Well, I can honestly say that I don’t think I have ever heard a John Mayer song sung in church before the pastor got up to preach. Tomorrow, I won’t be able to make that statement. The song immediately preceding the message was “Waiting on the World to Change”. And many of you will instantly recall the lyrics.

I will forego evaluating the use of John Mayer music in a worship setting. I will only say that the band in church this morning did an excellent job with the song and played it with heart, soul, and passion.

This song is often misunderstood. Do a little internet research on the song and you will quickly see that it has folks who can be fairly polarized in their views on whether it is a statement, an expectation or a parody. Mayer himself has been somewhat elusive on the meaning behind the lyrics.  That’s some clever writing and marketing right there.

One stanza says this:

It’s not that we don’t care
We just know that the fight ain’t fair
So we keep on waiting
(Waiting)
Waiting on the world to change

So what is my point and what is the relevance to Leadership Voices?

You and I don’t have the luxury of sitting back and “Waiting on the world to change”. The fight is often unfair.  Get over it.  Leaders lead. They do not write songs about the lack of leadership around them. (Well, maybe they do as a way of encouraging and motivating to action.) But this world does not need more songwriters. We need more leaders.

If we can have a John Mayer song in church, I can quote Dr. Seuss and The Lorax in my blog!

“Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot.
Nothing’s going to get better. It’s not!”

Caring and compassion are an important first step. But we must go beyond caring and feeling. We must DO! And we must lead others to do.

Photo credit: toddwickersty / Foter / (CC BY-SA 2.0)
Photo credit: B Rosen / Foter / (CC BY-ND 2.0)
Photo credit: B Rosen / Foter / (CC BY-ND 2.0)
Photo credit: Latente 囧 www.latente.it / Foter / (CC BY-SA 2.0)