Eyes Wide Open

Romans 12:6-8 (NRSV)
We have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us: prophecy, in proportion to faith; [7] ministry, in ministering; the teacher, in teaching; [8] the exhorter, in exhortation; the giver, in generosity; the leader, in diligence; the compassionate, in cheerfulness.

Today continues a series of posts on the subject of mentoring, leadership, discipleship, or whatever “ship” seems to fit. This topic has recently surfaced for me as I navigate year number one of vocational ministry that seeks to lay a foundation for years to come.

Leadership comes in many shapes and sizes. Organizations like Growing Leaders, and Willow Creek’s “Leadership Summit”, and Catalyst represent a few well-known sources. Attend these conferences and you’ll discover a wealth of knowledge and experience that you can stick in your backpack along the trail. But there is a difference in gleaning “best practices” and “principles” from these people/events vs. becoming a clone or drinking the Kool-Aid, if you know what I mean.

Tim Elmore, founder of Growing Leaders, is one of those helpful voices for me. He is not in the least bit flashy, hip, or emerging…but he is grounded, caring, and full of passion that seeks to develop young leaders who will help transform the world around them. Peruse through the Growing Leaders site and you will discover a few guiding assumptions/conditions:

There is leadership potential in every young person.

Healthy leadership is servant-leadership.

Everyone can learn to be a better leader.

I once heard the following definition concerning this very subject: Leadership is influence. Nothing more, nothing less. Those who say, “I am certainly not a leader, nor do I want to be one,” mis-calculate the very definition of leadership. We all carry the potential to influence others, for good or for bad, regardless of how we do it. I’ve been around youth ministry long enough to know that there are some who lead by listening and serving, some by teaching, some by quiet modeling. Still others lead (influence) kids and parents in a different direction…with selfish agendas and lone-ranger practices that come masked in all shapes and sizes.

Learning to become Christ-like and embrace servant leadership requires a measure of conformity to the Master himself, even amidst the wealth of uniqueness that makes us original.