Nose Hairs

Nose hairs are unsightly little beasts. People, especially the shorter kind, tend to stare at them when they stick out of your nose.

A year or so ago, a perceptive, shorter, young man in our youth ministry let me know that my nose hairs were getting long. And after some careful self-reflection, I realized that he was right. My nose hairs were quite lengthy.

It’s funny; before this incident I never gave my nose hairs much thought. Most normal people probably don’t give nose hairs much care at my age. The long nose-hair/ear-hair thing generally doesn’t become a problem until you’re older, like fifty-something, but apparently not in my case. (I must be mature for my age.) From now on, though, I will be keenly aware of the length of my nose hairs thanks to that observant young man. In fact, I have now added nose-hair trimming to my hygienic routine.

Here’s something else I’ve become keenly aware of since the nose hair ordeal: being in leadership exposes all sorts of other personal imperfections. When a perceptive follower exposes our flaws as we lead, we can choose to ridicule and ignore them. Or, we can change.

Here are a few flaws that I have had to change since venturing into the world of youth ministry three years ago: moving too fast, talking too fast, wanting results too fast (see a theme here?), procrastinating (which may have contributed to moving and talking too fast), doing less important stuff first (go figure), and attempting to run the youth ministry with a for-profit model mindset (heaven help us).

No doubt, there are more defects yet to be revealed, and I am still working on the ones listed above. But at least I know these exist. If left unchecked, these unsightly beasts can raise their ugly heads at the most inopportune times. To keep my shortcomings in check I rely on Jesus, the Bible, wise counsel from spiritual mentors, and, yes, insightful feedback from followers.

You’d be surprised what you can learn if you ask others how you can improve. My friend and mentor, for example, recently asked some of his followers these questions: Is my leadership meeting your needs? Is my leadership meeting your expectations? What do I do that absolutely drives you or others crazy? How can I better serve you? What are my strengths that I should reinforce? What areas do I need to consider for improvement for long-term growth? What suggestions do you have for me? In turn, I asked some of my followers the same questions and learned, among other things, that I need to lead more assertively and involve more youth in leading worship. Indeed, we can learn a lot by simply asking and listening.

One final thing to keep in mind, however, is that the shifting opinions of others can drive you crazy. Remember their word is not gospel, just helpful. I take what I can from what others have to say, make adjustments, and move on. Ultimately, I want to please Jesus Christ. He’s the only one that’s perfect, and He’s the only one transforming me into His image. Insightful followers are just helping me be a better human with shorter nose hairs.