I’ve encountered groups of people recently, and not so recent, who customarily, in the face of a decision, freeze.
They say…“We need more time to decide.” or… “We need to slow down.”
If you’ve experienced this too, then you know the heart ache of watching hope and progress get stuck in the mud. It’s tragic.
MOMENTUM BUILDING…
Knowing what is essential to save the life of your organization/family/personal life, etc, or at least reinvigorate it, is not too difficult anymore. Social media, and our small-world of networking, is making it easier to ask for help and find similar situations from which to gain confidence and determine the best course of action.
Getting people to actually make the decision is where the difficulty lies. Why? Because….Decisions are scary and they demand responsibility toward action, causing the fearful’s brain to terrifyingly scream, “It’s better to not decide.”
Fear in action…
Fearful people are also afraid of admitting they are afraid…So…they camouflage their fear under the excuse of needing more time….explaining it away as being responsible and good stewards. In a meeting of fearful people, with no risk taking leadership in the room, fear will win every time. It’s why the org is stuck and rarely ever breaks through the next growth barrier. In all reality, the only growth barrier any organization has, is a lack of courageous and wise leadership.
Fear… lies to its listener. It whispers, “If you have more time, you can move away from the decision. Maybe someone else will make it for you. Maybe it won’t need to be made at all.”
If the fearful have control…the org gets stuck in a rut. The only difference between a rut and a grave, is six feet.
Wisdom lived out…
Wisdom hears fear’s whispering, and will consider the possibility that fear has something worthwhile to contemplate. Wisdom then thanks fear for the concern, and then courageously moves forward, and quickly. Fear can have no control in an organization if that organization wants to be healthy and productive. If decisions can’t be made, due to fearful people controlling the momentum, then a leader must rise and have the courage to replace the fearful, with the faithful. (It’ll require a different post to explain the dangerous process of replacing fearful types with faithful types.)
The reality is, fearful people don’t have it in them to step over the edge of the cliff your org needs to rappel life-savingly down. The fearful will strangle the faith attempt…its just too scary for them. (They can change from being fearful to faithful, but again, that’s another post.)
In the Church-World, where I am thankful to get to lead, the decision making for mission accomplishment, is where God is swiftly moving and leading us. He’s running ahead of us looking back with a big smile, beckoning us to keep up. If we move to slow or not at all…well…the Lord will out pace us, and will move out of sight very soon. He will keep moving, without us, and find a courageous leadership team who can keep the pace with Him. This creates a missed growth opportunity for everyone in the Org, tragically, due to a few fearful types controlling the speed of the whole thing. What a missed opportunity. Fear motivated leadership creates an Org that continually misses out on opportunity for character building, growth, health, and mission accomplishment…and ultimately…victory!
The work of a great leader is to make tough decisions. In the faith world, those decisions need to be made in wisdom and with speed. Decisions in Church world, have the Creator of the sun, moon, and stars leading and backing them. That same creator commanded us to, “GO!” And, my experience has proven that God moves swiftly when it comes to the Great Commission. He’s patient with us personally, but that is different than being slow in accomplishing the great commission and stepping out in faith as the Church.
THE SOLUTION:
Surround yourself with wise, faithful, and holy people who never allow fear to have the final say! Build great team and trust with them. Surround yourself with people who won’t bow and submit to the fake god named fear. Surround yourself instead with people who hunger to fit in the ranks of the greats of biblical history who did astounding things for God and His Kingdom. God is perfect love, and perfect love casts out fear!
You have an adventure that God wants to orchestrate through you…be faithful, not fearful, and get ready for an adventure that will carry rewards into eternity!
Life is short. Decide. Make a decision now. Count the cost, and decide! Make the decision a yes or a no…and either one will have inevitable consequences.
Taking more time to decide yes or no will leave you in the dust, in the form of a rut or grave.
If you have a decision that needs to be made…Decide Now! And get ready for the consequences, and the next decision, and the next, and the next. Faith advancement requires courageous decision after decision after decision..for the rest of your life. What an adventure!
Be wise, and be courageously swift.
Decide.