Cedarville Magazine, Fall 2015

sure everyone has heard a good definition of leadership.” Regardless of your role in life, you can exercise biblical leadership, Wood affirmed. “An average person has a sphere of 40 people,” he said. “In that sphere, however humble it may seem, think of yourself as a leader pursuing influence and providing an example. It’s not about speaking on stage, or being a boss, but about seeking to influence others for their good, their maturity in Christ, and their flourishing.” A right view of leadership begins with stewardship. “It’s the idea that everything is from God,” Burns said. “Students usually think they’re going to earn positions. Yes, that’s part of it. But the employer or the board is the one that says, ‘Yes, I want you to be the CEO.’ Every position we will ever have in life has been given to us by humans and by God.” For Rachael Tague ’16, who serves on the Executive Board for the Stevens Student Center information desk, that idea has been revolutionary. “I was class president for three years and I enjoy being able to have a say,” Tague said with a smile. “God gave me this position to honor and glorify Him. It’s not something I should take lightly. The people around me have also been given their positions by God. I need to respect where they’re coming from.” The Student Life definition of leadership, and all of its ramifications, is discussed by each organization on campus as it trains leaders for the coming school year, whether the leaders be tour guides, club leaders, RAs, HeartSong teammembers, or Discipleship Council participants. Then in January, Student Life puts on a two-day CU LEADership Conference where the biblical message about leadership is emphasized through plenary speakers and workshops. The 2016 conference will be January 22–23 ( cedarville.edu/culead ) . “I went to a conference session last year led by Dr. [Jeremy] Kimble [Assistant Professor of Theology] where he talked about Jesus as a leader,” noted Carly Conley ’17. “He showed different aspects of Jesus’ leadership, as a shepherd, as a king, and as a humble servant. Then he broke that down to how we should lead if we’re working at the help desk, or as an organization adviser, or as a barista at Rinnova.” Rodrigo Reis ’16 led a group of nine leaders last school year as part of Discipleship Council. “I learned from CU LEAD that discipleship is supposed to happen everywhere at any time,” he said. “It is a lifestyle that requires the leader to walk close to Christ, filled with His Spirit. That pushed me to cultivate with Christ a life of prayer and daily meditation on the Word of God. I knew and still know that I need to be filled in order to pour in the lives of others.” Abigail Hile ’16, an RA in Printy Hall, said the January conference challenged her to reflect on the outcome of her influence. “Paul tells people to ‘imitate me as I imitate Christ,’ and that was a difficult question to process in my own heart,” Hile said. “If the girls I was leading were to imitate me and follow my doctrine, manner of life, purpose, faith [as in 2 Tim. 3:10], would that make them look more like Christ? Or more like sinful Abigail?” Before the end of each academic year, nearly 1,000 student leaders meet for a brief session in their respective organizations to pray for people they will influence during the next school year. This is meant to propel them to pray throughout the summer. “Leadership begins with prayer, because prayer is the first and most important way you can serve other people,” Wood explained. “We urge our student leaders to humbly get before the Lord and seek His direction and guidance about how to really steward, influence, and serve. He’s the one who taught us how to do it, so we need to rely on Him to make it happen. “Equipping students to lead in a way that stands on the four core values and emphasizes prayerful serving will set them up to make a lasting impact in the world,” he stated. And that’s the kind of change that could shore up the foundations of a society that keeps slipping into sinking sand. Clem Boyd is Managing Editor of Cedarville Magazine . Did you know that your gift to Cedarville University could be doubled? Many companies will match every gift made by their employees to Cedarville University. Go to cedarville.edu/matchyourgift to see if your company will match gifts to Cedarville. Find out the following: • Amount they will match • Programs they will support • Process you need to follow Thank you for taking advantage of this program and advancing the cause of Cedarville even more!