Leadership: Dedication

The fourth leadership characteristic that Gilbert and Zoller discuss is dedication. They define it this way:

When we are dedicated to the call and vision of God, we can lead people in the right direction, not just in any direction. Loyalty (which is really dedication to the people that a leader leads) must be coupled with dedication to a greater vision, and that vision must have its genesis in God and God's call on our lives.

I want to tell you about Shelly.

Shelly is the chairman of our Celebration Committee at church, and she does a great job. She is also the moderator of our Sunday school class. I want to focus on that. I think Shelly has a vision of what the Sunday school class should be, and that vision is from God. I haven't asked her about this, but the wonderful work she does as moderator reflects God's vision for our group.

Shelly is dedicated to the idea that we will be a supportive community. I watch her when we have a visitor in class. She always stops and speaks to him or her and takes the time to make sure that the visitor is welcome. We share prayer requests and concerns in class. She writes them down and then emails them out to everyone each week. Each week our inboxes are blessed with an email from Shelly with plans for the upcoming Sunday, announcements about class and church and the list of concerns about class members. Every week.

When we have get togethers or when we work on a project for church, Shelly make sure that all of the details are taken care of -- she even does this when she knows that she cannot be there. She remembers to ask about illnesses or problems that class members might have.

Because of Shelly, we, as a class, come closer to the vision that God has for community. She is an example to all of us.

I thank God for Shelly.

Image: LOVE this new camera. This is a close up of thistle, near the parking lot of the VA.