{leadership development}

How Do I Select Leaders for Next Year’s BSM? by BSM Director, Beth Smith Jonathan climbed up the cliffs at Gibeah to attack the Philistines with only his armor bearer behind him. Benaiah went down into a snowy pit oneday and killed a lion. Nehemiah returned to Jerusalem and rebuilt the walls around the city in 52 days. Esther dressed in royal robes and stood before King Xerxes to reveal an evil plot to murder her fellow countrymen. As I read these stories and the countless others like them in scripture, I wonder are there any students on my campus with the slightest hint of this kind of bravery, assurance of the Lord’s leadership, and faith? I have to remind myself all the time that we are involved in the PROCESS of DEVELOPING these kinds of leaders instead of being in the place of receiving them already full of faith, bravery, and awareness of the Lord’s leadership. If that’s the case, don’t we need to pay really close attention to the process of developing? First, I’d like to suggest that we have to pay attention to our own lives as leaders, staff members, and ministers. I’ll confess that last year when it was time for us to begin the process of formally recruiting student leaders for this year, I was already over the edge. I was ignoring taking care of my own health. I had worked myself into a pretty severe condition of burn out. And I was at a place spiritually where I couldn’t hear the Holy Spirit clearly about much of anything. And then we selected our leadership for this year in the midst of my very depleted condition. The result is we ended up with a team that is entirely apathetic about reaching out on campus, sharing their faith, or leading our BSM to further growth spiritually. I have come face to face with the reality that how I am doing personally, professionally, and spiritually directly affects the quality of leadership among my students in the BSM. So I want to take a few minutes today to encourage you to pay attention to where you are before you begin to pay attention to who you should be developing to lead the BSM next year. Personally: How are you taking good care of your own personal life? Are your human relationships outside of the BSM suffering in any way? If you’re brave enough, ask someone you know cares about you what they think the answer to this question is. How are you doing at maintaining balance or margin?

Professionally: How have you paid attention to the possibility that God’s calling, His direction in leadership, or your campus culture has changed in any way? How are you growing in your understanding of the student culture where you are serving?

Texas BSM | [email protected] | 7/2/2010 | page 1 of 2

Spiritually: How are you recharging spiritually? Are you too busy for significant time alone with the Lord? When was the last time you paused for retreat or prayer? I want to hope that this year if I pay really close attention to these matters that the resulting student leadership team will somehow be different.

Once I’ve taken a keen look at my own development, I have to have really sharp eyes to look for those students on campus and in our ministry that are willing to be challenged. Jesus was the master of this. Rather than going to the established places of religious learning (rabbinical schools, synagogues, temples) he looked for his disciples among the crowds of fishermen along the seashore and in the marketplaces collecting taxes from the citizens. What was he looking for? What qualities? I think he was looking for those who were spiritually open. Any among them who would respond to the Spirit’s leadership would qualify. You need spiritual clarity to look for this important and irreplaceable quality because it won’t always look like the kids who are already totally immersed in religious activities. When selecting leaders, I’ve always been taught to look for the FAT students. This means I look for those who are faithful, available, and teachable. This isn’t a new concept or idea. My question is how do I find these kinds of students? Again, the Spirit’s direction is critical here- that’s why I think Jesus spent the entire night in prayer before he selected or appointed the 12. As you begin the process of selecting leaders for next year’s BSM,why don’t you pause first and spend some significant time in prayer. Ask the Spirit to guide you to any changes you need to make to your system or way of selecting/electing leadership in the BSM. Ask the Spirit to make you and your fellow staff members and current student leaders spiritually sensitive/aware. Pray for divine direction as you approach potential student leaders with the challenge to join the leadership team. And remember always that we have the unique opportunity to coach/cheerlead these students into becoming the Jonathans, Benaiahs, Nehemiahs, and Esthers of this generation.

Texas BSM | [email protected] | 7/2/2010 | page 2 of 2