September 30, 2025
Expanding Your Leadership Neighborhood
Luke 16 tells a striking story of a rich man and a poor man named Lazarus. One is dressed in luxury, feasting every day; the other lies outside the gate, covered in sores and longing for crumbs. It’s a scene of two worlds divided by a literal gate and, eventually, by an unbridgeable chasm.
This isn’t just a story about wealth. It’s a story about sight, responsibility, and response. It asks hard questions of leaders and communities: Who is sitting at the edge of your influence, unseen and unheard? What “gates” have you built, intentionally or not, that keep others outside?
Who’s at Your Gate?
It’s easy to move through ministry, work, or daily life focused on what’s happening “inside” our world. We get comfortable with the people and routines we know. But Jesus’ parable forces us to look outward and notice those waiting at our gates.
“Who’s at my gate?” is not just a rhetorical question. It’s an invitation to pause and look around your neighborhood, your church, your organization, your daily commute, and notice who’s there. It’s an invitation to recognize the image of God in every person and to step toward them before the divide becomes unbridgeable.
The Gates We Build
Sometimes gates are literal. A parking lot designed to keep traffic from cutting through can also cut off people we’re trying to reach. Other times gates are figurative. We unintentionally create systems, policies, habits, or fears that separate us from others.
Gates can serve a purpose: they provide order, safety, or boundaries. But they also reveal our priorities. They show where we feel threatened or inconvenienced. Gates protect us, but they can also isolate us. They may keep us from seeing the very people God calls us to love.
Crossing the Chasm
The parable’s reversal is sobering. The rich man, once surrounded by abundance, becomes the one in need. The chasm is fixed; the time for crossing has passed.
As leaders, we’re called to act before the chasm forms. To build bridges instead of barriers. That might look like inviting someone in who’s been overlooked, listening to their story, amplifying their voice, or using our influence to make space for them. It might mean partnering with others when we can’t meet every need ourselves. Small, intentional steps of love shrink the divide.
Expanding the Neighborhood
When we start with Jesus, there are no lines. The love of God pushes past boundaries and calls us to a bigger neighborhood. Expanding our leadership neighborhood doesn’t have to be complicated. It begins with one question: Who is at my gate today?
From there, the invitation is simple. Open the gate, cross the line, take the first step. As you do, others will come alongside. Needs will be met. Loaves and fishes will multiply. And the neighborhood will grow wider.
A Question for You
As you lead this week, consider this:
What chasm is God calling you to cross? Who is at your gate waiting to be seen and welcomed?
Let that question guide your prayers, your decisions, and your conversations. You may discover that as your neighborhood expands, the gaps grow smaller—and the kingdom of God becomes visible in the very places you once overlooked.