Young Leaders

I don't get it. Why doesn't the Church do a better job of identifying and developing young leaders? Why do we wait until people are 55+ and "been called" into ministry before we start considering them for ministry? I'm OK with the whole "called" thing, but I can't recall Jesus waiting for folks to come to him and letting him know they had been divinely inspired to join the cause. Seems like he identified folks with limited credentials but with huge leadership upside and intentionally invited them to get on board.

If the religious angle creeps you out, think about it from a secular point of view. Would Coca-Cola, or Apple, or Southwest Airlines wait around and rifle through the best applications from a limited pool of folks who felt called to work for them? Or, would they go out and seek the very best talent they could find. That's exactly what they do because they know the future of their industry depends on gifted leadership. And they can't afford to wait for it to come to them. Better yet, they have sophisticated, but highly efficient systems in place to ID and train up people already in their ranks. Genius! I'm glad to work for a church that is committed to raising up principled, Christian leaders. We're going after them, and we're going provide a great culture to keep them in ministry for a lifetime.