrificially, and serve passionately may take months or even years to create the desired growth wave. The time value of leadership reminds leaders to keep doing the right things (Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. Galatians 6:9).
Jim Collins "Good to Great" clearly declares that the process of creating the good to great movement (exponential growth in a church) flows from a series of steps. Those steps "turn the flywheel" and cause the growth more than a stand alone moment, decision, added staff or outreach event could do.
The time value of leadership says keep turning the flywheel (making disciples and building a culture that has the power and passion of the Spirit flowing freely). The time value of leadership declares that if a leader will think strategically, day by day make one more decision that will prepare for the expansion (multiplying leaders, creating a better assimilation system, etc) a harvest will one day come. It may be that leader will not be present to see the results, but leave no doubt when the pivot moment ignites, the day by day leadership becomes the foundation for sustained growth and development.
Day by day, decision by decision we are building a future, leaning forward in the hope that our efforts will have a harvest. That's the time value of leadership.
