Fresh Eyes

On my way to the office every day I pass a small church that has been in existence for several decades. I don't know anyone who goes to the church or their pastor. I would love for that to change someday, but for now I only know the church from my commute.

The paint on the exterior of the church is peeling. The parking lot has almost as many weeds as the front lawn and one of the "emergency exit" front doors hasn't ever been painted to match the other.

My guess is, there are several people who love that church. My guess is, there's a pastor who loves the people in that church. My guess is, that church has been used by God to touch many lives in its history. But you wouldn't know it to look at the building.

How does that happen? It certainly didn't happen overnight. It happened gradually; day after day and year after year. And gradual decline is hard to spot.

As a leader, I pray almost every day that God will give me fresh eyes. Not just for the exterior facade of the church where I serve, but for the people I lead. I don't want to miss my chance to take action early. I don't want to miss a chance to stop a mess before it is so overwhelming we don't know where to start. I want to see things with fresh eyes. Do you?