"Create A Space"

Here's a paragraph from one of the assignments of my current leadership class.  I went to a leadership summit for my class last week, and this is just something that has changed the way I view almost everything.  And it's something I can apply (and have started to apply) whether or not I'm in a leadership "position."  I just had to share it on this blog.  I will probably write about some takeaways and things I've been applying from this leadership class.  

My biggest takeaway from the Capstone was from the lecture material.  What stood out to me the most, was looking at the world through the lens of "creation, fall, and redemption."  Jeff Myers said, "The very outward working of God is relational.  From the beginning of time He was there."  In the events since creation and the fall, we can see how God's bigger story of redemption is made manifest through the various "small stories" of our lives.  This understanding of redemption affects how I potentially will lead:  It affects how I view people, how I communicate, how I move toward goals, and how I equip future leaders.  Through this lens, I have begun to understand that God gives you organizations for the good of the people, not people for the good of the organization.  It takes self-expenditure (namely, empathy) to work toward the good of people around you.  The best way I can do this, is by creating a space for people.  Everyone has hopes and dreams and those who won't dare to have them, are only that way because their opportunities were stolen from them.  I was challenged at the Capstone by this question, "Can you create a space for them?  A way in which they could have hopes and dreams again?"  I believe God's plan of redemption--through effective leadership--can help people to have hopes and dreams again.  A way to foster individual callings, and unite them together to work toward a vision that will impact everyone involved.