The Church's Role in Forming Future Leaders

By Dean Collins

I am remembering back to a conference I attended in Nashville a few years ago. This conference was like attending three days of TED talks that have been curated for leaders from a Christian perspective. The first afternoon I listened to 20 talks. There were four that stood out to me, and I will share three quick thoughts and how all this impacts how the church faces training the current generation and prepares them for leadership in the church and society. Having just retired from 20 years of service as a college president, I imagine I will keep thinking about these things for some time.

Rod Dreher spoke about an experience he had at a Benedictine monastery in Italy. One of the principles the Benedictine order follows is Ora et Labora, or Work and Pray. They believe this principle is foundational to the Christian way of life. This is part of the culture I think must be developed in our churches, colleges, and in any place that employs young people. I will say it this way: pray often and work hard. My prediction is that when a church or organization takes this approach, we will see results not only in our organization but in the people we serve. Through prayer we gain the wisdom, clarity, and courage to work hard. Through prayer I believe we are led to work on the right things as well.

The second talk I will mention was by Suzanne Phillips, the founder of Legacy Community Academy. Suzanne is a mother of maybe eight kids and experienced much frustration with the quality of outcomes she experienced in public and private school systems as she tried to do her job to "train up a child." She also saw challenges with the homeschool system. The result was that she pulled together friends and created a learning academy that is experiencing great success. I can't speak to her successes and haven't checked them out, but what struck me is that in order to do education in a context where the consumer can and will create their own educational path and system, one must stay sharp, aware, and focused to compete. Education in the church, in public and private schools, and in higher education is an ever-changing culture. 

Which leads me to the last one for today. Brian Crim and Byron Johnson are researchers who spoke about the halo effect. Their research is documenting the economic and social serine value that faith-based organizations play in renewing society. Faith-based agencies contribute 1.2 trillion dollars to the American society and fund 1.5 million social programs. As I listened, I took a picture on my iPhone of the link to their 150-page study. Within three minutes I had texted that link to my then-congressman, Drew Ferguson, and to a friend who was the chief of staff for Senator Sasse from Nebraska, telling them someone on their staff needs to read this. In the same five minutes, I heard from both, who agreed, and Senator Sasse's chief had already pulled up the document. I tell you that story because it illustrates how much knowledge is at our students’ fingertips and how it can be used to get stuff done. This ten-minute experience really has me thinking about the power of technology in education and the way we must move boldly into the future.

As I step into a season of rest and to what God calls me to do in the future, I am committed to praying often and working to find ways I might encourage others who are training the next generation of leaders.

The Benedictine monks I referenced above pray the Psalms regularly. I have spoken about this before, but it is a powerful way to learn God’s heart, follow his will, and see his kingdom expand.

Father, make us aware of our responsibility in shaping the next generation of leaders. Forgive us when we think of that as someone else’s job. Today we surrender our wills to you and ask that you lead us by your Spirit to the places where we can be fed and where we can feed others. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Your Time with God’s Word
Psalms 89:1-2, 8-9, 13-14, 19, 23-24 ESV

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