Creatively Creating Leaders

Hebrews 13:7 says, "Remember your leaders, who spoke the word of God to you. Consider the outcome of their way of life and imitate their faith."

God doesn't mess around when He talks about the expectations placed on people in leadership. Wherever the Christian leader is leading; in the home, office, ministry, ect... the expectation is that the words spoken by the leader are actually lived out in their own lives. The "outcome" of their faith should produce a life (and faith) worth imitating.

Being able to put into practice the things you learn, in faith and life, takes effort, discipline, and time. Over the past couple of months we have been studying from the book of Nehemiah and examining the traits that are lived out in a godly leader. This study has been helped along by a book written by our friend Dr. Robert Oh entitled "Nehemiah Leadership."

We've spent a lot of time talking about:

• love (what that is and what it looks like)

• being a leader devoted to communication with God (prayer)

• being a leader who will THINK before reacting to a situation

• understanding that in any circumstance a positive position can be held because God is with us and He is the ultimate leader

• being a leader who understand the vision, then make wise plans and goals to accomplish it

• being a problem solver who doesn't run from the problem but is willing and able to confront and work through it

• being a person of courage

• being a person of integrity

All of these things we have been learning and studying. That knowledge is good and valuable, but if that knowledge is not put into practice, it becomes no more than a mental exercise. It doesn't change anything. As it says in James 1:22 when talking about hearing and learning the Word, we want to be people "who DO, not just hear, and deceive ourselves."

With the idea of applying the knowledge we've been learning; I wanted to come up with a fun way to break the students out of their shells and challenge them. I wanted to put them in situations that would take courage and integrity. Situations where they would need to problem solve, think before acting, and most importantly love and serve others.

This is what we came up with!

Scavenger Hunt

At first glance, it may seem that an activity like this is nothing more than a chance to play together (and there is nothing wrong with that). But the truth is it was much more. Each task had some element of the information we had been learning together in our Bible studies and leadership development times. Activities ranged from high fiving a stranger or buying some candy for a child to asking the store clerk for free food or trying on sunglasses in their store. All of the activities forced each team to work together and to push each other to do what needed to be done in order to accomplish the tasks given to them.

Leadership development is far from boring. It absolutely takes commitment and self-discipline. But it's also an adventure and an opportunity to fully live the life that God created you to live.

Enjoy the slideshow below and may it remind you to hold each day, each moment, as an opportunity to lead others towards the God who loves them and gave His life for them. Be creative, have fun, and enjoy the challenges in your life. May we be people who boldly live the things we learn.

To God be the glory!