If you can't build it, you can't maintain it.

I'm writing this to leaders of all genres.  My arena happens to be the Church but it applies to all leadership roles.  My title, "If you can't build it, you can't maintain it", needs to be explained.  I used to think there were builders and there were maintainers.  After all there are differing gifts and varying measures of those gifts.  The Scripture bears out the different levels of "talents".  However, after all these years I have come to realize that everyone has to be able to build.  It is fruitfulness.  Healthy people reproduce!  I have watched some take the safe road and try to simply maintain an organization with the idea that they would just put in their time, make sure they left it as good as they found it and all would be well.  Not so!  I have never seen that work in any field.  It is of necessity true  that all groups and living things must have a maintenance program ongoing.  However, if the primary leadership is consumed with that effort the group will deteriorate.  Where there is fear of failure in leadership, failure will surely come.  Fear of failure stops faith for success.  You cannot have both.  All leaders must decide they are willing to risk the safety of today in order to reach the new horizons of tomorrow.   A decision to stifle those visionary ideas because of timidity and fear will not only cause failure but it also creates a roadblock to other new visionary ideas.  That is why successful people become more successful and often patterns of failure reoccur.  There is a principle in the Christian walk that you will get more as you use that which you have, and you will be led into future success by being obedient to walk in your present instruction.  Too many timid souls want a guarantee of success before proceeding.   There are no such assurances.  Faith is a life on the edge.  From that edge one can see the possibility of rising to new levels of accomplishment but one can also see the troubled shoals strewn with the shipwrecks of disaster.  Where then is the comfort to take the leap of faith into the unknown?  It is in a moment by moment relationship with Jesus that is on speaking terms.  Jesus is not only in the  church business He is the greatest specialist in all walks of life and in every enterprise.  Let Him lead you today.  He is speaking!