Leadership Tips & Training Madness Matters!

Have you ever gone a little overboard on something and before you realized it, you were in too deep? Recently, my daughter learned a valuable lesson when she and her basketball teammates went a little overboard with a youthful prank. They had just celebrated "senior night" at their last home basketball game, and afterward decided they needed to do something fun together. They devised a plan to "wrap" a house, and the more they planned the worse it became. They stepped over the line from fun prank to cruel joke. After carrying out what they thought was just a fun prank, they went to their homes and slept, not even dreaming of the consequences they would awaken to the next morning. 

Saturday morning, my daughter and I awoke early, as I had a First Place event to attend and she had community service hours she needed to fulfill at our mission training center. Shortly after leaving the event I was attending, I received a disturbing call from my husband. He had received a call informing him of our daughter's activity the night before. The person, whom they chose to play the prank on, did not think it was very funny, and in fact, threatened to file charges against them. The school was notified of their behavior, which led to 48-hours of emotional distress on the part of the girls and their parents. 

As we called our daughter in that Saturday morning to discuss her previous night's activity, she was clueless about her guilt. She had assumed that this person would respond the way she had in the past and just laugh at the incident. Once we explained to her the ramifications of making one poor choice, reality set in. She began to weep when she realized that one night of poor judgment might affect her entire life and have a ripple effect onto many other lives. She began immediately to do all the things we told her she needed to do. She called to apologize to the person, who was the victim of their prank, made an appointment to see the school superintendent, and of course, prayed. We saw our teenage daughter mature before our very eyes. 

A few hours of madness one Friday night made a huge impact on the lives of five young girls, their families and their teachers. Madness does matter! My husband and I prayed that our daughter would see God in this moment of madness and learn some valuable lessons. On Monday, the day of reckoning after the weekend of madness, the girls met with the superintendent to confess and beg for mercy. At the time of the meeting, some parents were praying for the girls, teachers and all involved. That afternoon, my daughter called and said, "It was awesome mom, they are not going to suspend us or make us miss a game." I told her to gather her teammates together and thank God, because it was He who had delivered them. This has brought them closer together and caused them to appreciate the privileges they had come to take for granted. 

I know that I am not writing to teenage leaders who are apt to plan such a prank. However, I do know that we all can go overboard at times, and feel like we have gone so far that there is no way out. I often receive emails and calls from leaders who feel that they cannot lead any longer, because they have gained weight back or haven't kept the commitments. My advice to them, and to all leaders who are in too deep after a time of madness, is to find God in the midst of the madness. Confess to God your disobedience, do what he asks you to do, and beg for His mercy. Go to your members and confess that you have not been walking the talk and that you want to once again do what God called you to do. When confronted with her sin, my daughter realized she was no longer in control and that she needed help. She became teachable in the moment of conviction. That is what we must be if we want to continue to be useable leaders. God is a loving merciful God, who is faithful to forgive when we call on Him. He will also use our madness for His glory. He takes our mistakes and can use them as a venue of ministry to others.   When we mess up as a leader, we have a choice. We can mess up and give up or we can mess up and grow up. Madness matters! Use your failures as opportunities of growth, turning what the enemy meant for evil into character building moments used by God for good.  

"Therefore, my dear brothers, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain."
1 Corinthians 15:58

Lead on!
Nancy Taylor
Leadership Training Director



Nancy Taylor is the First Place Leadership Training Director and joined the First Place staff in 1997. Nancy teaches leadership principles to First Place Leaders throughout the country and at Houston's First Baptist Church where she coordinates all the First Place groups. Nancy also speaks at First Place workshops, rallies, retreats, and conferences, where she delights her audiences with humor and encourages them with boldness. She writes a monthly article, which includes helpful tips for leaders, for the First Place E-newsletter, and was a contributing writer to the Today is the First Day devotional book. Nancy is the resident First Place Bible Concordance because of her love for Scripture memory.