Pastor A recommended this book, so I borrowed it from him, and it took me a long time to finish reading it. It’s not a book I can easily resonant with, so it took me longer to think through as I read. I took notes as I read, and even with that, I can’t tell you specifics of what I read! But I did find the book helpful as I lead volunteers in the church.
Here are a few random takeaways for me, though it may or may not reflect what the author intended. These are things I remember without looking at my notes:
*Organizations should have a moral purpose. *Leaders must keep the organization accountable on its moral purpose, as well as keeping workers/volunteers accountable to that moral purpose. *Leaders must give opportunities and challenges for workers/volunteers to grow. *Risk is necessary for growth. *Leaders lead by their example, and that requires restraint. *One meaning of equity is to give everyone access to opportunity to grow. *Leaders build trust by taking everyone seriously. *Trust is build by doing what you say you would do. That includes keeping the organization accountable to the vision and moral purpose. *Having an environment where people can grow includes being authentic. *Leaders should define a role but also allow room for creative expression of how their job should be done. *Volunteers want to be challenged because they believe in the moral purpose and want to contribute to that purpose. They would not volunteer otherwise.
These are all very good points and from a quick glance I believe I agree with them. Leading music ministry is fun because I am dealing with an artistic medium. And with artists (or aspiring artists or wannabe artists) there comes varying levels of creativeness and the desire for self-expression. It is important to acknowledge and support their growth while staying true to the overall purpose and vision of the ministry.
And music does have an important moral purpose. As a leader you keep the others focused on that main purpose. I think this is what I got most from this book. I am not doing my job as a leader if I do not keep volunteers on the church’s main purpose.