Thoughts from "Leaders That Last"

Over the next few days, I want to share several key thoughts from a book I recently spent time at the suggestion of a student at AU.  Whenever a student recommends a book, several thoughts go through my mind, but at this recommendation, I immediately ordered the book and read through it this past weekend.  The book is "Leaders That Last" by Dave Kraft.  Kraft has incredible wisdom to share and I just want to unpack a couple of thoughts in a couple different blog posts.

Right out the gate, Kraft shares a prayer of his that stirred my soul - he writes, "Make me a person who leaves footprints in people's lives.  I don't want to be a person who comes and goes with no lasting impact. Because of contact with me, may people never be the same again.  May I be a person who intentionally and lasting influences others" (p. 41).

This prayer resonated with me and it is in fact the prayer of my heart.  When God called me into the ministry, I was in between my Sophomore and Junior year at UGA and I had no idea what that meant or what it looked like.  Naturally, I connected it with those I knew best who were in ministry and at that time one of my mentors was a traveling worship leader and so I was around him and traveling evangelists or itinerant preachers.  To make a long story short, I went to seminary thinking, I am going to be a traveling evangelist, even though I hadn't preached but a handful of times and I really didn't know what it meant.  Over time and through FUGE camps, God really began to change my heart (not that all itinerant evangelists need a change of heart) - He called me to college ministry and really making disciples in the college context.  This meant living life with college students and investing in them for the short amount of time we have.

As I wake each day, I pray that God would continue to stir in me the passion to make disciples as Jesus calls us to, and that my life would not be about numbers or about status or about job positions, but that it would truly be about leaving footprints in people's lives and seeing LIFE CHANGE.  See, the thing about the life change is that in my flesh there is no power to change anyone's life.  But CHRIST in me, can change anyone's life and that is my job to intentionally show Christ and allow Christ to live His life through me so that people are changed.  As we do this, disciples multiply and in people's lives we see lasting influence.  This is what Paul writes about in 2 Cor. 3 - Christ through him has impacted the Corinthians and changed their lives!  This is our mission and the ministry to which we are all called.  As a leader of college students, it then also becomes my duty to seek leaders who are dissatisfied with the status quo and watch God radically change their lives as well!  To GOD be the glory!