Remember

The exhaused Israeli troops gathered to hear inspired mutterings from the 4 star general. Apart from encouragement he candidly asked them what they biggest concern was. Numerou troops quickly answered the need for more sleep. The general looked confused and said, "Sleep, you need to find time to sleep. I sleep a while in the back of my car while being driven around." The frustrated troops went back to their dorms wondering when they were going to get someone to drive them around so they could sleep a little more. The general had no clue and had forgotten what it was like to live like a grunt- in a world without "drivers."
In ministry, paid staff are like that 4 star general. We can't help it, we're a few levels removed from the life of unpaid ministry volunteers. We forget what it's like to have a life not revolving around church. We forget what it's like to not be committed to a ministry with all of our time and energy. We forget what it's like to not have Christian friends encouraging us towards holiness. We forget or just don't understand. This lack of understanding can cause problems in leading. We come up with a brilliant idea for service and then get frustrated at our small group leaders for not attending our service project. We think to ourselves, "If I could be there, why couldn't they?"
As leaders, we have to acknowledge the fact that we're a few levels removed from the life of those who serve. Then we have to take the time to really understand life from their perspective and service projects from their perspective. When we come up with ideas we think are brilliant, it might be worth it to run those ideas by those they will affect to make sure we're not blind to something the common ministry volunteer sees immediately.