Getting the Show on the Road

I believe that the Holy Spirit gave me an illustration regarding the place of leadership in the church. Imagine yourself in a large boat in the ocean with the engines turned off. It is a pleasant day with a nice breeze and you are drifting with the wind and current wherever they take you. This is a picture of the leaderless church. As long as no storm arises there is no problem but you really aren't going anywhere. "Therefore we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, lest we drift away from it." (Heb. 2:1) Those with the gift of leadership turn on the engine, examine the navigational charts (study the Bible) radio in (pray)and get the show on the road. I am convicted that I personally have become so concerned about not stepping on people's toes (in a spiritual sense)that I am really shirking the responsibility that God has given me.
I am also convicted that I and all of us need to take a much more active role in our walk with God. It is true that apart from Jesus we can do nothing (John 15:5) yet all things are possible for us with Him. "In your struggle against sin you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood." (Heb. 12:4) "One thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call in Christ Jesus. Let those of us who are mature think this way." (Phil. 3:13b-15a)