Tag: Student Leadership

When Something Wins

Something is better than nothing, but everything is not always the best thing.

Share this:
Share

A couple weeks back I was talking with a friend and had a thought. We were talking about the delicate balance of ministry (and any activity, really) during our current COVID reality. Our debate centered on how much should we be doing in comparison to a normal year.

More specifically, how do we find the balance between doing too little and doing too much. We wanted to be smart. We do not want to be reckless or careless. And we want to be present. It’s all a very difficult balance. Then, it hit me.

Something is better than nothing, but everything is not always the best thing.

I’ve written in the past about how getting started is often the most difficult part for me. And I think in our current context, the struggle to begin and not overthink remains.

But at the end of the day, just because I’m doing something doesn’t mean I have to do everything.

The same is true for you. I’m going to guess you are probably living in the tension of activity vs inactivity. You’ve had to cancel key events, or decide altogether if they were going to happen at all. Your calendar does not look remotely close to what it was 365 days ago. The things you were anticipating have either been significantly altered, or cut altogether.

And so you’re left looking at what’s next.

Something is better than nothing, but everything is not always the best thing.

We have an incredible opportunity at this point in our lives. We can cut some of the fluff and focus on the meat. We can make the most of the day and age in which we live, or we can lament all that’s been lost or altered.

Make a move today. Plan something. Do something. But rest in the knowledge that it’s okay for that something to be less than everything. It’s okay to trim the fat.

You can do this. Now, go lead.

Time to Get Started

Share this:
Share

This weekend was a remarkable weekend for me. There was no significant event that really happened. I had nothing on the calendar. But I had a few Audible credits. So I bought a book.

A few years back, during a guest talk by a leader I respect, I heard about John Maxwell’s 5 Levels of Leadership. It was intriguing, but it just sat in my brain for a few years. Then, on Friday, I redeemed an Audible credit for the book and started listening.

Early on he had a pdf included for the listener to work through. Because I’m trying to engage books more than finish them these days, I sat down and worked through the pdf. And my world was rocked.

I’ve lost sight of developing leaders the way I know I can (and should).

That got me thinking. I’ve said for a few years that as I talked to Youth Ministers about leadership, my first question would always be “What are you doing to develop student leaders.” The answer? Most of the time the response was an event or two they had students attend, maybe even a camp.

The sense I always got was everyone has developing leaders on their list, it’s just not close enough to the top to get our best energy. And that’s where I’ve been lately. I’ve been so focused on treading water, and honestly, getting my wits about me since starting my new position, that the difficult part of leadership development has gone by the wayside.

So let me ask you this question today: Are you developing the people you lead to become better leaders? Not just the ones who are easy to develop, but the ones that make you sweat thinking about trying to help them develop. Are you doing the difficult work of developing and leading and teaching and training? Are you willing to do so? What step can you take today?

Now, go lead.

Overcoming the Reflex

Leadership development is a discipline not a reflex.

Share this:
Share

Leadership development is a discipline not a reflex.

This concept has been on my mind a lot over the past month. I’ve served in student ministry for somewhere around 17 or 18 summers, and I’ve never had a summer that felt like this. It seems everything is flipped upside down.

And when we park in chaos, our reflexes take over. We naturally default to the things that come easy to us, or the things in which we find comfort.

Planners find rest in planning.

Creative types find rest in creating.

Busy types find rest in busy-ness.

Very few people, however, default to developing leaders. It’s not natural to bring someone along and to empower them to serve. Capable people, especially, have a difficult time including others in their work.

Leadership development is a discipline, not a reflex.

Think of it like trying to lose weight. The only time in my life that I have lost weight without being highly intentional is when I have a stomach bug. When my body is rejecting the fuel I’m trying to give it, I can lose weight without much effort (but usually quite a bit of pain).

My natural reflex is to put my head down and accomplish. I fear rejection, so I default to not wanting to bother people for help. I justify it, and move forward alone.

But that’s not how I grow as a leader. I want to develop those around me. I want the people (young and old) around me to be grow because of the leadership influence I have on them.

But it takes discipline. It takes purpose. It takes intentionality.

Do you agree? Is developing leaders around you a discipline, or a reflex? What is one thing you need to do today to develop someone around you?

Heart Check

Share this:
Share

Words reveal intent. Actions reveal heart.

I worked up that phrase a few years back, and it’s something I return to regularly to both wrestle with it’s validity and to check my heart in the process.

You see, I think we say things we want to do. We want to eat better, exercise more, be a better friend, and be more dependable. All of those are things we intend to do.

But at the end of the day, after that third serving of supper, our actions reveal things about us we may not be ready or willing to accept.

The same is true in developing leaders around us. We know we should do a better job. We say we should do a better job. But, when push comes to shove, our actions reveal something different.

This summer for student ministry is unlike anything we have ever experienced. I know so many ministries who are having to completely audible what would have been and move in a different direction.

But I have one plea. Don’t let leadership development get pushed to the side.

Developing leaders is not an easy task. I love what we’ve been able to do each summer at camp with our Horizon Leadership Camp, but in the absence of camp, I am going to spend brain energy deciding how to work leadership development into what I’m doing.

After all, I can say developing student leaders is important. But if I’m not taking steps to help students grow, do my actions line up with my intent?

Dream a little today about what leadership development could look like this summer. Put some thought into it, and then do it. You can do this!

Multiplication vs Addition

Share this:
Share

Open your text books chapter 2 section 1. Today we are going to talk about multiplication.

Just kidding, kind of. The math concepts that come to mind apply to leadership as well. Would you rather be given $100 plus $100 or be given $100 times 100?

As we seek to develop leaders, we’re not looking to just add leaders. We are looking to add leaders who add leaders. I want to develop students who in turn develop students.

If developing students who develop students is my goal, then my approach is different. My training doesn’t only center on the tasks of a leader, but on the tasks of a leader and how to train others to fulfill the tasks of a leader.

So how do we do this?

  1. Begin with multiplication in mind. Sure, some of the best development comes from places we never anticipated, but if we know we want to multiply in the end, how we begin changes. We don’t accept just anyone. We set a higher bar. We encourage commitment. We encourage but don’t coerce.
  2. Keep multiplication in mind. Relational investment plays such an integral part in multiplication. We cannot expect someone to grow if we do not understand where they need to grow. That’s where relationship comes in. Get to know those you lead.
  3. Model multiplication. Continue to invest in and grow leaders. Do not stop with one or two. When it gets difficult, push through. When it becomes a challenge, keep going. Model the behavior you want to see repeated, and it will be repeated.

I love investing in students. I love the conversations we get to have as a result of the time we spend together. But, at the end of the day, my influence is greater as I learn to multiply. Yours will be as well.

WP to LinkedIn Auto Publish Powered By : XYZScripts.com