If You Have Passed the Baton…Take It Back
Dr. Chuck Stecker
If you say something long enough and with a sufficient certainty in your voice, soon others will repeat it as fact without giving it a second thought. Now with the internet, anyone can launch an idea, quote or concept without any justification.
Think about all that we have heard that gets repeated as fact. Things such as “God helps those who help themselves” and “God will not give you more than you can handle.” One of my favorite totally unmerited statement centers on the idea of “Passing the Baton.”
“Passing the Baton” is a modern day term based on a relay race. There is no Biblical basis for this flawed concept when it is applied to leadership development and relationships. Consider for a moment that when a runner in a relay race passes the baton to the next runner, the first runner must immediately do three things:
1. Quit running
2. Step off the track
3. Get out of the race
If the runner continues to run even after leaving the track, the runner is charged with “pacing” and the team is disqualified.
As a society, we have bought into a lie and confused the “baton of engagement” with the “mantle of leadership.” Virtually every study that I have read indicates that one of the greatest needs of young men and women is the continued investment into their lives of older men and women.
There is a very clear biblical basis for training up new leaders and trusting their leadership. I would go as far as to say that as older men and women, we should not just trust the leadership of younger men and women, but we should be willing to serve under their leadership.
We find our nation and our churches have fallen into the unfortunate situation of losing far too many of our “seniors” who have a significant amount of time and experience to offer to younger generations. This is happening because we have fallen prey to someone wrongfully telling seniors to “pass the baton.”
Never have our churches and our nation needed our seniors more than we need them today. Clearly our roles need to change. We may not be able to physically do the same things we could do 10 or 15 years ago. We may lack some stamina for other things as well. Yet, years of experience should not be lost because someone was told to “pass the baton” by a person who has failed to consider what that actually means.
I am a senior and my life mission is to raise up leaders in all generations. To do this, I must stay engaged. God is not done with me, and I refuse to let others bury me until God is ready to receive me. Please do not tell me to “pass the baton” unless the message you want to relay is that I no longer have any value.
If you have bought into the lie and passed the baton, take it back. God will tell you when you are done.
Dr. Chuck Stecker will be sharing more on this topic at the upcoming Leadership Conference in Anaheim, November 9-11.
Chuck Stecker is the President and founder of A Chosen Generation. Chuck is an ordained minister of the Gospel with the Evangelical Church Alliance and has earned a Doctorate of Ministry specializing in Christian Leadership. As an Army Lieutenant Colonel, Chuck served on the Joint Staff in the Pentagon. After his retirement, he served with Promise Keepers. In 1997, Chuck launched Mission Capable Men, and A Chosen Generation in 2000. Learn more on his website, www.achosengeneration.org.