Well, it is NFL playoff time, and I feel that it is time to talk about football on my blog. And no, I’m not writing about Tim Tebow. But, I am super excited about the San Francisco 49ers! After all, I do live in the SF Bay Area.

I’ve discovered that as people look to you as a leader, they begin to bring more issues and concerns to you. It is part of being a leader. We have greater responsibility as our ministry grows and we train more team members and volunteers.

I heard one author describe this as being passed the football. Usually, when a running back is handed the football by their quarterback, they don’t give the ball back and tell the QB to run with it. Similarly, when a QB passes the ball to a wide receiver, you never see them pass the ball back to the QB (maybe on rare occasions. Those are always cool plays to see!)

In leadership, it happens… all the time! As a leader, you and I pass the ball to one of our team members to make something happen, whether that be to develop a youth ministry night, run a meeting, or create a marketing plan for your ministry. Sometimes, that team member passes the ball right back to you.

And what do you and I do when we get the ball back? We run with it!

STOP!

I’m suggesting that we don’t run with it. I’m suggesting that we need to pass it back to our team member. Why?

• It equips the team member: They passed the ball back because they didn’t know how to do it or they lacked confidence in themselves. If we run with the ball, they won’t learn. We need to give them the skills and confidence they need to do it and do it right. This is about developing them as a leader. Give the ball back!

• You don’t have the time: Okay, maybe you do. But the fact of the matter is that at some point, you want to move on to develop other projects and ideas. Passing the ball back to your team member frees you up to develop those areas. Give the ball back!

• You’ll feel good: Just like a proud parent, when you see someone you trained and developed excel in their ministry, it makes us feel good, like we accomplished something cool. You did accomplish something cool! Keep doing it. Give the ball back!

• They’ll feel good: They just did something cool. Their confidence will soar. They’ll want to do more because they know they can. Give the ball back!

As a quarterback, when you give the football to a team member, expect them to run with it and don’t take the ball back!

Share a time when you gave the ball back.