Day 11 - Gathering the Scattered

[prchsd]

“Go back out and do not come home without it� were the words of the father to his son who lost one of the sheep he was tending. (83) The boy loss the sheep because he was distracted. Distractions get the best of us and in some instances, may cost us our ministries as noted by the illustrations in Preventing Ministry Failure. Distractions are desires that appear harmless on the surface but can become consuming if the person is not attentive and disciplined. Distractions can be as seemingly innocuous as eating the candy bar you’re not supposed to eat or on a more severe level, giving into the attractions for another person. Whatever the case, distractions draw our focus away from our priorities. In doing so, we are left vulnerable because we cared more for ourselves than the task at hand.
Reflecting on the consequences of distractions, I recall a similar lesson I had to teach my soldiers. On return from any field exercise, there is an accountability check for sensitive items. Every weapon, gas mask, and round of ammunition must be counted. After the officer in charge validates the count, soldiers are released for the day. On this occasion, my platoon returned from a two-week exercise. As we began the count, tension began to stir. No one wanted to tell me, but a weapon was missing. Naturally, soldiers were upset because they understood the impact of a missing weapon. When we finished the count, they were correct; a weapon was missing. At that point, it would have been easy for me to send the soldier and his immediate supervisor back to the field to find the weapon. That would not serve my purpose. One of the things I stressed from the moment I took over was that we worked as a team. So, we all went back. And because we did, we located the weapon rather quickly. Were there repercussions for the soldier who lost the weapon; absolutely. But returning to the field as a team said to him that although he made a mistake, he was still a part of the team.
A leader’s task is to understand that things will happen, even bad things. However, the larger question is how do you keep a person whole, even if discipline is necessary. Being responsible and holding people accountable is a critical skill for leaders. It is a skill that will be tested. It is a skill that no one likes to use. Leaders should prepare to lose some people. In those cases, you send them in prayer, recognizing no matter what, they are still children of God.