Developing Leaders for Tomorrow
Shawn Minks, M.Ed Head of School
I will never forget the cardmy 6th grade teacher gaveme at the end of the year. It contained a quote: “A ship in harbor is safe, but that’s not what ships were built for.” Apart from the distraction of endingwith a preposition, thismotivational quote by John A. Shedd continues to impact my life. God has regularly brought it back to my mind when faced with major life decisions. As one that might otherwise err on the side of caution, I have instead chosen to take chances and lead, due, in part, to recalling this simple declaration. Whywould one sentence hold somuch sway inmy life? After all, it is not Scripture, though I could cite many parallel Bible passages (2 Tim. 1:7; Deut. 31:6). It is a mere series of words and punctuation. It holds power because of the trust I had developed in this teacher. Mr. Chuck Schlitz believed inme as a leader – a role I had not identified inmyself. Hemodeled relational leadership forme. He putme in leadership positions towhich I may not have otherwise even aspired. At the time, he probably didn’t even seethesignificance, buthis investment inmeset thetable formypersonal, professional, and ministry relationships the rest of my life. I am not trying to make this Connections edition about me. I simply want you to knowthat this is our approach to training in leadership at CambridgeChristian School. Like seemingly everything else that matters, it is borne of relationship. Yes, we have specialized student leadership programs at CCSwherein roughly 15% of our students are trained in leadership and provided opportunities to apply what they learn. However, inmany cases, the leadership principles that will stick are the ones taught andmodeled by our teachers and coachesmoment tomoment, day after day. Biblical leadership will be “caught” as students observe staff doing the right thing instead of the easy thing. It will be transferred to the next generation when we, as parents, provide consistent Biblical training at home, in church, and in school (Kingdom Education). It will be embraced when we acknowledge that anything good in us has come only from God, and that we are completely reliant on Him. The effectiveness of my leadership is directly proportional to the degree to which I am following the lead of my Savior. Tragically, countless examples have demonstrated outcomes of following only others or ourselves. We are not training our students to be power hungry. We are training them to walk humbly in leadership before theOneWho holds the power. These are the types of leaders that will change the world. Changing the world is just the kind of thing God does through people. We want our students to be equipped and eager should those opportunities be presented.
2 | ccslancers.com Spring 2020 - Connections
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