The premise of The Most Loving Place in Town by Ken Blanchard is that the church was full of activity yet lacked love. Could it be that leaders have brought business success models of activity, budget, and events and have neglected the essential characteristic of unconditional love? In Leadership Encounter, we remind participants of the importance of unconditional love. Perhaps one of the most powerful and moving moments in the Encounter is when we lead the “Unconditional Love” activity. The words spoken during that exercise frequently bring tears to participants’ eyes.
Love, what a beautiful word, yet it is so rarely experienced in life.
Joe Moore is a mentor of mine. He shared with me his perspective on what people look for in a church, “I believe it’s true that a person, desperately needing and searching for God…. hurting, wounded by Satan and this world, is searching, not for a “moderate” or “fundamentalist” church, but for a church, a people of God, who will love him, care for him, and point him to God by their own unselfish acts of compassion. Let us seek understanding, not proof…. truth instead of ammunition for “our side.”
A final quote on the importance of love is, “If love does not know how to give and take without restrictions, it is not love, but a transaction that never fails to lay stress on a plus and a minus. “ Emma Goldman
How can servant leaders influence their church to return to its first love?
Featured Resource: Lead Like Jesus for Churches
