They didn’t know I was listening. I was lurking nearby and eavesdropping on these people’s conversation. They were not talking about me or anyone I know. The interaction focused on something that had gone wrong that Sunday morning.

One of them blamed the equipment for the issues. The problem would not have happened if the Church had purchased quality tools for the work.

The other person gave their theory on what happened and why.

As I leaned in to hear their discussion, I noticed that neither one of them accepted any responsibility for what happened. It was the equipment, not the person running it. It was that the person running it was not properly trained by someone else.

Neither one was ugly or mean with their words. They were shifting the blame to areas where they had no control.

I often think that the difference between a leader and a follower is the willingness to accept blame. To say, perhaps I could have done something to prevent this from happening. And I promise you that I will do whatever it takes to make sure it does not happen again. Leaders accept responsibility for past issues and the opportunity to make a better future.

The Church desperately needs more leaders.