“A Leader is a person with a magnet in his heart and a compass in his head,” Howard Hendricks
One hundred and thirty women of all ages and experiences gathered at the Chapter House to consider Christian Leadership in the context of the Biblical view of leadership together with recognising the needs of both the older and the younger women in our community.
MU Sydney was the sponsor of the seminar and our President, Christine Jensen, welcomed Jane Tooher to give an overview of Biblical teaching on Christian Leadership from Philippians 1:27-2:30. Jane’s talk focused on:
• the gifts and skills a leader has or needs;
• how a leader must conduct themselves in a manner worthy of the gospel;
• how suffering for Christ is a consequence and involves living for others; and
• how one must be obedient and prayerful.
Among the 12 things Jane has learned about female Christian leadership are:
• rejoicing in other people’s gifts;
• trusting others;
• having confidence;
• seeking to do yourself out of a job;
• mentoring;
• having a global vision;
• giving thanks to God; and
• relying on the sufficiency of scripture.
These are all keys to successful, godly leadership in Jane’s view. Those present were encouraged and heartened by Jane’s insight and biblical teaching.
Our second session was led by Narelle Jarrett who, through examples of popular media and culture, gave us an overall understanding of how younger people think and are influenced by their environment. It is sometimes a challenge to be relevant and to be able to connect across the generations. Narelle’s personal insight and encouragement for us to LISTEN, TO LOVE THOSE WE MEET INTO THE KINGDOM was helpful. We were also reminded that with evangelism through Christian encouragement, God will facilitate the process. That is encouraging!
Our third session featured Wendy Mayer who spoke on “What are the needs of older women and what do we do about it”. We looked at the generations of older women: the Builders (born prior to the mid 40’s) and the Boomers (born from the mid 40’s to the mid 60’s). We looked at how they function, how they spend their time, and at their needs.
We were reminded that as leaders:
• all our needs are met by God;
• we and those around us need to love and be loved (1 John 4:7 and 19);
• respect and self esteem are vital and are from God (1 Peter 2:9); and
• there is a real desire to recognize and fulfill potential (Ephesians 2:10).
Fellowship was enjoyed over lunch and the afternoon sessions featured two Workshops led by Jane and Wendy, and a Panel Q&A featuring all the speakers. Questions reflected the concerns of those present about their ability to be equipped to be bold for Christ in their individual situations and circumstances. The bottom line is that as leaders or potential leaders we want to be good and effective in our churches and communities. In the end Christian leadership is servant leadership and this is impossible without submission to the love and lordship of Christ.
The seminar ended with Prayer.
MU seeks to connect with the community. To share Christ’s love by encouraging, strengthening and supporting marriage and family life. We see real benefits in gathering with other like-minded people to find ways and means of achieving our goals under God. We were delighted to be able to sponsor and facilitate the seminar.
Glenda McSorley, Feb 2011
