Are You GAP Insurance?

Okay, so I was one of the 250,000 people who bankrupted the CARS program in the first 4 days! I traded in my '01 Kia Sportage (avg 18 mpg) for an '09 Chevy HHR (avg 32 mpg) and with the CARS program and GM rebates I shaved more than $8,000 off the price of a new car. If you've ever sat in a new-car showroom you know the uncomfortable and even distasteful drill of having to dance with the salesman about the final pricing and then deal with the finance guy. His job is to get you to pay more - much more - for the car than you were planning on. It start with an extended warranty (which I can get elsewhere for half!), moves on to a complete protection package on the interior and exterior of the vehicle, and finishes up with an offer for GAP insurance. The basic idea behind GAP insurance is that this additional coverage will bridge the gap between what your car is worth and what you sill owe on it should it become 'totaled' in an accident. It's not a bad idea. What is a bad idea is buying this coverage from the dealer for $300 when you can get it added to your auto insurance policy for something like $2/mo!

Second chair leaders are in the business of providing GAP insurance for their first-chair leaders. Often we are called upon to fill-in or stand-in-the-gap between what needs to get done and our first-chair leader's ability to accomplish that task. Sometimes we act as a shield or buffer to protect our first-chair leaders from things that might derail them. When we get good as second-chair leaders we can see the gaps and fill them in before others notice them and often before our first-chair leader is even aware of them.

I encourage you to serve your first-chair leader today by being his or her GAP insurance. One word of caution: don't expect that what you are doing will get noticed. Your behind-the-scenes ministry will rarely become headline news. Be satisfied in the success of your first-chair leader knowing that his success makes your church or organization healthier, stronger, and more effective!