Parenting and Leading Others

This past month we attended our National Staff Conference in Fort Collins, CO. This is a great time for staff to connect from all over the world, to refocus our hearts and minds and learn a ton about leading and personal ministry. One of the special sessions (Raising Kids on Staff) that I attended was a Dr. Henry Cloud, author of Changes that Heal. There were many insightful and challenging things shared.

One of the tid bits shared was 4 things to do for your kids. To say that I am achieving these four things is an overstatement.
1. Stay connected to your Children. Listen, validating them and seeking them daily.
2. Give them freedom and give them loving consequences when they make mistakes.
3. Help them to love being imperfect. Teach them to lose because they will. I think this is where the Gospel will become the most real to them. They will see their failures and learn to rely on the grace and truth of God. This will also take away the performance based living for self, others and God. As they consistently experience God's grace and ours they will continually bring problems, mistakes and sin to us and God.
4. Try to give them adulthood experiences as soon as possible. Increase their freedom as they are responsible.

Isn't that simple and profound. My prayer is that in the power of the Holy Spirit we'll be able to practice these principles in our parenting. Understanding that in the journey we will also fail. I can only imagine what kids will look like if they experience an environment like this while growing up. I would guess they are well adjusted and confident and are great leaders in their community.

As I lead our ministry team of 16 other staff and many other students I am encouraged these same principles apply to leadership. Stay connected, give them freedom and loving consequences, teach them to lose well and experience God's grace and help them become adults as soon as possible as they take on more and more responsibilities.

There are not many new things under the sun. Especially in the area of parenting and leading others. It really comes down to loving them, giving them grace and truth and environment where they can win and fail.

I'm thankful that in my parenting and leading of others it is a journey and that I don't have to be "perfect." Practice, practice, practice.