A Letter from an Emerging Leader
Healthy Leaders | Issue 60
Welcome to Issue 60 of Healthy Leaders. In this issue, we get into what emerging leaders desperately want and need.
Hello friends,
Welcome back to our ongoing conversation on healthy Christian leadership and leader development.1
As we go about building leaders in our communities, churches, and ministries, we must always keep in mind where we are headed with this: the transformation of lives for Christ. When our leader development is rooted in this goal, in Christ who makes this goal possible, then we are on solid ground.
Here’s Malcolm with a powerful picture of what transformational leader development can look like, and what it can accomplish:
We hear many stories of young leaders desperate to grow.
Brother H is a 30-year-old emerging leader leading a small church of about 20 young people. His mother was a participant in another of our short-term programs last year, and had been deeply delivered from bondage through the training. Brother H saw a complete transformation in his mother’s life and decided that he needed to come.
Growing up in a godly family of full-time church workers, Brother H willingly committed himself to serve God at a very young age. However, as he grew up, he became entangled in many temptations. After seminary, he knowingly committed a deep sin against God, and was plunged into fear, darkness, and depression. He lost the peace he had known in Jesus.
At the program, he finally exposed this sin, receiving prayer and acceptance in the love of God through the brothers and sisters in the training. Now he is convinced that God loves him and will never forsake him!
“In the midst of my desperation, this program brought about a new hope and a new start for me. It restored my relationship with God and gave me new motivation to serve God. It provided me with an opportunity to meet God and be rebuilt by Him. I realized deeply that Christ is the center and the source of my life. Only when I know more about Christ can I live in His abundance; only when I have a relationship with Christ can my life become more holy. Only when I soak in the presence of God can I live out His will and overcome temptation. I have experienced the depth of the love of Christ, and I am willing to submit to His sovereignty.
Now I know God knows my situation clearly, so I don’t use my own ideas and strategies to do things anymore. I have learned to put all things in God’s hands: my ministry, my family, my way, my marriage and financial problems, etc. From now on I will try my best to please God and understand His heart. I am willing to be His holy and noble vessel. I desire to be filled with the Holy Spirt and no longer under bondage, and I am willing to be used by God to be a healthy leader and build a heathy church.”
What about you?
You may already be thinking of young leaders you know. Pray for them now, that God would move powerfully in their lives, and that you would be privileged to be a part of that move of God!
We’re so glad you were along for the ride with us this year here at Healthy Leaders. Thanks for being here! In the new year, we’re going to be diving into how you can identify the high-potential emerging leaders around you. So stick around.
We’d love to hear from you about what God has done in your life and leadership this year. Drop those in the comments so we can celebrate with you.
Until next time, we’re with you!
— Chris
Recommended Resources
Core Model Brief: LeaderStream
Video Course: Shaping a Culture of Generational Succession
Article: 8 Ways You Can Motivate Your Emerging Leaders to Grow
For more resources, visit our website.
Thanks to our friends at Fifty-Four Collective for putting together a comprehensive set of video courses for growing healthy organizations, starting with this series of courses on leadership by Malcolm. We’ll be using some of their videos and some of our own. Be sure to check out what they’re doing!