Church leaders, maybe you’re spending too much time with the wrong people …

I think there’s an over-emphasis on church leaders “developing new leaders.” But along with that emphasis comes the recommendation to find the “best and brightest” and spend a chunk of your time developing them as new leaders.

One problem with that is it writes off most of the remaining people, and it leaves the people who need your time the most with the least investment from you.

Have you ever considered you just might be spending too much time with the wrong people?

I was recently listening to a lecture by Shane Wood, a professor at Ozark Christian College, and something he said captivated my thinking. He asked why Peter, James, and John were the three men chosen to be the ones in Jesus’ “inner circle,” the disciples Jesus spent the most time with. Most people proffer it’s because they were the sharpest, most committed among the group of disciples, but Wood offered a contradictory thought …

… What if Jesus chose Peter, James, and John because they were the least sharpest, the ones who “didn’t get it” the quickest or easiest, the guys who needed more of His time than the others? Could that be why Jesus chose to keep these three the closest to Him?

It’s possible.

And in that case, they would need more time and “investment” by Jesus than others.

So let me ask you again, fellow church leaders, could it be that you’re spending too much time with the wrong people?

What might happen in the lives of the “spiritually weakest” in your congregations if you made them a greater focus, kept them closer, and invested more of yourself in them?

Scotty