(“Thoughts I Want
To Leave Behind” is a collection of thoughts and impressions I want to leave
behind as I begin to make my final pastoral transition.)

#19 Trusting Your Team

When I was a young police officer, I was part of a SWAT team.  On these special operations units you constantly
trained your body and mind.  Each month
we trained with FBI SWAT instructors learning how to execute tactical advantage
in high-stress situations.  We trained for
every conceivable scenario one might encounter when dealing with a broken world.  As a young man, I was at the top of my game
in each area the job required of me – martial arts, weapons, strength training, mental
acuity, physical endurance and hostage negotiation skills.

What I could not train for was trust.  Trust was something I chose to give. I gave
the gift of trust to the other members of our team because my life depended on
it.  I trusted our sniper to deliver a
round downrange with unbelievable accuracy. I trusted our utility man to carry
all the gear we would need for each incident while he walked backwards making
sure no threat approached us from the rear as the rest of the team moved
forward to clear a building. I trusted the other entry man to follow the
training drills he and I had practiced together hundreds of times before.  Our lives depended on our precise and
practiced timing as we entered a room where a threat was present.  I trusted our team leader to orchestrate our team
tactics so that injury and the loss of life would be held to a minimum.
Trusting the other members of my team was more important than all my physical training.

As you lead others, train your team to hear the voice of God.  As you train them to hear God’s voice you
will be able trust them to do the right thing when a situation heats up. Train
your team to listen to the ultimate leader of your team, Jesus, and to have the
courage to follow His instructions when yours may not make sense.

Proper trust training will help each member of your team navigate
the spiritually life-threatening scenarios you are sure to encounter in the
future.  You will know you have arrived
at a place of team synergy when your team can do their job without a command
from you.  The fruit of this kind of
leadership is seen at the end of a deadly confrontation with darkness where you were
able to work your way to those held hostage by the lies of hell and set them
free without taking any casualties.