Below is an article I wrote for The Pentecostal Messenger which was published in the June, 2010 issue.

Patience

When we moved into our current home in 2005, we inherited 3 trees that graced our back yard. Problem was, with half the yard taken by a rather large swimming pool, we needed more space for our 5 kids to have room to play. Since the next door neighbor wasn’t willing to give us any of his backyard space, it was obvious that two of the trees had to go.

The first to get the pink slip was a rather healthy fig tree. It was a beautiful tree but an easy choice because we don’t like figs. (I tried a Fig Newton once and, uh, well….anyway) The next choice was harder because it came down to a lemon tree and an orange tree. We like both fruits, so we chose to keep the orange tree based on the amount of shade it provided for my BarBQ area – which in Arizona is extremely important. The three trees were all different in which type of fruit they bore, but there was one common thread between them: Not once did I ever have to stand in the backyard and say to the trees in my best preacher voice “BEAR FRUIT, O TREE OF MINE.” (That would have been weird and provided unnecessary entertainment for the neighbors) It was in the DNA of the tree for fruit to come forth, a byproduct of what the tree was.

Low Flow Leaders

A few weeks back I was walking throug Home Depot and saw an end cap display promoting low flow shower heads.  My mind went back to a Men's Camp our church did several years ago in Prescott.  The campground had these low flow shower heads installed to suposedly save money on water.  My brother-in-law, who is in the plumbing wholesale business had been to this campground the previous year and remembered how frustrating it was to take a shower with one of these shower heads.  Right before camp started he went to his truck, pulled out a new Delta shower head that was normal flow, and installed it on one of the showers in the bath house.  I don't mind telling you that guys lined up to use the "high-flow" shower head.

OK, before anyone accuses me of not being green, let me say that we do have a responsibility to steward the planet.  God gave us that mandate in the beginning but in reality, I'm not convinced that low-flow shower heads are an end-all to conservation.  In fact, as I have travelled over the years I've been in numerous hotels that have these devices, and they have been nothing but a source of frustration for me.  (I may be the only one, but this is my blog)

As I left Home Depot a thought hit me.  I sent it out on my Twitter  www.twitter.com/jonj8368 and here's the thought: 

"Poor leaders are like low-flow shower heads.  They take twice as long to get the job done and frustrate everyone underneath them." 

Leaders are responsible for the flow of the organization or group they lead.  It doesn't matter how well we delegate within our organizational structure, it all rises and falls on the leader.  Those under the flow of our leadership deserve a flow that will get the job done effectively, efficiently and in such a way to move the organization forward.  I am processing a lot of other thoughts along the lines of shower-head leadership.  I would love your thoughts and comments as I unpack this further.