Let me preface this blog by saying that AmeriCorps and CNCS is a non-partisan organization and has no religious affiliation or favor.
Last June I arrived at the AmeriCorps NCCC Southern Region Campus as a shiny, new, ready-to-learn Team Leader. They day was sunny, I was independent, and I had some leadership experience in my past jobs that would hep me through the year. Last week, I left the AmeriCorps Campus, tired, scarred, and stronger as a person than I ever thought I could be. I was challenged emotionally, physically, relationally, and spiritually throughout my service term and find myself thankful for those moments that sometimes seemed so dark and never ending.
Throughout my service term, I led a team of 6-10 Corps Members (CM). We worked, traveled, ate, slept, and lived side by side with each other day in and day out. Each one came with their own beliefs, morals, strengths, weaknesses, quirks, preferences, hobbies, fears, physical ability, and limitations. While it would be nice to say that it was a great year, i’d be lying. Instead i’ll say it was a trying year. This leadership experience tested me in every imaginable and unimaginable way.
In my first month in AmeriCorps during TLT (Team Leader Training) the staff had all team leaders stand on a side of the room with the statement we most agreed with, the middle was not an option.
One the right side, “I will adjust my leadership style to the needs of each individual.”
On the left side, “All individuals will adjust to my leadership style.”
It was a biased response with all but one person going to the right side of the room, myself included.
Of course I was going to meet the needs of each Corps Members. Holding standards for people is dooming some to fail from the start. Each person is different, coming from various backgrounds, education levels, skills, and experiences. They are all different, therefore cannot be effectively managed the same across the board.
Fast forward 3 months, after our first project out in the field. The same exercise was repeated with all team leaders.
This time the room was a bit more evenly split, with maybe a heavier attendance on the left side of the room, myself included.
What I had learned in those 3 months was that leadership is hard. What was harder was tailoring my communication to 10 different people. How I approached CM#1 with a difficult conversation is not the same way I could approach CM#7. CM#3 preferred being consoled differently than CM#5. Showing support was different between CM#4 #9 and #2. The picture I am trying to paint is that not only did I play the role of friend, family, self, and team leader, but that the team leader role was broken down into numerous subsections depending on how many CMs were on my team. I chose the left side of the room because it then made sense. There needs to be a certain expectation set for all individuals. Just because there is a standard doesn’t mean that the program was pass/fail, it just meant that as long as you were meeting or actively trying to achieve the standard and better yourself, the efforts would be noticed and everything would be well.
Recently, upon my reflection of my service term, I asked myself, where would God stand? What side would he take? Despite the rule, I believe he would take the middle.
On the right side of the room, He has shown us time and time and time again that He will meet the sinner where they stand. It doesn’t matter how far away we are from Him, we will be found. The vices in our life are of no matter to God because there is no sin so great that His love can’t overcome. No one is unreachable.
On the left side of the room, God has set the standard of what we are set to achieve, a life lived like Jesus. Although we can never achieve the expectation set before us, that does not diminish the efforts we will put in to becoming more like Christ, for God favors those who follow Him and reveals His great plans to those who let Him lead. God will be present every step of the way to support us through whatever life challenges we encounter. All He asks that you trust and love Him and live your life by the example He has set before you.
Those who say they live in God should live their lives as Jesus did. – 1 John 2:6 NLT
