For the last few days the entire squad has been in Riga for a Leadership Development Workshop (LDW).
LDW is a privilege for a squad to do. Not every squad has the opportunity for leadership development on the Race. Usually LDW is over a weekend, but with our travel schedule, it worked better for us to do it on a Monday and Tuesday. All the teams congregated in Riga, and we got to learn all kinds of aspects of leadership, and how to be a leader when we are not necessarily in a titled position of leadership.
On Monday, we had some quiet and relaxing time in the morning before an all-squad session at 10:00, and then lunch at 12:00. From 13:00 to 14:00, we had breakout sessions where squad members led various sessions on various topics of their choice. After breakouts, we came together as a squad to give a summary of each breakout and talk a bit about what we had learned. After a break for dinner, we had another evening session as a squad, ending our day in some worship together.
We spent Tuesday in much the same way as Monday, but with different topics for the squad sessions and breakout sessions.
Monday morning’s squad session was about Godly leadership and being a servant leader. God specifically reminded me that i do not have to be in a titled leadership position to lead people, and my job is to be his disciple first.
During the Monday breakouts, I went to one on interpersonal communication. The two young women taught us some good ways to actively listen to people when they are talking, and respond in ways that make them feel heard and understood. I was reminded to listen to people to understand them, not just to answer them.
Tuesday morning’s squad session was all about developing character. I learned that character is tested and proved through trials, and built carefully over time by obedience to God.
I ran one of Tuesday’s breakouts, teaching on power and faith in prayer. I am excited to share my notes with you in the next blog I post!! (“Power and Faith in Prayer”)
Tuesday evening’s squad session was on the gifts of the Spirit (not the fruits). The gifts of the Spirit are slowly becoming more clear to me, but I still do not think I know a lot about them. One thing that I know I learned through that session is that gifts can appear in two ways: spontaneously and permanently. Spontaneous gifts show up for a brief amount of time, and permanent gifts are ones that are resident in someone.
This blog is definitely just an overview of my LDW experience, and I’m sure that I will be diving into more of my studies on each of the subjects I learned about so quickly.
#GodIsInControl #redefiningdisciple #THIRD
