Personal Narrative: Leadership Identity

Living in a strongly religious community, I was given many opportunities to provide service to fellow church members and also under privileged youth of the community. When I began high school I was given the opportunity to become a counselor during Vacation Bible School and

While reading through each chapter I was challenged to consider the conflicts I have faced that came as the result of lacking a manager to accompany my leadership. As a pastor,

God’s primary way of developing leaders was through mentoring. The most positive and effective technique to prepare people for life and leadership is through mentoring. As Christians, we are charged to “help the weak and encourage the timid” and to “serve and care for the flock.” A task impossible for church leaders to personally mentor so they assist prospective mentees in finding qualified godly mentors, as

Leadership is defined as the power or ability to lead other people. Historically, I have strived to be a person that my peers would call a leader. I want to be a part of the Florida Leadership Academy so that I can learn new leadership skills from other proven leaders, as well as spread some of the skills that I have honed over the years. Throughout my life, I have pursued numerous leadership roles such as assistant captain of my high school’s varsity ice hockey team, Lead Volunteer at Young At Art, and currently, the secretary of the University of Florida Student Investment club. In addition, as a sophomore in high school, I took the initiative to apply and enroll at the College Academy at Broward College. This decision was a unique opportunity

I set up a date for my interview with Pastor Andrew to become part of a team. I explained to them how I wanted to make a difference with them, grow closer to God, and become a better leader. I ended up becoming part of the Student Leader Team. We had meetings at five thirty three times a month before church. They would put us in different positions in the church like sound booth, greeter, snack stand, and walker. Every Wednesday but one we would switch off and sometimes we would have the same one every week. During my meetings we would have a discussion over a leadership book we received when we joined. We would read passages and right our answers about the leadership style we saw and how God came into the situation. Also, I would take surveys in the packet to see what type of leader I am. That taught me that relationships are one of my highest skills when it comes to leadership. That taught me that me more about myself and that I care about the relationships with the people around me. It became valuable when I got put into a team aspect where I had to work with others. An example is when we put together our Christmas party for our whole youth group we all had to decide what theme we wanted, the food, time, and how we were going to spread the word about it. We all worked together as a team and had all different leadership roles that we each played. Overall the

Sheila, your interview with the Pastor of Student Ministry clearly displays positive leadership in the church. Pastor Spencer was on point when he indicated that ministry is about serving others and honoring God. Effective leadership and followership consists of selflessness and putting God first in order to succeed. Consistent with Maxwell (2002, pg.131), in order to be a contributing member of a winning team, you must put the needs of others before your own. I can relate to being selfless. In my job, I am consistently putting the needs of others before my own. I would not have it any other way. It brings me joy and a sense of self satisfaction. When staff members ask me for things, I try to jump right on it and make sure they get exactly

God has given each of us spiritual gift to minister as part of the body of Christ. Each person bring unique gift to help edify the each other. My gift lie in the areas of teaching and administration. Being a good administrator is understanding and realizing the gifts of those with whom we are working and helping them to grow in those gifts and use them to their maximum potential. As a teacher, I have learned the importance of stepping back and letting others learn and do. I learned this early on in youth work. Although, I was able to do a task much better than the teens, I was leading. If I did the work, several teens would be

For this assignment, I interviewed Sidney C. Frazier Sr., Pastor of Full Faith Ministries located on John’s Island, SC. Full Faith opened their doors on Mother’s Day in May, 1997. When given the vision to start this ministry, Pastor Frazier invested within himself leadership development by going to other organizations for training in ministry. This is the first valuable lesson I learned from this interview; I never planned on becoming an adult learner until the Lord told me to enroll in Springfield College in 2011, in order to learn of principles in human services, to learn men’s way, and now in Liberty University to learn God’s way in combining both together according to Luke 2:52 (NIV) “And Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man.” God wanted me to

“There is much that can be learned about leadership from Scripture” (Smith, 1992, p. 39). The Bible provides us with what God not only desires His man of God to be, but requires His under shepherd to meet His character traits.

I do have to say that I don't enjoy Administration but God knew that I needed it because it contributes a lot to my ministry. By keeping my time organized I'm able to have time for everything, which it pleases God. I believe my strengths will impact my ministry by bringing back many lost sheep. There's too many sheep and not enough shepherds. They are too many people lost and not many people willing to go after them. There are people who left the church because they fall and they need someone to lift them up, hug them and tell them "God loves you and He is waiting for you." There are people out there who haven't forgiven themselves and they need to be shown mercy. They need to be reminded that God has already forgiven them and that they are loved and wanted. Administrating my time will make going after others possible. The ministry is impacted when through us God brings the rest of His children

Through this, I’ve further strengthened not only my leadership skills but my responsibility as an adult within the church and in my daily

I obtain experience from countless leadership roles, however, the one I am most proud of having is the role of a Bible study leader. There, I acquired many leadership skills, lessons, and experiences that will always impact who I am today. More importantly, I have the opportunity to influence others and help solve personal issues. I hold the opportunity, currently every Tuesday, to speak and give teachings about the word of God; moreover, about topics that influence and encourage others. I provide them with a helping hand to get through problems that shatter and dismay them; moreover, helping their panicked mind find a solution. This leadership role is something that I will never take for granted because the love I bear for helping people.

As each stage builds life and careers most often a series of important moves take place. While these stages build you go from wondering if the goals you chosen where the right ones, stop at times to contemplate life as you move from level to level. Novice adults in ministry take several positive steps to meet their challenges head on. Taken in and studying the life of God as a model, especially His vision of the kingdom of God. Ministries need to allow their senses to grow and mature (Powers, Bruce P. Church Administration Hand-book. Nashville, TN.: Broadman & Holman, 1996.

I never thought to be a Christian leader. As a matter of fact, I am a person who did not know about God for 26 years. I was the center of my life, and there was no room for God to enter. Even when I was attending church service, I was trying not to be exposed to other church people. In other words, I was the kind of person who was afraid to walk into a life of faith. However, in the past three years, God has changed me in many ways, and showed me so many miraculous things. And, finally here I am. Being a Christian leader seems the most challenging job in the world. I am working as the chairman of a youth ministry, and walking on the path to be a church leader. When God called me to work for the

Along with the people I mister to as a Pastor/Spiritual director, I have also had the privilege to provide supervision and tutoring to people who are in training to meet other in similar spaces. This gives me the opportunity to help people develop their capacity, discover what