Adobe Stock
The movement of hot air balloons as they float overhead can seem mysterious. I occasionally see them while walking through the park near my house. They often land right next to the path I’m walking on. About half of the time, they pass through the park entirely, avoiding buildings and people and landing in places like schoolyards or large parking lots.
One day, balloon pilots realized that by moving vertically to catch the wind currents, they could move the balloon horizontally to the desired location. Balloons don’t have engines, just a few gas tanks and burners to fill the balloon with hot air. Groups of people get into these big floating baskets and wait to land at their destination.
Of course, pilots study the wind patterns in our region — they have to take temperature, weather forecasts, and air pressure into account when flying a hot air balloon — but at the end of the day, they can’t just send the balloon south to the other side of our valley — pilots have to keep the balloon vertical to catch the current.
Spiritual leadership is about being in the flow of what God is doing, not creating it. God is at work all around us, and we should watch to see where He is at work. When we find Him at work, we should join in. Jesus said, “My Father is working until today, and therefore I am working” (John 5:17).
During my first few years as a senior pastor, I noticed that God was doing something in our church regarding the care of foster children. We had several families in our church who were involved in foster care work. The Foster Care Association asked us to host their annual Christmas party for foster children. An effort to support foster families was started by a woman in our church. We saw the wind blowing and saw God at work so we got involved.
As a result, our church was involved in over 25 adoptions in an 8 year period, with 25% of the children being adopted from foster care. Our church received a county award for our support of these families. It was an easier time to step into pastoral leadership. We witnessed the winds of movement of something greater than ourselves and rode the flow.
curriculum Experiencing God How to Hear God’s Voice by Henry Blackby provides an excellent model for recognizing the flow of God’s activity and vertically aligning one’s life and ministry to grasp what God is doing. In this study, Blackby identifies four ways to hear God’s voice through the revelation of the Holy Spirit: through Scripture, prayer, the church, and the situation.
This has been true in my experience with God. The Bible gives clear instructions on caring for orphans. I knew what God wanted us to do, so as a pastor, it didn’t take me long to pray about my response to the needs of these vulnerable people. But when church members doing foster care work joined in these ways of hearing God’s voice, and then county organizations began asking for help, it was time to recognize that there was a new trend.
I once had the chance to ride a hot air balloon. Before the experience, I felt a little scared, but once I was in the air, all my stress disappeared and I felt like I was floating on the clouds. It was a magical experience.
A hot air balloon literally floats on the wind, so it moves effortlessly. It doesn’t even feel like it’s moving. You just get in the right flow and it gets you there. I’m grateful that spiritual leadership can mirror this process.
 |
Eric Daniel is passionate about helping others develop their spiritual leadership. He founded Global Ministry Advance in 2023, a coaching organization dedicated to helping pastors, missionaries, and Christian organizations develop goals and strategies for wellness advancement. Eric became the senior pastor of Hillside Church in Napa, California in 2002 and also serves as an executive elder on the Northern California and Nevada District Council of the Assemblies of God. Learn more » |
Vision and Culture
