There are tons great things about leading up a ministry. There is also a ton of not so great things about being the leader of the ministry. Depending on the day you can have more good things than bad things, more bad things than good things, or you can have a decent mixture of both. What I have learned is the way we respond to certain situations is huge. What I also have noticed about myself is I tend to respond more to the negative than I do the positive.

What I mean is that when something that requires a hard conversation, when something requires my attention to fix something, when a volunteer or student needs to be talked to… I will react.

But…

When I see growth in a volunteer or student, when I see that something is done well, when I see people stepping up I have noticed I don’t react or do anything because there is always something else to do and as long as things are getting done… I’m good.

I don’t want to be like that. I’m assuming you don’t want to be that kind of leader as well. So I have been doing what I am calling (in my head) a “One-for-One”. Every time I have to take care of something (have the hard conversation or get frustrated at something) I immediately find someone on my team, a volunteer, or a student to encourage them in something I saw in them that week.  It’s been going awesome and it has trained me to make sure to encourage those around me.

For some of us, it is really easy to get so negative so quick. I think the Enemy loves this. When things are going well he wants you to ignore the encouragement because it will cause doubt in effectiveness, purpose and appreciativeness in those you work around and with. Be a leader who is known for how you encourage people but also know how to have the tough conversations with grace. We need to be both and we need to show both as leaders.

Ephesians 4:29 – Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear.

 

@justinknowles3

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