As much as you like the group you serve, one day you will move on. Others may carry you out feet first, but you will definitely move on from your group.
Are you raising up others to take your place when you leave?
Early on in my life as a Believer, a mentor of mine impressed on me the vital importance of replacing myself with others I felt good about leading after my time was up. I’ve led and transitioned with a number of groups since then. Some of those have gone well, others not so much!
Here are some gleanings I’ve picked up.
- Pray your replacement in. God wants to bring a mentee(s) your way. Ask him to stir it up.
- Scan the horizon. Someone is always on the way. You won’t notice what God is providing if you aren’t looking.
- Make yourself available. Be willing to be inconvenienced.
- Decide to fail a lot. We usually fail when we aspire to not fail. You won’t succeed unless you fail frequently. Take on the counsel of G.K. Chesterton. “Anything worth doing is worth doing poorly.”
- Pray that when they leave you won’t hold it against them for long. What am I saying? It’s common to part ways with a mentee under stress. It happened with Paul and those he coached in the Book of Acts. Don’t be surprised if the same thing happens to you, at least for a time after you part ways.
