One Woman Leader to Another

Hi friends,

Last week I taught a workshop on leadership challenges and opportunities for women in ministry at the pastor’s conference at my local church. I’ve had a lot of requests for my notes, so I thought I would break my talk into four parts and share with you.

Whether you are a woman in full time vocational ministry, or simply a woman in love with Jesus, you are called to leadership. His Holy Spirit puts a mark on you that attracts others, gives you supernatural authority, and demands your life become a witness to His love for you and others. Whether your role is one of position or relationship, you must learn to maximize your influence, help others overcome isolation and create momentum that will impart your core principles to those you lead.

Women have always had relational leadership roles, both in and out of the church. You might have heard the saying “the hand that rocks the cradle rules the world.” One of our primary assignments (as a gender) is to raise the next generation of leaders. (I will share some more on this responsibility in the next post.)

Today, many women also have positional leadership roles. We can now be both mom and CEO. Wife and Pastor. Our call and impact are broader and greater than ever before. Some have vocational responsibilities within the church and many others have significant volunteer leadership responsibilities. This has placed us in a unique season with special challenges and opportunities. There aren’t a lot of examples of how to do this, nor a lot of role models who have gone before us.

My grandmother was a faithful woman called to serve in her local church. For 40 years, she and a few of her close girlfriends, taught kindergarten Sunday school every week at the Second Baptist Church. 40 years! Can you imagine? The last time I attended with her, I was in high school. She was still getting out the play dough and singing “This Little Light of Mine.”

I have a heritage of faithful service in the church. But my grandmother never would have dreamed of the role I hold now, nor would she have been given the opportunities that lay before me. If my potential influence in the kingdom is so greatly expanded, imagine what might lie ahead for our daughters? What is happening is not limited to the church. Your women are embracing new levels of responsibility and vision in ministry, in the marketplace, in their homes and in their relationships. We are partnering with other leaders (men included) to reach more people than ever before.

If you add vocational ministry as a part of your life, the complications are dramatically intensified. You can so easily fall into the trap of focusing on what you can’t do or what you don’t do well, rather than focusing on what you can do. Don’t allow what you can’t do, to steal the potential of what you can do. Focus on your privileges and authority. Embrace the places of influence that are before you. Commit yourself to become the best leader you can be. And begin by learning to lead yourself well.

How you lead yourself will in large part determine how you lead your family and then the women under your influence. Here are a few tips to ponder:

Go In and Come Out. You must prioritize a personal relationship with Jesus. When you are in ministry, it is so tempting to think that our service is the same thing as relationship. Your personal and your work life become very intertwined and the boundaries are blurred. Let’s face it – the work of the Kingdom is never done, so it’s unrealistic to think you are going to be able to do it all. You can’t give away or impart what you don’t have, so if you want your people to be full of grace and love, you are going to have to spend some time with the King. Your work can not replace the power of a personal, vital, fresh encounter with Jesus. Make an appointment with yourself and show up!

Rest. You are responsible for managing your private life in a way that brings refreshment. Don’t expect your work or ministry to provide you rest. We live in a time when there is great momentum on the work of God. Your vocational life is probably not going to become less demanding, but more. All of us are learning how to accomplish more with less – less resources, less time, less energy. When you step away from the vocational work, build your private life in such a way that you will be refreshed.

Just Say No.Next time we’ll really focus on the value of no and how it will help us, especially as we consider how to lead our families well!