A priest once told me that the parishioners at his inner city parish are always encouraging him to be fired up! They often say to him – “If the shepherd is on fire – the sheep will feel the heat!” Being in a leadership role with the responsibility of shepherding several flocks, I know how important it is to be fired up about things. If you are in a position of leadership, are you on fire enough for your mission to have the people who you are leading feel the heat?

Ecclesia Domestica -

As a dad I serve as the spiritual head of our household (Domestic Church). I need to set the tone for our family. Sure my wife shares in the shepherding responsibility, but as the father, I can’t be lame and slack on my zeal for my faith. My kids need to see that I place a priority on growing in my faith and in turn my encouragement and zeal for them to be alive in their faith!

With Friends -

I have had the privilege of leading a Men’s Bible Study for several years.  I have loved the early morning sharing that takes place among a group of men who are all striving to be holy husbands and dads. I don’t know why I ended up in the role of leading this group – someone just looked at me at a basketball game and asked me why I didn’t start a men’s Bible Study. So I did. I decided it didn’t need to be just a nice time, it needed to be a challenging time for everyone to “man up” and really become who they are being called to be in the Lord. As the leader, if I’m not on fire, how can I expect any of the men to be inspired or challenged?

In Ministry or Work -

I started out as a parish youth minister who implemented Life Teen at our parish in Georgia. I didn’t start out with the intention to be the president of Life Teen. I am so humbled by how God works through our amazing staff. I still am in a state of unbelief that I have this role in leadership. I can’t let that effect how I lead however. Our staff needs a passionate leader. If I am down, doubting and not leading by staying prayed up, our staff is not going to be motivated to go out and serve parishes, develop websites, resources, videos or reach out to teenagers. If I don’t show up for daily Mass, holy hours and staff prayer time, we are not going to be able to go where God is asking us to go. How can I ask our staff to be on fire for Christ, if i’m not on fire for Christ?

If you are in a postion of leadership – then be an on fire leader! Lead with passion, prayer and zeal for whatever your mission is. The people who report to you need a leader who is on fire! People respond to heat – what type of heat is your leadership bringing?