Category: Vision

5 CORE VALUES FOR STUDENT LEADERS

garyalbritton8 Comments

Over the last several weeks I have been thinking a lot about our Student Leadership. I have been really wrestling with this question, “What are the core values I want these leaders to walk away with.”

I have certain values I want all of our students to walk away with, but for this group of leaders, what specifically do I want them to take from their time serving as student leaders? I have come up with 5 core concepts I want these students to take away from their time in this ministry.

1. Prayer – I want them to see prayer as the foundation for their ministry. “You can do a lot of things for God after you pray, but you can’t really do anything for Him until you pray.” Brunson  The church needs innovative and passionate leaders but more than anything else the church needs leaders who are willing to commit their lives to prayer. It is impossible to lead people to God if you do not know God. Prayer is the most important role of the leader.

2. Servant Leadership – Jesus did not simply teach or lead from a distance, he spent time with people, serving them. Jesus engaged people where they were. He did so by first meeting their felt needs. To his disciples He was Rabbi and Lord, yet he was still willing to selflessly kneel at their feet to wash them. I want to build leaders who are not afraid to get their hands dirty. I want students who don’t see leadership as simply as, “something you do” but rather see leadership as “who you are.”

3. Collaboration – I want leaders to learn to work together towards a goal. To see through the eyes of a team and learn how to collaborate. When people work in groups there are five possible outcomes. First is Avoidance (I don’t care). Second is Accommodation (you win, I lose). Third is Competition (I win, you lose). Forth is Compromise (sometimes I win, sometimes I lose). Fifth is Collaboration (Win-Win). Compromise in certain situations is an okay option but I want to teach students to collaborate, it is vital to building a strong team. It is also the best outcome for the Kingdom. For me that means I have to be willing to collaborate with them and not simply push my ideas through (Even when I know my way will work better).

4. Learning – Leaders are learners, when you stop learning you will inevitably stop leading. I want them to fall in love with reading; the Bible as well as other books. Right now I am working through “Communicating for a Change” by Andy Stanley with 2 of our student leaders. I am trying to pair up experienced adult teachers to mentor high school students in teaching. As a part of the quarter they are teaching they meet with me once a week to discuss the book as well as what they are learning. I also want them to learn through failure. I know that sounds odd but it is the truth. I want our ministry to be a safe place for them to try and fail. Truth be told, I have learn so much more in my life through failures than I have through successes. Ultimately, you learn best through doing. I want to students to feel free to experiment, to know it might not work and know it’s okay. Then to be able to help them process what went wrong and how it might work better the next time.

5. Mentoring – I am really trying to focus on developing mentoring relationships for all of our leaders. My hope is as the mentor relationship develops over time that our leaders would begin to mentor younger students. It is what Jesus intended when he said “Go and make disciples.” The goal of discipleship is to reproduce yourself. As I work with student leaders, if they can’t teach someone else what I am teaching them, then I have failed.

So here is my list of core values I want our student leaders to develop. What would you add to the list of core values?

CORE PURPOSE FOR STUDENT LEADERSHIP

garyalbritton2 Comments

This past week I have been thinking a lot about the goals I have for our student leadership team.  Student Leadership is not a new idea, but many times in Student Ministry the leadership team simply consists of the popular kids who make the decisions about the fun activities the group will do.

So as I have been processing the direction of our leadership team I came to a realization.  The realization is this…  I talk about prayer a lot, we even pray as a part of our times together, however, I would say prayer has not been a priority for our leadership team.  It has not been the focus.  The focus has been on what WE NEED to do rather than on what we NEED HIM to do.  This past week I tried to really begin engaging our leaders in prayer.

For me the problem was twofold.  One, there is so much to be done at times it is easy to jump right in.  After all in ministry the work never stops.  Two, I wonder if from time to time I get so focused on all that has to be done, that I subconsciously suppress prayer because it is ultimately my job to get it done.  So what about the words of Jesus in John 15?

5 “I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.

The last part of this verse has really been making me think, how much ministry am I trying to do on my own?  Am I teaching these students that ministry is all about them?  Because Jesus says without Him it is going to fail and our work is useless.  I am not saying stop working hard.  In fact I believe the exact opposite is true.  We must work as if it depends on us and pray like it depends on God.

I firmly believe making prayer a priority for student leaders begins with a mentor teaching them to pray, not through lessons but through actually praying.  I want to hear all of our leaders pray.  I want to give them specific things to pray for together in our group time and throughout the week alone.  Mostly I want them to see me modeling prayer.  Not simply rehearsed and antiquated words from our past, but a true passionate heart being poured out to God, a heart that truly believes, if God does not show up then our efforts will be wasted.  We must be developing hearts that beg and plead to be a part of building God’s kingdom.  Through the modeling that they might see prayer in a different light, as if our very life and ministry depends on God, because it does.

There are lots I want our student leaders to learn in the time they are a part of our ministry, but above all else I want them to see the essence of prayer in the life of a leader.  To boldly ask God to do the impossible through their life and ministry because I believe teenagers will not truly understand the work and power of the Spirit until they see the Spirit at work in their life.  As pastors, ministers, leaders, and shepherds may we never take lightly our commitment to prayer.  It should be the bedrock on which our leadership is built.

THE VISION OF A LEADER

garyalbritton2 Comments

Vision, it is one of our five senses and just like all of our senses we tend to take for granted that we can see.  I can’t imagine what it would be like to live without sight.

Yet, many people are completely capable of living without sight; they find ways to make it work.  However, they will never be capable of doing everything they could do as if they could see.  A lack of vision greatly limits life.  In leadership a lack of vision is magnified many times over and is far more detrimental.  In a leadership role lack of vision no longer simply affects the one without sight, it also effects all who follow.  It truly becomes the blind leading the blind.

I find it amazing; with vision being as important as it is, how easily as leaders we lose sight of our vision.  For a church when the leadership loses sight of the vision the people lose their way.  When the church loses sight of the vision it turns inward.  Once the vision turns inward it is impossible to truly follow Jesus because Jesus was constantly focused on what was happening out in front of Him.  He was constantly focused on building His Fathers kingdom.  Think of it like this, Jesus said in the Great Commission to “go into all the world.”  Going requires vision.  Of course you can go with no vision, but you will never be capable of accomplishing all God is calling you to as a leader if you can’t see where you are going.

As leaders there is an incredible burden to continually be refocusing yourself and others on the vision.  But how as leaders do we stay focused?

  1. We must continually be pursuing Christ, through prayer, study and communing with Christ.  As leaders we should be saying to people, as did Paul, “follow me, just as I follow Christ.”  As leaders we must fight against vision loss in followers, but that fight begins by making sure we do not lose sight of the vision our self.
  2. We must continually check our direction.  It is so easy to lose sight of where we are headed and it is even easier when people feel there is no one leading them to wander away.  How do you check direction?  With a compass.  As God gives you vision you must be developing action plans and goals from that vision.  You have to have a way to measure and see where you are.  This should be done on a weekly basis, because it does not take long to get lost.
  3. Most importantly keep pushing forward.  It is far too easy to lose sight of where we are when we stop moving.  What can cause us to stop moving?  Other people can distract us from the vision, through complacency and complaining.  Busyness can also distract us from the vision.  It is imperative as leaders to learn the word no.  We have to learn to say no to good things for better things.

Leaders, I want to encourage you to stay focused on where you are headed because your vision is vital to your leadership.

Where there is no vision, the people perish.  Proverbs 29:18