Banyan or Banana Tree
It’s easier to train followers than to develop leaders! In conversations about leadership Paul G. Hiebert would often make this observation: Remember CeCe, “nothing grows under a Banyan tree!” He would go on to describe this large tree from his childhood in India with its dense foliage that would spread its branches out over an area of up to an acre and every so often drop air roots down into the ground ensuring that nothing would grow under it. When it dies, the land below lies scorched and barren having consumed the nutrients for itself.
Compare that with a banana tree, Paul would say. Every six months a pile of new sprouts develop, grow up in and around the circumference of the original tree. By eighteen months, it produces fruit that nourishes and then dies. However, by the time a banana tree dies it will have set in motion a process whereby every six months multiple shoots will continue the unbroken cycle of emerging and growing. (For the rest of the story, subscribe to the “Heart in Hand”.)
A Leader and their Friends
“It’s lonely at the top,” or so they say…but it doesn’t need to be. Beware of the leader that does not have any close friends. Nurture deep, meaningful relationships with others. The wise leader will develop an accountability structure with faithful friends (Prov. 27:6) and allow them to speak into their lives. In areas of doctrinal, financial, and moral values … be answerable to others! Give a group of faithful friends the right to correct and rebuke you. Always be cautious around those who like to tell you that they are only “accountable to God.” God generally works through other people! Inviting others into your life enables you to be open and transparent as you seek to work with others! Incidentally, that is why it is always difficult to envision a loner as a leader! (For the rest of the story, subscribe to the “Heart in Hand”.)