Watching a pacesetter

Blake’s got balls!
Did you watch American Idol last night? It was Bon Jovi night... can you get any better than that? But, I almost fell off the couch when idol contestant Blake Lewis nearly committed idol suicide by tricking-up a classic 80's rock jam... "You Give Love a Bad Name." The only thing was... he knocked it out of the park. You've gotta see this

I also think I learned a few leadership lessons from Blake. So let me apply these lessons to leadership in the local church.

Say something old in a new way. Blake took a classic and freshened it up for younger ears. We in the church should stick with classic orthodoxy but should not be afraid to freshen up the packaging… to try a new delivery… or to do something completely new with an old truth.

Take a risk. Blake knew this could be his last song and so he leaned into the pitch. We must take risks in the church. We must swing on the 3-2 pitch. If we are fighting for the kingdom we must resist passivity and push forward. We can’t hold back, the stakes are too high.

Know who you are. Blake is not Bon Jovi so he didn’t try to be an imitation. We must know our strengths and our weaknesses and play to our strengths. We must be ourselves and grow into our own voice with confidence and conviction. We must speak truth… but we must speak truthfully… that is in alignment to who and how we are.

Know when to dismiss advice. You heard Bon Jovi’s recommendation… don’t mess with my song. Sometimes we must look our counselors in the face and, with love say, I must disagree and go my own route. If we do this all the time we are foolish… if we never do this we are weak.