Every leader who expects to survive needs a Theology of Plan B. It goes something like this: "Sorry, I was wrong. We need to find Plan B." It may be simple, but it's one of the hardest things to learn in leadership.

Pastors have a particularly hard time admitting they were wrong about a strategic initiative in the church. For some, it is hard because they are just mule-headed. But more often the problem is that the pastor really did seek the guidance of God before standing front of the congregation to advocate a particular concept. To then stand again in front of the church and say that the idea is a bad one implies that you have a hard time listening to God. And that's a tough admission for a pastor.

At times it is hard to listen to God because he is not speaking. In those times we are expected to keep leading, which means we have to keep making choices. Only time will tell if those were good or bad choices. This is actually one of God's favorite ways of speaking to us.

The Bible is filled ...