Leadership - A Way of Life
by Linda Mauzy, FPCB Member
"Leadership." There must be some mistake. I don't lead anyone. I am home with my two boys and a husband who likes to lead. Sure, when I was working as an investment professional, I led people, but now I am in another chapter of my life raising two spirit-filled boys. Yet, my Spiritual Gifts Survey illuminated Leadership as an area where I might seek to build God's Kingdom. Can you see me, the home schooling mom in jeans, on the Leadership Team at this big church? Doesn't God seek out serious business types for that role? I really didn't think this was the direction for me right now. I decided to just let this go. After all, it wasn't a "call" or anything I needed to pay attention to.
With some trepidation I signed up for the Leadership for Life class, only because it was the next class offered and I already had a steady babysitter lined up. The teaching team included people from different backgrounds and stages in their lives. Their combined experience in practicing servant leadership was impressive. I only wish I had somewhere to apply all the wonderful lessons I was learning about showing humility, living with integrity, coaching others, and team building. Too bad I didn't learn this when I was a leader in the business world.
Then things began to change in my life. I started to listen to my kids and my husband. Friends would call and want to talk and I practiced the active listening skills I had learned in the coaching segment of the class. I tried using new communication techniques from the leadership styles segment. I focused less on myself and more on others. I quieted myself. Slowly, I began to incorporate the philosophy of valuing others' gifts. Every day there was an opportunity to apply my new set of skills. I began to see myself as a servant leader because I was practicing what Jesus teaches us. I was building God's Kingdom in myself, my church, and my world.
Now, I am a member of the Leadership for Life Team and I am teaching the segment on coaching. It was not a mistake. It was a "call." (Good thing I had taken "Hearing God's Call" or I might have missed it.) God has surrounded me with the people I need to support and encourage me in this role. Taking the Leadership for Life class convinced me that I am a leader wherever I find myself. I will continue to look for new ways to model servant leadership in all areas of my life.