William Wallace is ‘da man!! You know, half his face painted blue, big ole stallion, Goliath sized sword in hand, riding back and forth in front of the troops, leading a scared rag-tag collection of misfits, yelling “give me one chance, just one chance,…to tell them, they may take our lives…but they will never take (say it with me…) our freedom!!!”
We all learned to do Young Life this way, on the ground, in the game, at the school, walking the barrio, building teams, having meals, Bible studies at a kids house, picking up kids, and driving them to club. We all learned leadership the “incarnational” way, being with, living life together, on the front lines, shoulder to shoulder.
But what happens when you have to lead people you don’t live near? What happens when a Global Pandemic ‘socially distances’ us from one another? What kind of leadership adaptations must you make to lead from a distance, be it down the street or across the Pacific Ocean? How can you learn Apostolic Leadership like the apostle Paul?
When I took over as the SVP for Latin America, it became very clear, very quickly, that the Lord was going to need to teach me a new way to lead…from a distance. The truth is, when I was the Regional Director for parts of Colorado, New Mexico, and El Paso, TX, living in Colorado Springs, I had to muddle my way through the early stages of Apostolic Leadership. The challenge was, there was no RD school class on the necessity of morphing leadership for RD’s. I initially tried to lead the way I had always led, and soon became frustrated, confused and discouraged. Can I get an “AMEN?!”
Think about it - Paul led differently than Jesus. Jesus had the twelve with him 24/7 for three years, day in and day out, much like an excellent YL leader living in the community where they do YL. But after Paul’s conversion, his home base was Antioch. From here he was deployed on at least three different journeys, walking, sailing, riding some 10,000 miles to lead the New Testament church spreading throughout Asia Minor and into Europe. Some places he stayed a day or two, some like Corinthians and Ephesus he stayed longer. Sometimes Paul was in charge of his movement and sometimes a Roman prison controlled his schedule. The truth is, whether he was on the go, or locked in chains, Paul’s ministry was going forth in power and strength, with or without physical presence.
There is not much room to elaborate on this here, but I will give five basic principles of Apostolic Leadership to chew on…pre and post COVID 19.
Realize your calling. If you are leading more than one ministry you must learn to lead in an Apostolic fashion. If you are an RD, VP, SVP, GSVP, or the President, all you do is apostolic leadership, and it the Lord who has chosen you!!
Set clear expectations with your team. Many are frustrated by their supervisor because they see them so little. Perhaps your “sup” needs to get off their tail and spend some time with you in your turf! Just sayin.’ Or, perhaps they need to align expectations so the team knows the realities of apostolic leadership.
Be more organized and more intentional – set your travel and communication strategy and share it with your team. This takes exceptional planning and execution, but is critical for fruit-bearing distance leadership. Write letters…really, write them. Seemed to work for Paul.
Take people with you. The disciples and apostles rarely traveled alone. Might be something to learn here. Not only are we better together, you will be equipping someone (or a bunch of people) to take your place one day.
Find your joy. Yes, this is a different way to lead. If you can’t find joy in this type of leadership then take another job. Oh that our RD’s, all the way up the chain, would be known for their joy and courage IN THEIR WORK. This is a different way to lead, it’s a good way. Truth be known, the days of our being Braveheart are behind us. We now are inspiring, equipping, motivating others to paint the face and get after the next kid, leader or staff!
Yes, apostolic leadership can be learned, can be joyful, can be fruitful, and is exactly what many of us in this mission have been called to. I am fairly sure this is some of what the Apostle Paul was talking about in Eph 2:10!!
For we are God's handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.
Adelante!!
Dan Jessup
djessup@sc.younglife.org