So, You Want to Lead - Part 2 "Leadership is Messy"

Today, as I was reading in Leviticus during my devotional time, I noticed all the sacrifices that the Levite Priests were to assist the people with. The Priests were the religious leaders of that time. In my reading, it seemed that a priest always had his hands in blood and guts. Whether it was cutting the fat off of internal organs or sprinkling blood on the altar sides and horns. Imagine what they would look like after a day of serving at the altar.

I am not sure that I could butcher a bull, goat, lamb or even a bird and not get messy. I surely could not sling blood around and not get it all over me.

I remember a time when we were raising cattle and I had bought some older calves to feed out until it was time to butcher them. These large calves were bulls and they were starting to display a bullish attitude. To remedy the problem, I rented a confinement chute and scheduled our local vet to come out and give them an "attitude adjustment". As a side job, I also had him remove the large horns they had grown.

Talk about a bloody mess! By the time the procedures were finished, blood was all over me, the vet, the chute and my van (which I neglected to unhook from from the chute - duh). However, these bulls needed this procedure and the change it brought. It calmed their attitude, allowed them to produce a more flavorful meat, and allowed them to grow more quickly. Hmm, sound familar?

How many of us, if we are honest, were bullish in nature at a time in our lives? Did Christ make a difference in you when he began to cut away those things that made you bullish?

Often, there was someone, perhaps a pastor, mentor or teacher, who was there with us during the beginning of the process, that probably got more than a little messy for us. That is an important aspect of leadership that we who lead, or want to lead must grasp. Leadership is MESSY! If you are afraid or unwilling to get messy when it comes to carrying the love and grace of Christ to your church, community and world, then I dare say that leadership is not for you, until you are, indeed, willing.

Are you afraid of getting messy? If you want to lead, getting messy is not optional.