The Long View

Instant Gratification is the order of the day,

but when it comes to developing tomorrow’s leaders, we aren’t going to get any instant gratification.  We aren’t going to see amazing results in hours.  We aren’t even going to see amazing results in days.  We have these young people for 4-6 years in our youth groups, and it will probably take every bit of that time to see results.  This isn’t like a paid advertisement where our gizmo does everything in ten seconds or less.

Experts tell us that Leadership is a lifelong journey. 

so why is it that we think a weekend retreat or a one-week conference is going to develop our young leaders?  Do we really believe that?  Why do we develop non-programs to teach young leaders and believe that we have done them a favor?  Is it us?  Are we seeing things wrong?     

Leadership Development is a lot of work.

I’m not going to deny it, I’m going to embrace it.  Does it mean another item on my plate?  Yeah, it does, but it’s an important item.  I believe very strongly that giving our students the opportunity to lead and to learn leadership is one of the most important things we can do for our young people.  

I’m Adopting a Long View

I’m spending my time putting together materials that will help you develop students over the long haul.  I’m not concerned with force-feeding them a leadership course in a weekend, I’m concerned with how these young people will fare over a lifetime of leading.  It’s a long haul, but so is leadership.  If leadership is a lifelong journey, let’s not short-change our students as we prepare them.  Let’s model the long view.  They’ll be in it for the long haul, and we should be, too.

Training Tomorrow’s Leaders Today,

Matt

Pride Popper

As I’m fond of doing, I was listening to Matt Chandler’s sermon yesterday morning before work.  He’s started a series out of Habakkuk, and I’ve been so looking forward to it.  

So, while not what the sermon was about, Chandler said something during his sermon that really struck me.  He was talking about King Josiah.  King Josiah, King of Judah, led a revival in Judah the likes of which had never been seen.  He restored worship in the temple, and hunted down idolatry throughout Judah.  Then, mysteriously, he went out to battle against Pharaoh  Necho, and was killed in battle.  You can read this story in 2 Kings Chapter 23.

Chandler’s point was this:  When you read Josiah’s story, it should strike you that his death and burial took one verse.  In the next verse, the story continues with King Jehoahaz.  

Literally, Josiah died in one verse, and then the story went on.  This was the great revivalist of Judah, the man who restored worship to the temple and was instrumental in turning the people’s hearts back to God.  

And with that much fanfare, his story ended.  but God’s story went on.  

While Josiah might live eternally in scripture and in history, it’s very probable that we won’t.  Many of God’s people who have done tremendous work haven’t, and there’s no reason for us to believe that we will either.

So many young people I know believe that leadership and godly work are going to somehow secure them a place in history.  They want to make a mark, and are using leadership and works to make that mark.  Rather than wanted to be servants, they want leadership to serve them.  I wish this kind of pride didn’t exist in us, but it does.  

Josiah’s story is a good reminder that even the godliest men and women die, are buried, and then the story goes on.  So it will be with us.  At best, we have very small parts in God’s very large story.  Whenever we can remind ourselves of that, I think we should.  It gives us proper perspective.

Training Tomorrow’s Leaders Today,

Matt  

A Plea to See

We live in a celebrity driven news world

I don’t know what it is about celebrities, but sometimes we pay so much attention to them that we look at nothing else.  If you don’t believe me, go to your local supermarket, get in the checkout line, and try to find me a magazine that isn’t celebrity related or that doesn’t have a celebrity on it.  Harder than it sounds, isn’t it?

This obsession with celebrity that we have has taken on new dimensions this last week with the tragedy in Tucson.  While I don’t wish to take anything away from Rep. Gifford's miraculous recovery, I am deeply pained that we are paying very little attention to the 19 other victims.  

In fact, I did a little research into shooting sprees from 2010 and found something interesting.  There were quite a few shooting sprees last year, some with death tolls much higher than last week’s spree in Tucson.  Unfortunately, they were never news for more than a day or two.  We rarely ever knew the names of the victims, nor were the national news networks covering them like they have the Tucson shootings.  

See every victim the same

Like I said, I don’t want to take anything away from Rep. Giffords and her amazing recovery;  On the contrary, I thank God for it.  What I do want to do, however, is remind everyone that every person who was killed in last week’s shootings; in every shooting, had a family which is now devastated.  They had friends who are mourning them.  They had a life and a purpose which was cut short by a madman. 

 Don’t play favorites.  Love and serve everyone.  Please, please, please remember every victim of the Tucson shootings.  All 20 of them directly, and every family member and friend whose life has been turned upside down by this tragic event.  And the next time you hear of another one of these tragic shootings, please don’t dismiss it or let the news stations determine your focus.  

Pray for peace.  Pray for Justice.  Pray for Christ to return and redeem this world unto Him.

Training Tomorrow’s Leaders Today,

Matt

Leadership In the Line of Fire

A Tragic Example of Evil and Sin
My prayers go out to the families of those killed and wounded in Tuscon, Arizona on Saturday.  My prayers are also with every one of the wounded for their quick and complete recovery.  It rips me apart that human beings are capable of such atrocities.  I know we live in a fallen world, but unconceivable evil such as this I just can't get my head around.

It would seem, according to the news stories, that the gunman's intended target was Rep. Gabrielle Giffords.  If this is so (and we might not ever really know, given the unstable nature of the gunman), I think this might be a good opportunity for us to talk to our students about the dangerous side of leadership.  


A Teachable Moment
I know it might sound somewhat callous to do this right now, but I believe that this tradgedy can shed some light on the dangers of leadership and being in the public eye.  It might also be a good time to talk about how taking a stand for what you believe can be very costly to you and those you love.


 Irrespective of political stance, theology, point of view, or whatever, every leader attracts the wrong kind of attention at one point or another.  The more a leader is in the public eye, the more this is true.  Sometimes this puts the leader in danger and sometimes it doesn't, but negative attention is always a trial.    


We don't need to look any further than the Apostle Paul for examples of a leader whose life was constantly in danger.  Any of our elected officials can probably supply ample evidence of death threats, threats of violence, or just general weirdness from constituents that they'd rather avoid.  The danger is real and our students need to know that leadership isn't always rosy.


Even if out of reverence for the families of the victims and the tenuous situation of Rep. Giffords you decide not to use this example to talk about the possible dangers of public leadership, it is a discussion that needs to be had in your leadership team.  


If you need some help talking biblically about it, look to 2 Corinthians to see how Paul deals with threats to his well being.


I'm praying for everyone touched by this tragedy, and I'm praying for you, too:  that perhaps through this or another situation like this God will prepare our young leaders for the work ahead of them.


Training Tomorrow's Leaders Today,
Matt

Resolve to Learn

To be a leader is to be a lifelong learner.

We should never stop learning.  This morning, I ran into a lady who knew quite  a bit about natural remedies and healthy living.  I know very little about any of that, so I had a lengthy conversation with her, soaking up every bit of information I could get.  Natural remedies don’t have much to do with leadership, but you never know when that kind of information will come in handy, or who I can introduce to my new friend who can use that kind of information.

We need to seek learning experiences.

We shouldn’t just wait for them to happen.  The world is full of learning experiences waiting to happen.  They come in all forms, from books and magazines to a planned lunch with an expert in a certain field.  This is the information age, and there’s no end to the things we can learn if we just put our minds to it.

We can’t be an expert in every field, but a general knowledge over a broad range of fields opens up our ability to make better decisions, communicate better, and be better stewards of our world.

Last year, I didn’t read as much as I should have.  I didn’t deliberately seek out learning experiences.  As a result, I had trouble growing.

This year, I resolve to Learn everything that I can.  I pray that God will show me to good learning experiences, put people in my path that I can learn from, and give me the patience and good sense to learn from them when He does.

Training Tomorrow’s Leaders Today,

Matt

Resolve To Grow

The Status Quo is the leader’s enemy.

We can never take for granted that the same thing that we’ve been doing is going to keep working, or that the newest methods are going to fall flat.  We can never be complacent with our level of expertise, knowledge, or wisdom.  

It’s very difficult to grow in the day-to-day of leading.

But we have to.  It’s hard to eek out time to read, reflect, and scrutinize what we do when we are in the middle of it, or when what we really want to do is take a day off or spend time with our loved ones.  

The hardest part of growing is changing.

When we read and reflect and do all those things that lead to growth, we have to have the courage to carry through.  Sometimes that leads into strange new territory.  Change is almost always scary.

We have to make time to grow.  

The rest of the world is going to continue to grow.  People around us are continuing to grow.  The organizations that we work for are continuing to grow.  We have to grow to.

This year I resolve to grow.  By the grace of God, I will make time to reflect, listen to God, read, and change where I need to.  I pray that God gives me the courage to change when He calls for it, and to go faithfully wherever He leads me.

Training Tomorrow’s Leaders Today

Matt

Resolve to Lead

Leading is an intentional act. 

 It takes making an effort that we don’t always want to make, and sometimes forget to make.  Either way, when we don’t lead, we turn into something that we don’t want to be, and something people don’t want to be around.

To lead in a Christian manner, you have to put others in front of yourself.  

You have to remember that not only are you not the most important thing going, but you are the least important thing going.  People are people, not “human resources.”

Being a Christian leader means realizing that people don’t work for you or follow you, but that you actually serve them; you work for them.  Being a servant isn’t easy, but it’s what God has called leaders to do.  

Maybe most importantly, being a Christian leader means being tuned in to God’s plan rather than your own.  This means that you don’t work the way the rest of the world does, you don’t view success the same, and you don’t treat your “resources” the same.  It’s a whole new paradigm to work and lead by, all powered by the Holy Spirit.

This year, I resolve to lead.  

I pray God gives me the courage and strength to put myself last and those I serve first; that He guides me in intentionality, and anchors my leadership in love.  

It is a great privilege to lead in God’s Kingdom.  It is an even greater responsibility.  I pray that this year God makes me worthy of the privilege and empowers me for the responsibility.

Training Tomorrow’s Leaders Today

Matt

Resolve to Follow

My first resolution of the year is to be a better follower.

All Christian leaders are followers.  Nobody gets the top spot in this organization except of course God.  One of the things I've learned this last year is that your Christian leadership ability is tied closely with how you follow God.

A person who isn't following God very closely isn't going to be able to lead in a godly manner or influence God's people.  God isn't going to bless that person with a supernatural ability to lead, and that leader won't be leading in the power of the Holy Spirit.

I find myself in that position more often than I'd like to admit.  I find myself reading the Bible only to study for my writing, or for curriculum development, or to teach a bible study.  In those times I'm not having a relationship with God, I'm using Him as a resource.   Like a library.  I seriously doubt He honors that, and I can tell when I'm drifting away from Him even though I'm in His word every day.

This year, one of my main goals is to really develop a living relationship with God.

 I want to be closer to Him.  I want to know Him better.

It's more than a matter of reading my Bible more.  I read it a lot.  I'm planning on meditating on His word, spending more time in prayer, and especially in listening, and spending some serious time in solitude and quiet listening to Him.

A Christian leader needs a close relationship with God.  It is from God that a leader's abilities and work flow.

What are you doing to draw closer to God this year?  How about right now?

Training Tomorrow's Leaders Today,
Matt