Last night the shepherd and I spent a long time visiting with Sand T. We spoke of what seems to be on the horizon. They have differing views similar to that of the shepherd and me. Essentially, S and the shepherd think it will come down to a hand slap. T and I think it can go much further… That the deciding factor will be Rob.
The shepherd and I continued our conversation late into the night thinking through the dynamics of the leadership. If Rob is willing to assert himself, he can make all of the difference, but he has to be willing to speak and initiate. Being a new person to the group (a new elder), the tendency is to wait and be cautious– not contribute until asked to. That would be a very dangerous strategy right now.
It is like a poker game. To play a hand, you have to put in your ante. If you sit at the table and never play a hand, there comes a time you run out of chips just because of the ante. At his point, the shepherd has had to play some bad hands and is low on ships. Rob has some chips. They can put their chips together and perhaps get back in the game. But, if they are indecisive, they will soon run out of chips just for sitting at the table and putting in the ante. It is time to find a playable hand and make a move.
I love this analogy.