What the Braves Need...

It's July, almost August, and baseball is in full swing. My Cardinals are only four games back in the Central Division and they're tied for the wild card chase. I got to watch them stomp Atlanta last night in a game that had some really entertaining moments.

For those of you who don't follow sports, let me give you an update. Tuesday, the Atlanta Braves traded their first baseman, Mark Teixiera, to the LA Angels for their first baseman, Casey Kochman. In the long run, that may be a beneficial move for the Braves, but for now, it's a setback as they lost one of their leading hitters and run-scorers.

The Braves are 9 games out of first place and have looked pretty flat all season. They're usually good for about 8 innings every game, but always have that one inning that they give up too many runs and reach a point of no return. It's not the Braves that we loved from the 90's for sure.

I'm in the process of establishing next year's leadership for Mt. Bethel and there are alot of considerations that must be made. At the same time, I'm watching the Braves and trying to figure out why they look so flat this year. I believe it comes down to leadership. In the 90's, you had some great leader figures on the team and the team acted like one. They worked together, they laughed and cut up, and they won games. Now, if you watch them, who would be the leader? Most people point to Chipper Jones, but he's hot and cold all the time and now plagued with injuries. What about John Smoltz or Tom Glavine? Also hurt.

I compare them to the other teams that are doing well and those teams may have some star power on the lineup, but more importantly, they've got leadership. Guys that may not be dazzling everybody, but that are rock solid and consistent that provide inspiration for their teammates. I've determined that great leadership isn't found in a person's spectacular ability, but in the way that they make everyone else better.

Great leaders give 100% and therefore can expect 100%. Great leaders pick up their teammates when they're down and help them keep perspective when great things happen or when things get too serious. Great leaders can laugh and also give vision and direction.

Our churches need this same leadership. Too often, church leaders get leadership confused with doing EVERYTHING. They forget that they haven't been called to be better than everybody else, but to make everybody else better.

It's tragic when that's lost and we have to search for that leadership wherever and whenever we can. As a pastor, I also know that if I work hard and inspire others to work hard while giving them the freedom and security to screw up every now and then, those quality leaders will rise to the top. Thank God we're seeing that take place at Mt. Bethel.

It's not always the strength of the single Barbarian, but his or her ability to pull together the strength of other Barbarians.