Hang On, or Let Go?

There are some incredible people in our generation who are making their mark in many of our lives as they invest their wisdom and knowledge into those of us who find ourselves in a leadership position; and I'm eternally grateful for them.

With that said, I am in a position of leadership and as I seek to lead with grace and wisdom, I've learned some important things and I've made my share of observations of things that work and ones that don't.

There is one particular observation I've made that I want to address here, and would definitely invite your response and input as well. Two heads are usually better than one, and perhaps we can all learn something and become better leaders (and followers) together.

The observation is this: some leaders seem to be able to handle letting go of followers with little or no grievances. And some, not so much. I have my own opinions about why some struggle with this more than others, but I'm wondering if there's more to it than what I see. I think this happens in the secular world, too, but since I'm mostly in the Church/ministry world, this is the perspective I bring to the discussion.

Since Church 4 Chicks began in the fall of 2008, we've had our share of folks who have come and gone. Heck, we've had volunteers come and go and even board members! It's hard sometimes not to take their leaving personally. Someone shared with me, just this past Sunday, that we all (those of us who call ourselves Christians) have the same Good Shepherd, and that we can trust His voice when He chooses to move one of us to a different field. Perhaps He wants us to be fed differently than we have before, or with different "sheep" than we've been associating with for a while. I so appreciated hearing this and visualizing our Good Shepherd guiding each of His sheep to the very pasture each one belongs in each season of their lives.

As leaders, how are we to respond when someone chooses to leave our organization? How would you want to be treated if God moved YOU from your current organization?