Student Leadership

Can you tell that I've been a little busy? I have not had one free moment to blog until now and the reality is, I have a million other things that still need to get done but I just couldn't wait to share with you about the wonderful weekend I had.

This past weekend I had the opportunity to take a group of students to the Student Leadership Conference in Orlando. This was a wonderful opportunity for students to learn and develop a variety of leadership skills. We basically went non-stop from Saturday to Tuesday. Many of our sessions covered topics such as:

* Excellence in all things and the future
* Dream it. Do it.
* Time management
* Worldview/Apologetics
* Mental Readiness

One of the sessions that really encouraged me was one that was titled, "SERVE-What Great Leaders Know and Do." This session was led by Ryan Bowman of Chick-Fil-A. During this session, he shared with students and adults what it is that great leaders do. Let me share with you a few of his thoughts that each of us can take to heart along with questions that you may want to consider answering:

1) Great leaders see and shape the future: When someone has a passion about something, this creates a picture of the future. What is your picture of the future? What is it that you are passionate about?

2) Great leaders engage and develop others: The challenge is knowing how to engage people-how to be personal with them. A question great leaders continually ask themselves is, "how can this person be plugged in?"

3) Great leaders reinvent continuously: Great leaders are always looking for ways to do things better. Great leaders focus on reinventing by changing self and changing systems-the methods that are currently in place. What is it that you want to personally reinvent? What do you need to change in order to get better results?

4) Great leaders value results and relationships: Leaders have to get results to be a great leader. Investing in others shows that you value relationships. What do you value, results and/or relationships? Why?

5) Great leaders embody the values: Values are filters by which we make decisions. If your actions and values do not match-up, you are a hypocrite. You must live consistently to your values in order to gain trust. What are your three core values?

Leadership is not about me, it's about others. Jesus came to serve.

Take some time to think about whether or not you are a leader and if so, what you can do to improve your leadership skills. Lastly, let me really encourage you to check out the website of Student Leadership University. This is something that every student who desires to be a faithful leader, needs to participate in. It is well worth the money.

Until next time!