Tod Bolsinger, a Fuller Seminary professor and author, writes about an experience he had with Silicon Valley investors and entrepreneurs. He went to them to get feedback on an initiative to improve an organization. The Silicon Valley group listened to the pitch and encouraged a shift in Tod’s thinking. Instead of searching for a way to help the organization survive, they challenged him to think about the problems that the organization can solve for other people. Put another way: think about how you can best serve others instead of how you can be served. Sound familiar?
Leadership comes down to finding solutions for what people need. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. became a leader in Montgomery, Alabama, when local pastors invited him to be the spokesperson for an initiative to solve a critical social problem — segregation. King and other activists helped to organize and execute a strategy for the Montgomery Bus Boycott to make life better in a concrete way.
Problem-solving is about removing barriers so that people can thrive. How much do we know about the barriers that keep people in our neighborhood and church from reaching their goals? What might we discover if we invested time and energy into listening to people within and beyond the church to truly understand their problems?
Is affordable childcare a barrier for parents achieving their professional and financial goals? Is access to healthy, fresh food a barrier for families achieving their health goals? Is access to academic support a barrier for youth achieving their educational goals? Once we identify the problems, what are we willing to do about them? Having an exciting vision is only going to be helpful if the vision articulates ways to overcome the barriers that inhibit personal, spiritual, community and organizational progress.
