Leadership Tips & Training Freedom in a Risk!

While shopping at a manufacturers’ outlet in the mountains of North Carolina, I found one of those pretty pillows with words stitched on the front of it. The message on this particular pillow is stitched on the limb of an apple tree with one lone apple at the very end of the limb and reads: “Don’t be afraid to go out on a limb. That’s where the fruit is.” I loved it so much that I used it when I taught my seminar on leadership the next day. One of my key points for the seminar was that leaders who want to lead without regret should be willing to take risks. When we fear stepping out and doing something that is out of our comfort zone, we are hindered from being the leader God created us to be.

Hebrews 12:1 says, “Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.” Have you ever been in a three-legged race? Two people stand side by side and tie their inside legs together. Thus, they form only three usable legs to run a race. It is funny to watch and very frustrating to the participants. You are not able to move freely by yourself, but are hindered by the addition of the other person’s weight and movement. In the same way, a leader can become hindered in their leadership effectiveness when they are tied to wrong thinking, motives or influences. When they take a risk and step out of their harmful habits they will experience freedom – freedom from regret. Let’s take a look at ways a leader can step out, take a risk and experience freedom:

• Throw off all that hinders. Reflect awhile on your thought patterns. If you are tied to some wrong thinking – get rid of it! For example, if you see that your members are dropping out or losing motivation, don’t have a pity party and take all the blame. Instead, think God thoughts. Let us consider how to spur one another on to love and good deeds. (Hebrews 10:24). That is a God thought! Don’t focus inward, but upward and outward. Focus first on God’s truth and then look for ways to live it out before others. If members seem to be floundering, take a risk and call them to commitment. Remind members of the rewards of spiritual growth and physical fitness when the commitments are followed consistently. If you find yourself floundering as a leader, think God thoughts. 1 Peter 1:13 “Therefore, prepare your minds for action; be self-controlled; set your hope fully on the grace to be given you when Jesus Christ is revealed.” Take this command and promise to heart. Prepare to get moving, use self-control and remember God is full of grace. Extend some of His grace to yourself.

• Run with perseverance. When thinking about the exercise commitment, walking is always suggested as the easiest and least expensive exercise you can choose. Running, on the other hand, takes more effort and calls for one to take a risk and step out of their comfort zone. When Hebrews 12:1 says to “run with perseverance,” this is a call to take a risk. It doesn’t say, “walk occasionally” but says instead to “run with perseverance.” Taking a risk is not a one-time step. A risk-taker must be constantly focused on the goal and be willing to go the extra mile in order to pursue their chosen path. A First Place leader is called to an unusual ministry of shepherding people who desire to not only grow spiritually, but also physically. Therefore, this unusual ministry calls for a leader to persistently take risks. It is risky to ask for members to turn in a Commitment Record week after week. You risk their rejection if they refuse to complete it, but when the risk is taken and the member follows through with the commitment, the fruit of good health follows. Just because they reject your call to commitment is no cause to quit! Persevere in your asking! It is a risk to ask week after week for a member to repeat their memory verse for you. You risk that they may stumble through the verse or completely refuse to say it. On the other hand, when you consistently call the member to the memory verse commitment each week, they will know you are serious and will learn the importance of hiding God’s Word in their heart. Once I had a member say to me that she finally started memorizing the verses because she was tired of not being able to say the verse each week when I asked her to say it. She also saw how the other members were adding stars to their nametag each week for their efforts while her nametag remained void of stars.

• Run your race. Many times leaders lead because their leader asked them to lead. They model their leadership style just like their leader. Soon they may become burned out and bound to doing things a certain way, just because that is the way the other leader did it. Free yourself from comparison! Everyone is gifted in different ways. Leaders come in all different shapes, sizes and with different gifts and talents. Leadership is not a “one size fits all” position. Find out what your gifts and strengths are and use those to lead your First Place class. If you are an artist and love to make handouts and create visuals each week, go for it! If you are gifted in administration and know how to delegate to others, use that gift to find other leaders within your group. God has called you to lead your First Place class and has gifted you in special ways so that you can lead the class He called you to lead. You were not called to lead my class and I wasn’t called to lead yours, but we are both called to lead the class God gave us!

My prayer for all leaders this 4th of July is for freedom. May each First Place leader find freedom by throwing off what hinders and running their race with perseverance.

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.