Free Leadership

You get what you pay for.

An old adage. Does that apply to leadership as well? I find myself in several volunteer positions in which I help provide leadership to an organization. There are various reasons why I am in such a position but I will not get into that. It is the situation and I am in that position.

They are volunteer positions as I have mentioned. That may be code that the value of my opinion and expertise is properly measured by the fact that no one is willing to pay for them. Yet I am in a position to guide and lead and take people where my free leadership is wont to take them.

I have been paid for my opinion, both in a corporate and consulting role, so I know it had some value to someone somewhere at some point in time. Some how it did.

But now I seek to give it freely to those who might in some small way benefit from it. The Lord let me spend 30 years building up this store of experience and now He chooses to let me share it.

I am thrilled. I am hoping to model out some of this instead:

Make sure that your character is free from the love of money, being content with what you have; for He Himself has said, "I WILL NEVER DESERT YOU, NOR WILL I EVER FORSAKE YOU,"
Hebrews 13:5 (NASB)

or

Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, cast out demons. Freely you received, freely give.
Matthew 10:8 (NASB)

I am not looking to heal, raise, cleanse or cast anything, I was thinking of the back half of the verse. Instead of the first saying, I am hoping my gift to others with my experience will be more along these lines:

He freely gave what others most valued.

A special thanks to my new friend Foster who helped these thoughts crystallize in my mind with our lunch conversation the other day. There was more at Spring Creek Barbeque than the food that day.