Leadership has various concepts and theories that combine critical skills into standard systems. However, experience teaches leadership qualities best of all. I started as a shepherd at the United Methodist Church in Springfield, Virginia, with my pastor’s approval. My responsibilities included Bible study and counseling for a congregation of young people, but I went beyond that by developing new approaches to encourage and inspire young people. The environment and the subordinate group are a prerequisite for forming leadership qualities in an individual. Branson and Martinez say leadership is about creating an environment where God’s people engage in a cycle of action-reflection, gaining new abilities to recognize what God is doing in and around them. In this regard, all the personality and context formed in me the need to go beyond the primary responsibilities, trying to become better myself and make the congregation’s life better.
In the future, in my experience, I have developed all new approaches that take into account these individual characteristics. I have given ministry sessions, retreats, crusades, and even a personal development leadership course. Robertson emphasizes personal connection with management. It presents theories, strategies, examples and tactics, and evidence that leadership stems from and depends on a more personal context, regardless of the primary functions of a leader. Indeed, the youth began to develop leadership qualities in their unique contexts without relying solely on ministry sessions or other experiences in the church. Later, I had to leave the youth pastor to move on and pursue my goals and move to a nondenominational church in Baltimore County, Maryland.
Here I increased my circle of influence and became responsible for a larger community, the needs of which have become my needs as well. While there, I developed a field ministry, youth ministry, male and female ministry, a governance campaign, and intercessory prayer to meet the needs of a growing congregation. Rath believes strength-based leadership is built on three key elements: using a common language, facilitating sharing, and strengthening your members’ narrative intelligence. As a team, we believe in the multiple impacts of collaboration across all our differences. Our words are marked with passion, action, and striving as a culture. As a leader, I have stepped up to the same level as the community to unite and be governed from the outside. It is much easier to put values in the formation of people’s personality when they have trust in you, while they trust in an equal to themselves more often than in an undeniable boss.
In 2004, I moved to York, Pennsylvania, and served as a young priest, executive pastor, and finally interim pastor of Shiloh Baptist Church and was program director of the Shiloh Community Development Corporation. Now, the puzzles of successful leadership that I had collected bit by bit in my previous experience began to piece together for me. Firstly, I realized the critical value of the individual characteristics of the group with which one has to work and that it has a more significant influence on the management process itself. Secondly, I realized that regardless of the type of activity, my task is to instill the necessary values, which, serving as guidelines, can cultivate leadership qualities in each carrier. Finally, my job is not only to manage the processes but also to actively participate in them, which was confirmed by my experience at Shiloh. I got involved in driving the van, organizing storage space, feeding the kids, and much more. Our ministry and programs have been very comprehensive and ecumenical.
Active participation allowed me to better understand the needs of people, for each of whom one or another event was held: creating a computer program for the elderly, a program for strengthening relationships for young families, and much more. I founded two clothing banks and a Shiloh food pantry. I enjoyed leading the Annual Health Show and Public Fair with health screenings, HIV testing, gifts to the community such as haircuts for children or makeup for young girls. In fact, I often gave more than I received in a material sense. However, at the level of personal development, I received disproportionately more, which is demonstrated by my career path. I wanted to grow up and become a corporate lawyer when I was a kid, so I chose two judges, Deborah and Josiah. Deborah was the first woman judge, and Josiah did not become a product of his environment and rebuilt the temple: I also tried to reconstruct a “temple” for people, renewing the possibility of satisfying all my needs and drawing closer to God.
My pastor taught me a lot, and I am very grateful to him for that. In his absence, I took on many of the essential functions of the pastor while maintaining organizational activities and administering assistance. This experience made the most significant impression on me because of how expansive, and limitless human possibilities are when a person follows the right path. I have served the church as a worship leader, youth pastor, executive pastor, and interim pastor and have been in the ministry for over 20 years. During this time, I have always tried to build relationships with young people, parents, and everyone involved in my process of managing people. At first, it may seem that this is tremendous work, and for sure it is, but otherwise, it is impossible to achieve essential experienced universal leadership qualities. The spiritual and educational path of development of young people and each person was, for me, the main goal of any activity. My strengths that distinguish me from other leaders are positivity, activity, the need for constant challenge and achievement of all my goals.
My goal is to draw the whole family to Jesus. Thanks to the creative initiative, powerful preaching, and God’s help, we accepted a more significant number of new converts and baptized about two hundred people. An innovative approach to software development allows me to constantly stay afloat and keep my finger on the pulse in the context of people’s needs. My task is unique – I must guide them on the true spiritual path while maintaining the individuality that manifests through their needs. It is not difficult for me; I know that I can work miracles as your pastor. I am young, full of energy, full of the Spirit, and I love God and God’s people. When you follow your heart and do the right thing, your leadership potential increases, as I have proven over and over in my experience. Leadership is influence, so anything that increases your power and favor with others makes it easier for you to lead.
Bibliography
Branson, Mark Lau and Juan Martinez. Churches, Cultures and Leadership: A Practical Theology of Congregations and Ethnicities. Downers Grove, IL: IVP Academic, 2011.
Rath, Tom and Barry Conchie. Strengths Based Leadership: Great Leaders, Teams, and Why People Follow. New York: Gallup Press, 2008.
Robertson, Melva. The Brand New Leader: Recognizing the Impact of Your Leadership Brand. Stamford, CT: The Write Group, 2020.