Thursday, January 28, 2010

Youth Leadership Resume: Intimacy

A Christian leader has a piece of the puzzle that a non-Christian doesn’t have: a relationship with Jesus Christ. Many people would ask what in the world this has to do leadership, but I would say “everything!”


Jesus didn’t lead like other people. He spent a lot of time drawing the line between the world’s leaders and the way that his disciples were supposed to lead. Living the Christian life gives a person a sense of leadership that others don’t have.

Now, let’s get one thing straight. We don’t read the bible and culture a relationship with Jesus in order to become better leaders. In fact, a Christian leader is called by God through their relationship, in order to serve. The Christian leader is also equipped by God through Spiritual gifting and sanctification, the process of being made more like Jesus. So rather than us using God to improve our means, it’s quite the other way around. God uses us as leaders to advance his kingdom and to equip His people to serve Him.

Our relationship with God, in fact, makes us worth following, and gives us the true way of leadership. This being the case, teaching our students to foster a relationship with God should be of high importance to us.

That is easier said than done, obviously, because we don’t see our students every day. It’s hard to help them set up lasting habits even with something as important as a relationship with God. That means we have to work even harder and smarter in helping our students do so. We have to partner with parents, work with our students, and model intimacy for our students in our own lives.

If we are to have a generation of Christ-followers as leaders in all areas of society, they will have to have an intimacy with God that informs their purpose, calling, and leadership.

Question: How are you teaching intimacy to your students?

Training Tomorrow’s Leaders Today,

Matt

No comments:

Post a Comment