Hand-Off
I remember watching track and field events when my son Luke was involved as a freshman in High School. The relay races were interesting as the athletes practiced the hand off. There were many times where the race was won or lost at the hand-off.
I’ve also witnessed a leadership hand-off. This is the case where one leader hands off to another. It is not always successful but is nearly always necessary. If a person lives long enough, they will die and enter eternity. I think it’s important for a healthy company to have a succession plan, aka plan for the hand-off. It doesn’t always work according to a plan, but it will happen in one way or another. I’ve enjoyed watching the Dave Ramsey company transition to Ramsey Solutions and they are purposely branching out in multiple spaces to grow the company and transition away from being ONLY about Financial Peace. You can see their core values and how they are going through the hand off or succession plan.
Nehemiah has served as leader of the wall building project. He had led the exiles in this huge task of rebuilding the walls. He hands off the leadership to another. Check this out….
1 After the wall was finished and I had set up the doors in the gates, the gatekeepers, singers, and Levites were appointed. 2 I gave the responsibility of governing Jerusalem to my brother Hanani, along with Hananiah, the commander of the fortress, for he was a faithful man who feared God more than most. (Nehemiah 7:1-2 NLT)
I have been working at a “hand-off” with my faith and my children. I would love for all my kids to keep walking with the Lord all the days of their lives and hand off that faith to their children. This faith could be handed off for generations to come.
I also want to keep helping others grow in their faith and encourage others to open their hands and trust the Lord as they walk with Him. This is a “hand-off” of my faith as well.
A “hand-off” should never be about shirking responsibility but growing others and expanding my influence. If I make a good hand-off, I can move into another area and bring influence and my gifts to that.
For a successful hand-off, the passer and the receiver must be ready and real. There should be great clarity and even lots of practice for the hand-off to go smoothly. The values and work ethic should be comparable for sure. Ready or not, hand-offs happen in our lives often. I want to be prepared for areas that I can help make the hand-off go smoothly.
Pressing On!
Dwayne