Truer words have not been spoken than those from Colleen Burroughs upon accepting the nomination as moderator-elect of the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship.
“It's much easier to have an opinion about how someone else should lead than it is to actually lead yourself," said the gifted vice president of the wonderful youth camping organization, Passport, Inc.
Colleen, who was raised in a missionary family in Africa, is right that standing on the sidelines and looking for every possible weakness in a program or organization is not nearly as challenging as jumping in and seeking constructive ways to serve.
Her observation applies to so many situations, but she was being specific about the one in which she will assume a new leadership role. She added to her comment: "...especially a group of Baptists."
Moderate Baptists in particular, who reject hierarchy and have a distaste for authoritarianism, seem to be a highly critical group. So my prayers and best wishes go out for her and all leaders — in all situations — who willingly leave the sidelines to join the game. Be careful in there.
2 comments:
John,
Thanks for pointing out this comment made by Colleen. She is a very gifted person who is a great ambassador for CBF. Her leadership and insights are greatly needed.
Her willingness to serve in this important role (and prior roles) is admirable, however I am a bit disturbed that a partner organization like the one that employs her, can have its leaders serve on the deliberating body of CBF - a body that makes decisions that directly impact partner organizations. This seems to me to be a conflict of interest. Any partner organization that might benefit from decisions made by the coordinating council, or benefit from the knowledge inherent in coordinating council discussions, seems to me to present a conflict of interest. Perhaps I have misread the nature of partnerships, or overlooked something that may be obvious to everyone but me. Am I missing something?
Scott- Perhaps someone from CBF or Colleen will address this matter. I'd hope there would be a way for her to provide leadership without that conflict. I do know that Passport Camps provide support for CBF Global Missions. But it is a fair question, and one that needs to be addressed clearly.
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