I want to continue with processing what I’ve learned from those who have invested in me throughout my life from a leadership perspective based on the question I was asked by a staff member recently.

Another very key person in my life was my youth pastor, Greg.  My family moved from Birmingham, back to Louisville during my junior year in high school.  Not the greatest time to uproot and replant.  But, it was God’s plan for our lives and of course, He had it all under control.  Greg was a part of His plan for my life.

Greg understood the challenges such a transition presented to my 16 year old life.  He immediately invested in me.  Much like Stewart, he spent time with me.  But Greg took it to another level.  Greg challenged me to hear God’s call on my life.  He put me in situations to hear the call and answer the call.  A few things Greg did specifically were:

1. Greg gave me opportunities to lead.  Greg presented me with chances to take the reigns in multiple situations – situations I was not prepared for or good at – and he prepared me and pushed me out of the nest.  Looking back, this was extremely critical to my growth as a leader.  I’ll never forget him asking me to teach on a Sunday morning during our Bible and Beach trip my senior year.  It was awful.  I was awful.  My entire teaching was about 4 minutes long.  I was in way over my head.  But Greg knew that and he knew that this would be the best way for me to learn.  He pushed me to lead in a ton of different ways, each time, knowing I’d struggle and fail often.  Leaders give away opportunities for others to lead.
2. That leads me to the second valuable thing Greg taught me – enjoy the freedom to fail.  Greg knew that I would fail often.  I’m sure he calculated the risks and he was always there to pick up the pieces and help me process the pieces.  He helped me learn from my failures, learning not to repeat the same mistakes twice.  This is huge for us as leaders.  We must give people the freedom to fail – but then help them up, help them process and help them learn from the failure.  And then, push them back out there to see if they’ve learned from their failure.  Huge.
3. He used to say, “Don’t sweat the small stuff…..and it’s ALL small stuff.”  That little phrase has stuck with me.  He’s right.  It’s all small stuff in the hands of God.  Greg taught me not to worry, but to release.  When I release to God in prayer and surrender, He gets to do what only He can do and I get to not get an ulcer…..and I get to watch Him do His thing.