Lexi Shipp is a passionate writer, speaker, and Bible teacher. With a Bachelors in Religion and Masters in Human Services Counseling, both specified in Christian Ministry, Lexi loves serving alongside her husband doing Next Gen Ministry. Working with middle and high school girls for years, she has a heart for connecting all generations of women and championing the next generation for the cause of Christ – starting within her own home as a mom. Lexi serves as a regular LifeWay Girls blogger and the Communications Team Lead for the SBC of Virginia’s Women’s Ministry. To read more of Lexi’s writings or to book her as a speaker, connect with her on Instagram @alexisleeshipp.
“Are you being a good leader?”
The ebbs and flows of parenting had brought me to this phrase. It was a recent shift in how I posed the concept, but with the same similar insinuation.
Instead of, “Are you being a good example?”, I was now trying to get my son to reflect more introspectively on how he was leading those who were watching him.
Maybe there’s not that much of a difference in those questions, but maybe there is. Words are powerful and they communicate a lot, and I noticed a bit of deeper understanding for him once I presented the question in that way. The difference? The difference was he felt empowered. He seemed to more clearly understand the weight of his influence and how his actions affected those around him as they would most likely follow suit.
Reflecting on it now, it reminds me of a time leading a group of middle school girls. Early on in our hour-long small group conversation, it became apparent that the conglomeration of more quiet and reserved personalities saw themselves as behind the scenes type girls, not so much as leaders. I couldn’t tell you what the lesson was on or how the discussion questions were worded, but I remember that realization clicking for me like a light bulb turning on in my mind as my eyes made their way around the room searching for some sort of response.
I began to explain to them that regardless of personality, you can always lead. You are always leading. You are always influencing. There are always people watching, behind the scenes or in front of the scenes. Leadership looks different for every one of us, but it is not defined by a lively and magnetic personality. It is not only the person who thrives being in the spotlight or speaking on a stage. Rather, it is held, developed, and sustained by strong character and genuine love for Jesus. The most influential leaders should be those who are steady, solid, and unshakable–perhaps introverts to their core, but carrying the call to point others to Jesus (which we all have as followers of Jesus). It has less to do with personality test results or what we’ve been told about how we come across to others – labels that may have been placed on us that are keeping us more bound up and held back than we realize – and more to do with being deeply rooted and not swaying with the changing tides of emotions. How we view ourselves in light of our role in carrying the gospel matters.
So, I ask you:
- How are you calling out leadership in those God has placed around you?
- Are there beliefs about yourself, either from yourself or placed by others, that are holding you back? How can you replace those lies with specific truth from God’s Word and who He says you are?
