Hi everyone! I am running about 2 weeks behind, but it has kind of been nice to be able to look over the notes again and just process what the Lord has been up to throughout the different weeks.
Week 7 was leadership week where the main focus was to encourage us all to accept the call of leadership on our lives. We went through practicals on how to be a good leader and what it actually means to be a God-centered leader.
Everyone to a certain degree is a leader. Leadership is based on influence, and every single one of us, whether it is leading a church, or working a 9-5 has influence on at least 1 person in our lives. Leadership is ultimately servanthood. Just as Jesus came to serve and not be served as a means to encourage and paint a picture of what it means to walk with God, we as leaders are called to do the same things with those who we are connected to in our lives.
The enemy’s main goal is to disqualify you from leadership in your own mind. He does this through giving you a lack mindset where you focus more on what you don’t have rather than what you do. He also attempts to fill your mind with shame which can then lead to false humility. The way to combat this is through:
- Faith – Leadership is influence, He gives it to you.
- Presence – learning how to cultivate the presence so you carry Him with you wherever you go
- Surrender – committing to God’s preparation
- Looking to Jesus – He is the perfect leader.
We also talked a lot about staying ready rather than getting ready as the word says:
“Preach the word! Be ready in season and out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and teaching.”
II Timothy 4:2
CONCLUSION:
If I am being so real, this week genuinely challenged me so much. I have been running from the call of leadership for so long due to many factors. I have had a number of poor leadership experiences, have seen the role of leadership abused and have seen my generation in specific so hungry to lead for the wrong reasons. Most of all, I have recognized that leadership is costly. The Lord in His loving kindness made me realize that in leadership the amount of hurt you are exposed to can be overwhelming. As a result i tried to run for as long as I could have, but this week put a stop to that.
Throughout DTS, the Lord really has been encouraging me in the call and giving me the grace to accept that I genuinely do have a shepherd’s heart for His people. He allowed me to recognize that leading is not a means of gaining authority and ruling but more so – as Paul said ‘Imitate me as I imitate Christ’ (1 Corinthians 11:1).
Now that the Lord has been breaking me out of apathy and allowing me to walk in vulnerability, I would say the enemy has tried to come in and make me fearful of being hurt. We all have been hurt many times, but it is only now that I am able to see the joy in the suffering. What a blessing it is that we are able to see that we see Jesus more and more in the midst of it.
This week was a bit shorter, but there still was much breakthrough. A lot of the breakthrough that occurred cannot really be put into words, rather it was an internal stirring. A confidence in the call as I learned to fix my eyes on Jesus rather than looking at my self.
Each week the Lord continues to blow my mind. Peeling off new layers of my heart that I didn’t even know was there. A lot of the work in all honesty has been happening outside of the classroom through community. Living with 23 women has been no joke, and much stretching but so beautiful and bonding in so many ways. I can’t believe how fast time has been flying… lol I could cry!
The Lord has been coming through time and time again, and I could not be more grateful.. if you are wanting to see more pictures and videos, be sure to click the social media links below! If you are wanting to support the mission and help financially for upcoming outreach, feel free to also click the sowing button on the email (or page depending on where you are reading)! Thank you again to everyone who has been praying, and sowing!
I pray the Lord continues to keep you in Jesus name, and that you are going deeper and deeper in your relationship with Him!
Love you all with the love of Christ,
Rachael Niles