What started out as a podcast planned around this title: “How Can a Pastor or Leader Flourish around Christmas?” evolved into a very different podcast about the leadership mistakes I made around Christmas. I allowed the pressure of the wider church culture, my own unresolved shadow issues, and my low-level of differentiation to make decisions that were not God’s best.
In this podcast, I share the five major mistakes I made. Sadly, it actually took me nineteen years to implement significant changes! The following are 5 leadership mistakes that I hope and pray you can avoid around Christmas so that your life and leadership might BE the message of Christmas:
1. I failed to put first things first. I did not steward myself or my family well.
2. I wasted time trying to live someone else’s life and ministry. I grew anxious as other churches thrived and flourished in their large Christmas events.
3. I engaged in faulty thinking. Jesus taught and modeled that the ways of God are little and slow. Yet, I allowed myself to be seduced by the culture’s message of big and fast.
4. I didn’t say “No” strongly or clearly enough. The voices coming at me were loud. I needed time alone, and with Geri, to get clear on our limits.
5. I didn’t adjust my rhythms sufficiently. I may have taken the week between Christmas and the New Year to recharge, but I often “cheated” by doing work on sermons and long-range planning during that time. (Thus, it was not a real Sabbath). I also needed more time to compensate for how much life I had expended during the month of December.
I trust you will add to this list. Most importantly, I pray this podcast challenges you to courageously listen to the voice of Jesus about how he wants you to lead and serve others around Christmas.
Blessings,
Pete
