Leadership Lessons from Delboy

"to fulfil a great dream, you have to start somewhere and not allow the element of risk to de-power you. "

Dreaming can be relatively easy, especially when it costs nothing, demands little and is fuelled by like minded dreamers. Seeing a dream begin to take shape and develop is another world altogether. For some they get stuck before they have even started. Turning the dream into the first tentative steps can sometimes bring only paralysis as the risks involved loom large.

For the entrepreneurial leader the first steps are often the best because they need little management and organisational infrastructure which means that the “have a go” culture thrives. Starting three church plants in the same year seemed easy because couples, singles and families opened their homes around Manchester. A second site for CCM became an easy reality when a vodka bar became available at virtually no cost, allowing a very small handful of guys to run an evening meeting.

Gorton Arts academy is another dream where we are looking to build an arts centre right in the heart of East Manchester. This will enable some of the more disadvantaged people to have access to quality artists where they will be able learn, join bands, produce shows and begin to feel the satisfaction of achievement. Where do we start? Simply, with a few teenagers being offered guitar, drum and dance lessons for free.

I always laugh at Del Boy when he says “who dares wins” as he embarks on one of his hair brained schemes. Yet the truth is, to fulfil a great dream, you have to start somewhere and not allow the element of risk to de-power you.

The future’s bright

"The future's bright for leaders who are told, “it can’t be done” and use it as petrol, to fuel a greater intensity to succeed"

Overly optimistic nonsense or bold courageous thinking can be two very different ways of viewing a leader’s vision of the future. A leader’s ability to challenge preconceived or failing ideas and break the mould with new approaches can motivate loyalty and hard work in some. However in others it can bring out deathly cynicism, people like this thrive on killing ideas with the often-repeated mantra, “it can’t be done”.

The future is bright for leaders who after being told, “it can’t be done” use it as petrol, fuelling a greater intensity to succeed. The status quo is not a bearable option for these leaders. Their hearts and minds are able to go places most of us have never been. The fine line between changing the world and getting it hopelessly wrong is par for the course. It seems most entrepreneurs have been moulded by at least one failure, born out of risk of being prepared to break the rules as they look for alternative solutions. The successful ones are those who pick themselves up and have another go, letting failure only add to their learning curve and not a reason to give up.

Endemic fatalism that grips some of our urban population through generational unemployment and lack of hope is a great place for entrepreneurial leaders who are hard working determined and persistent. Those people who are able to see challenges as massive opportunities to make a difference. Who have the confidence to take bold initiatives and in the process are able to recruit dynamic and entrepreneurial people, who don’t go for the safe option.

Christ Church Manchester goes Multi-Site

"We were launching this second site because we want to grow, to reach new people, and to see the lost rescued."

And so it begins.

We have been praying at Christ Church Manchester about reaching into the city of Manchester from where we are based on the East side for a number of years. These prayers have brought us people, and some inspiration.

In September 2009 we started an evening meeting in a vodka bar in Fallowfield (where all the students live). This took a while to get moving but after Christmas it kicked up a level and we saw 60+ visitors come through our doors that wouldn’t otherwise have been to a CCM meeting or maybe even known that we exist.  It was an exciting year but really we were dipping our toes in to see whether we should be trying something on a bigger scale.

As that academic year drew to a close we believed that God was with us and that we should launch a second site on Sunday evenings in Fallowfield. We were launching this second site because we want to grow, to reach new people, and to see the lost rescued.

CCM:City launched officially on Sunday evening at Luther King House in Fallowfield. There is a core of committed guys and girls who are passionate about loving Manchester and seeing their City reached with the Gospel. They have all joined us since we started meeting in the Vodka Bar last year and we hope for more to join over the next year.

We have given out over 2000 flyers (with the help of Vinelife Church), pulled together a band, planned a sermon series and prayed hard. All we need now is for God to move!!

Our short term goals are very simple – get 50 people every Sunday evening, build a community and start reaching out.

This is our first site launch and so we are learning valuable lessons on a daily basis but it will not be our last. We want to see Manchester changed by the Gospel.