Although we completed all 12 lessons, I will continue to share tips from time to time that have helped me as a leader. This one probably the most important and encompasses all others as well.
This concerns your own spiritual walk. If that is not what it should be, then all the other leadership lessons and practical training you get won’t amount to much. When we walk with Christ on a daily basis, taking time for prayer, Bible study, and devotional readings, asking His wisdom and direction for out day, and seeking out an accountability partner, I think several things will result:
· Passion and purpose-you will be serving out of His calling and purpose for your life which will be used greatly for His Work.
· Vision-you will see His vision for others, and as you lead enthusiastically, it will be contagious. Others will catch the vision as it passes down generation to generation.
· Authenticity-you will be able to be honest and transparent with others about the joys AND trials of your life and ministry. You will see that they all are a part of what God has created you to be and do and won’t be afraid to share them.
· Confidentiality-as you lead women, they will know you are trustworthy with what they share. Women will eagerly approach you for concerns and prayer.
· Safe environment for spiritual transformation to take place-women will truly seek to grow without fear of what others will say and think as they grapple with their own issues.
· Servant leadership-You will lead by serving. And you will set the example for the others on your team, and the women in your church. Jesus served as he led and we can model that same kind of leadership in our church as well.
George Whitten was a servant leader who also happened to be a principal at elementary school in Nashville for over 30 years. Each morning he greeted every student, parent, or teacher who walked onto the campus. He taught others to serve even as he taught love and family values. He made an impact more than an impression. I didn’t know him, but read and heard much on the news about his life when he died. What a legacy he left behind. What a legacy for us to leave behind, knowing that we served others because we love Christ.
Read these scriptures and consider the legacy you are leaving behind as you lead women:
My people, hear my instruction; listen to what I say. I will declare wise sayings; I will speak mysteries from the past —things we have heard and known and that our fathers have passed down to us. We must not hide them from their children, but must tell a future generation the praises of the Lord, His might, and the wonderful works He has performed. He established a testimony in Jacob and set up a law in Israel, which He commanded our fathers to teach to their children so that a future generation—children yet to be born—might know. They were to rise and tell their children so that they might put their confidence in God and not forget God’s works, but keep His commandments. (Ps 78:1-7 )
This will be written for a later generation, and a newly created people will praise the Lord. (Ps. 102:18)
What is your best leadership tip you can share with others? Please post it in the comment box.