Chaplain’s Corner

The leader you hope to be

Let no one despise you for your youth, but set the believers an example in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, in purity. 1 Timothy 4:12

Leadership isn’t just for the adult, it’s something for the young too. It’s something to aspire towards and something that can be outworked today.

If your life in any way connects with other people, you are an influencer and have the opportunity to lead. Having friends, you probably influence what music they listen to, what shows to watch, what clothes to wear, how to act in certain situations. But does being an influencer always mean that you are a leader?

Leaders require influence to lead. If you are going for a walk and think you are leading and no one is following you, then sorry, you’re not leading, you are just going for a walk. Leaders require influence and they need followers to lead, however conversely, not all influencers are leaders.

Think about it, when I say the word influencer, what immediately comes to mind? For me, it’s the modern sensation of online influencers. Models, celebrities, YouTube stars, social media influencers. Most are simply just entertainers, using their influence to make a dollar or bring glory and fame to themselves.

See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the elemental spiritual forces of this world, rather than on Christ. Colossians 2:8

If you want to be a leader, you desire influence, not just for influence’s sake but because you want to lead and make a difference in people and for people. You want to make a positive difference in this world. 

So, decide today what kind of leader you want to be. Make your decision today for your future and for the future of your family. When a pilot landing a plane gets wind shear because of the rapid change in wind direction or speed, the pilot immediately pulls the plane up. He aborts the landing, otherwise there is a real risk the plane, uncorrected, will crash. When asked, ‘at what point did you decide it was the right decision to pull up?’ The pilot replied, ‘Oh, I made that decision 20 years ago. In training. It was drilled into us that it’s safer to be in the air than on the ground.’

Decide now what kind of leader you want to be in 20 years’ time, as it’s the foundations you lay now that will determine how you handle a crisis in your family, your business, church or your friendship group in the future. 

Tom Brady, one of best quarterbacks in American Football, knows where he wants to throw the ball before he gets it. He decides it, he communicates it in the huddle, and while he may make some adjustments in the play, he ultimately already knows where he’s throwing it, how hard he’ll need to throw it and where he’s expecting his runners to be. Imagine deciding today, what kind of leader you want to be? Then, we give our best and let God do the rest! Amen?

Listen to advice and accept discipline, and at the end you will be counted among the wise. Many are the plans in a person’s heart, but it is the LORD’s purpose that prevails. Proverbs 19:20-21

God bless!

Ps Matt Daly

Chaplain