Walk Slower

One Easy Move to Increase Your Leadership Impact

Photo by Nigel Tadyanehondo on Unsplash

Today’s post is more of a personal journal entry than anything too profound.

I’ve been thinking lately about the virtue of walking slowly, and how I often missed the mark on this during my years as a busy university president and pastor.

For 5 years, I served as President of The King’s University and Seminary while simultaneously leading Victory Church as Lead Pastor. On top of that, my university leadership role put me on the executive team at Gateway Church’s global department. Needless to say, my calendar was packed from morning to night with back-to-back meetings and obligations.

I remember darting to the bathroom between sessions, praying I wouldn’t bump into anyone who might want to chat because I had no time. I’d often dispatch my assistant to grab me a coffee since a quick trip to the breakroom could disrupt my impossibly tight schedule. Believe me when I say I would have loved nothing more than to slow down and invest more time connecting with faculty and staff. My fleeting moments at the church offices were even more scarce during those years.

I have asked myself this simple question; would my leadership have had more of an impact if I had done everything the same, but simply walked slower?

Interesting thought huh? When we walk slower, we are more intentional. We see the details, we hear the stories, we read the person. We catch things we otherwise would not have caught.

That season was incredibly rewarding in so many ways, and I wouldn’t trade it for anything. However, I often look back and wonder if I could have modeled Jesus’ pace just a little better than I did.

Three Mile An Hour God

There's no scriptural record of Jesus ever rushing from place to place. As Kosuke Koyama explores in his book "Three Mile an Hour God," Jesus traveled on foot between destinations, intentionally setting a slow, unhurried pace as he ministered to people. He welcomed regular interruptions along the way (just ask the woman with the issue of blood who reached out to him in a bustling crowd).

Jesus lived with a divine, attentive calmness, refusing to let manufactured urgency rule his priorities or schedule. As the Son of God, Jesus shaped time around relationships, not the reverse. This choice to meander with presence comes across powerfully in the Gospels. And for those leading today, Jesus' model offers permission to prize people over productivity, depth over speed. His pace conveys an undercurrent of grace that flows from slowing down enough to see each person you pass as a rare wonder worth savoring. Redemption often moves at 3 miles per hour - the speed a Shepherd keeps so no trembling sheep wander off unseen.

In leadership, the costs of moving fast are real. Superficial conversations rather than lasting bonds. Treating people like tasks rather than humans worthy of time and care. Letting stress rule you rather than moving purposefully led by the Spirit.

ReLearning

These days, I’m learning, no I’m ReLearning...the importance of slowing down, like Jesus wandered slowly through crowds and communities putting relationships over rigid routines. I’m finding freedom in open spaces on the calendar, in long lunches with new colleagues turned friends, and in wandering through the office to see how people are doing rather than how they are moving. I’m remembering that intentional speed is not my enemy, but choosing busyness over presence almost always is.

My prayer is that I’ll keep ReLearning this lesson as a leader - that people and souls flourish when I follow more closely in Jesus’ unhurried footsteps. That is leadership that can change the world.

I guess that’s my “Deep thoughts with Jon” for today.

Have a great day ReLeaders.

Here’s your cue to get up, walk down the hall, and see how your teams are doing.