Are you limiting your ministry trainee?

One of the uncomfortable tests of leadership development is less about whether people grow under us, but whether we are willing for them to grow beyond us.

Most church leaders would say that we want to raise up leaders as a core conviction, yet sometimes we can unconsciously shape people only to the size of our own ability. We develop leaders who can help us, but perhaps not challenge us. We want Shetland ponies—loyal, manageable, small—whereas God may be giving us racehorses. And racehorses are sometimes hard to handle.

'Racehorses'

I’ve only been around a racehorse once in my life, and they have a presence that scares me. They move in ways that exude a power that makes me nervous. In terms of emerging leaders, this is not always a bad thing.