Leadership Tips & Training The Birthing Pains of New Beginnings

Have you ever noticed the sigh of relief that comes with a new beginning? After hours of labor, I let out a great sigh of relief when I looked at the newborn son cradled in my arms. Watching my son drive off for the very first time, I slowly relaxed as he began his new driving experience. I sat in the leather seats and drank in that new car smell, as I buckled the seat belt and began a wonderful relationship with my new red Honda, affectionately named, "Her Honda Highness." All of these memories are new beginnings that started with a sigh of relief. 

"Relief from what?" you may ask. Every new beginning is preceded with pain in some degree or another. I experienced nine months of growing discomfort and eight hours of labor pains before I could begin the new experience of parenting. High anxiety preceded my son earning his driver's license. Even now, as I recall the first time I rode with my son as he drove, I tense up from my neck all the way down my spine! The old red Caravan was on its last leg before trading it in for the new Honda. The Caravan's last year was spent more in mechanics garages than in our own garage. The sigh we experience at a new beginning is a result of being relieved from the journey of pain that brought us to this new threshold experience. 

  Whenever someone finally "gets it" and begins to lose weight on the Live-it, I am compelled to ask, "What was it that helped you get serious about starting?" Usually they respond with, "I just couldn't stand being like that anymore!" It reminds me that the key to success in any new endeavor is that the motivation to change must be stronger than the desire to remain the same. In other words, the pain of remaining the same must become greater than the pain of change before any progress will occur. This reminds me of the traffic in Houston, Texas.   One of the most congested freeway interchanges in the entire country is located right outside our office door!   People have experienced for years the headache and hassle of traffic jams on the Katy Freeway. Finally, the freeway is being expanded to allow for more traffic flow. However, the construction is causing its own form of pain to all those who have to find detours and alternate routes to their workplace each day. I have heard it said more than a few times, that it is all going to be worth it when we have new roads with more lanes to drive on. You see, the pain of remaining stuck in traffic with no progress in sight has become greater than the pain of the construction, which will bring us new roads with better traffic flow. 

If you are a new First Place leader, you probably experience some labor pains before giving birth to your leadership. You may be one who had never been in a First Place class before leading one of your own. If this is the case, you came to a point that you knew you couldn't stay the way you were and you knew others were in the same condition. Some of the most effective leaders are ones who have "been there." You then may have struggled with self-doubt and challenges that made you question whether this was the right thing to do. Taking the steps to begin a First Place class was painful or difficult, but you must have exhaled a sigh of relief after that first session, knowing that it really was worth it! 

If you have been leading for a while, you may be in the place where you want to take a break or step down and let someone else take the leadership role. This is the birthing pain of leading for the long haul. The last few weeks of each session, I begin to tire and long for a break. Some members have dropped out, some have not lost even one pound, and some have whined and complained through the entire session. But at the end of the session, it is the members who have lost weight, memorized the scripture, and experienced freedom from strongholds that make it all worth it! They now have a new beginning and thus, I have a reason to lead a new session of First Place. 

Are you in a painful, hard or difficult place? If you answered "yes," then things are looking up! One of two things is about to take place. You are either at the point that the pain of staying the same is becoming greater than the pain of change or you are in the process of changing. Either way, you are about to give birth to a new beginning!

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.