Leadership means action, not reaction. Yet the action we take must be responsive to the needs around us and to the leading of the Holy Spirit within us.
—Paul Cedar

When the phone rang one Sunday afternoon a few years ago, I thought it would be the chairman of the church board, telling me if the congregation in which I had recently candidated had voted me in as their pastor. When I answered the phone, the man at the other end of the line identified himself and said, "Pastor Cedar, I'm chairman of the reorganization committee at the church, and I want to welcome you as our new pastor."

"Well, thank you," I said hesitantly. "But the truth is, I haven't accepted the call yet. I haven't even heard the results of the congregational vote."

"Of course, I know it isn't official yet," he continued, "but I just wanted to invite you to meet with our committee. As you know, presently some nine separate church boards and committees oversee the life of our church. Frankly, sometimes it's been a struggle ...