Learning to Be a Leader                                                                January 19, 2020

 

Sitting around a gray plastic table with other pastors, I heard Pastor Jim tease his youth pastor. “Mike pulled into a gas station a few Saturdays ago and asked a man at the pumps, ‘Did you see a Honda with a lot of kids go by here?’

 

“Maybe.” was the reply. “Tell me more.”

 

“They were very happy, having lots of fun. Probably singing ‘Kum by Yah’”

 

“Yes, I did. They were headed that way.”

 

“Thanks,” Mike said appreciatively, “I’ve gotta catch them. I’m their leader.”

 

We laughed with Pastor Jim as Mike forced a weak smile on his face.

 

We returned to the workshop on “Leadership Training."

 

“If you think you are a leader, and you look back and no one is following you are just taking a lonely hike.” (That’s not the exact words of some famous men but this way I won’t be charged with plagiarism.)

 

“When did you realize you were a leader?” the workshop leader asked.

 

My train of thought left his station and went onto its own track.

 

I was remembering an event from the third grade at Delaplane school.

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The small school at Peach Orchard had been absorbed by the Delaplane Consolidated School. By combining children from the surrounding towns teachers could teach one grade instead of a mixture of grades. I had been born before the start of the Baby Boom so there were not an abundance of children around.

 

It was my second year attending the long brick building. I had made new friends and was enjoying learning. 

 

As it neared Christmas, the teachers in the second and third grades decided we should have a program for the parents.

 

Since kids look cute when they sing, that was to be our part of the program. So the combined classes were rehearsing.

 

Now getting kids to pay attention and sing is like herding cats. There are some who want to sing and can. They are so cute and everyone loves them. 

 

There are some who want to and can’t (me). That doesn’t keep us from trying, much to the discomfort of those close by. (I was once actually offered money not to sing. J. Paul Lewis, our Youth Director and Youth Choir leader said, “Bob, I’ll give you a quarter not to sing the next verse.”)

 

There are shy ones that just want to hide behind the curtain and never set foot on a stage for the rest of their lives. The more the teacher tries to draw them out the more recluse they become. 

 

Some get bored quickly. To escape the boredom they bump or push or trip others. They don’t really want to hurt anyone but anything is better than standing in order and singing the same song again.

 

Of course one in every group has been called to a greater purpose, that is to entertain the whole class. “All the world’s a stage.” So he or she feels called to perform, making people laugh and have a good time. That purpose may not agree with the teacher’s purpose but that’s not the real issue. 

 

The two teachers were doing their best to bring some order out of the multipurpose group. They asked the pianist to play the melody again and we tried once again.

 

“You need to sing louder.” the second grade teacher encouraged  We didn’t have microphones. 

 

As we sang the same songs over and over, I began to notice that we didn’t always sing with the same volume. Sometimes we were very loud and sometimes, even with the encouragement of the teachers, we were very soft.

 

As a matter of fact, for me, it seemed like the more the teachers told us to sing loud, the softer we became.

 

So, I thought, what makes the difference? My analytical mind went to work. I was often able to put 1 plus 1 together and come up with eleven. 

 

Finally, I decided it was because as second graders, no one really wanted to stand out. Oh, I’m sure we had a couple of cute girls that wanted to show off for their parents. I’m equally sure we had a couple of rowdy boys getting attention, negative type from the teachers. But no one wanted to really stand out as a singer.

 

Now that I had my theory, I had to test it. So for a couple of measures, I would sing very loud. The result was that the rest of the kids began to sing louder, probably to drown me out. Then I would sing soft and the rest would quieten down. I tried it three or four times with equal results.

 

By then, I was wondering how fast the kids would react to a change by the one leading by volume. So, more testing had to be done. I would try one or two words loud and then soften. There was a lag time but it was close. Finally, I decided to try it using only half of a word to see if they would react that quickly. So, very loud I sang half of a word and stopped in the middle of it. 

 

The silence was shocking! Everyone stopped singing. They turned to look at me. The teachers were, suddenly, alert in my direction. Even the pianist stopped. I couldn’t hear all the discussion but one teacher said, “I think it was someone down toward the end.” 

 

Quickly I looked beyond me toward the innocent kid next to me. Others followed my eyes to the shy boy who had begun to blush a bright red. It didn’t help to acquit him when he stared at the floor, guiltily, as the teacher approached. 

 

She stopped in front of him. She was staring intently. Then with compassion, she asked, “Are you okay?”

 

He didn't point. He didn't blame. He gave a slight nod. It satisfied her. She glanced at me, paused, then walked away, shaking her head, wondering why she had ever become a teacher. 

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When did I first realize I was a leader? On that third grade practice stage when I learned it might be best to let others lead and me follow.

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Psalm 119:33 Teach me, Lord, the way of your decrees, that I may follow it to the end.