The making of a young leader.

Back to basics, what makes a leader tick? What makes a leader? Are leaders nurtured or is it part of their nature, is it part of who they are? No authors I have read have actually adequately answered the question. Some have come close by breaking the question down into individual parts but this merely answers the question of what leaders do. For example, what happens when we put young people into positions of leadership too early?

Unfortunately, leadership doesn't have a one-size-fits-all definition. We all have our own ideas about what it means to be a good leader. Some people think leadership means guiding others to complete a particular task, while others believe it means motivating the people in the teams of your church. Maxwell says that leadership is influence. Jagelman says that leadership facilitates ministry. Maybe Gardiner is right when he says that it is all about emotional intelligence (EQ) rather than IQ capacity. But while the definitions may vary, the general principles remain the same: leaders are people who know how to achieve goals and inspire people along the way.

For me leadership is a little broader in definition than those mentioned above. Leadership for me is about relationship and intentionality. We cannot hope to influence people if we don't have relationship first. If we are not intentional in doing this then no real ministry can be facilitated. If we have no real life experience we cannot hope to relate to people.

Young leaders who we have been trained well and who reflect our so called DNA may not have everything that is required of them. When we put young leaders into positions of leadership before their time, we may end up with situations, where process is followed rather than a focus on the objective- wining the lost for Christ. We will see young leaders doing the serving well but not seeing the objective as paramount-that is people matter.

A church leadership made up of just young leaders can have in place all the processes it needs to see people serving in the church. But, if people's lives are not radically changing for Jesus all you will end up with is a well run Sunday event by well trained young leaders.

Food for thought?

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Tim King Leadership

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