Q1Oct. 100% Personal
When everything goes online what then?
One day, many years into the future, they will be like you and I - seasoned, tried and matured by life and its experiences. But today, they are what gives me a great sense of pride and purpose in the vocation that I've chosen; they are young leaders. Now, indulge me for a moment. What character traits or motivations might be present in a high school student athlete that chooses to lead an FCA huddle on their campus in front of and for their peers? Willingness? Opportunity? Camaraderie? Selflessness?... Their reasons and motivations are many but this question runs on repeat in my mind. I find myself continuously inspired by them.
Resolved to Lead Self
At the beginning of this month I attended our annual FCA Staff Conference at Spooky Nook Sports in Manheim, PA. Spooky Nook is a special place if you are a coach or an athlete. The facility is almost indescribable so it is a real treat to go up each October. The theme for the conference was Resolved: Purposeful, Determined, Unwavering. In my last article I wrote about what I learned over the summer and the importance of innovation and pivoting in business. How some leaders fail to move or make adjustments until the platform they are on bursts into flames. Another lesson that I learned while reflecting at the conference was how innovation and pivoting are closely connected to organizational survival.
This year was different though. I rarely gave thought to the idea that a person's time serving in a ministry could end. Once you got in, it was like a marriage, "...until death do you part". That is not the case. While many staff members Zoomed in virtually, shrinking our in-person numbers, we also experienced higher levels of turnover this year due to the shaky climate COVID had produced. I became acutely aware of the reality that not all will make it to the finish. One side note, our Mid-Atlantic Leadership Conference for high school huddle leaders is held here every year as well. Take a peek at Spooky Nook Here.
What also meant a lot to me this year at the conference was our time to pray, worship and fellowship with each other. My wife is a social worker. She has worked with the prison population for quite some time so naturally she has stories. One observation that she has made has to do with the psychological effects of solitary confinement on the incarcerated. I am not arguing treatment or policies but simply looking at the psychological and spiritual effects of being away from the presence of other people. How torturous it actually can be and how life giving it can also be when we are together. I am reminded that our relationships with other Christians are described in the New Testament as koinonia, a Greek word often translated as “fellowship.” It means that we as Christians have communion with one another and participate in life together.
Leadership Lunches
Towards the end of October I started Leadership Lunches with our high school leaders. The lunches happen via Zoom and it gives me the opportunity to check in with huddle leaders and do a little ongoing leadership training with them in a relaxed setting. We meet for an hour with a simple agenda of 20 minutes for fellowship and the rest of the time devoted to their development as leaders. These lunches run on the first and third Tuesdays each month from 11 - 12a.
Are you interested in attending FCA Howard County Leadership Lunches? Email me at jscott@fca.org. You can find more information about our Leadership Lunches on instagram @howardco_fca and @fcahoco_.
The first resource that I chose to go through with them is a little book by Ken Blanchard and Mark Miller called The Secret: What Great Leaders Know and Do.
For our first lunch I focused on what the first priority of a leader is: Seeing the future. I focused on working through a combination of two main questions, "where do you want to go as a leader and do you have a vision for what that looks like?" Wilde Lake High huddle leader, Meredith, and Glenelg huddle leader, Audrey both responded with a clear vision for where they would like to be in the future and the path to get there. But before Meredith or Audrey came off mute, Emmy, also a huddle leader at Glenelg, asked "Is this question about FCA or us personally?"
Did you know that 17th century American revivalist preacher, philosopher, and Congregationalist Protestant theologian, Johnathan Edwards wrote an essay entitled Resolutions? Did you also know that these were the catalyst for my wedding vows? There is a special place in my heart and mind for people that confess to be resolved in a thing.
