Are you missing a piece of your leadership puzzle?
By Jeri Royce
Becoming a strong leader of a Prayer Chaplain Program is a bit like putting together a jig saw puzzle. You look at all the pieces available to you and you start to join them together one piece at a time until the image of the puzzle becomes clear. You come into leadership of this program with lots of pieces of your own and some that you pick up along the way. But just like putting together a jig saw puzzle, it goes a lot easier if you find the corner pieces first. And your puzzle will not ever be complete with a missing piece.
If you desire to be a strong Prayer Chaplain Program leader, I believe there are some corner pieces that when found first will help you and some pieces that you can never be missing. Being a strong leader ensures that your Prayer Chaplains are deeply anchored in the foundational pieces of the program and that the program is healthy and operates with integrity.
Being Equipped - Being trained or seeking on-going training through Light and Love Ministries with the new material (published in late 2005) to be a Prayer Chaplain Program leader/trainer is the first place you need to start. When you are properly equipped to do a job, you receive the training necessary to be successful. Most importantly, when trained in the Prayer Chaplain Program material, you receive the consciousness behind the training material which you cannot get by just picking up the Trainers Guide and that you will definitely need when training your Prayer Chaplains.
Making a Commitment - Being willing to make the commitment to lead a program for at least a year and to walk with your Prayer Chaplains as you and they experience transformation is a very important piece. In addition, your willingness to find a successor leader to be trained with the material prior to your stepping out of leadership insures that the program will continue to function in a healthy way and to be a blessing to the ministry.
Collaboration with your Minister - The minister or spiritual leader at your ministry should be your most valued partner and it is important for you to establish and nurture that partnership. Making sure your minister has the necessary information about the frameworks of the program insures that they will be able to stand with you in the face of difficult decisions and making sure that the program is integrated into the whole of the ministry.
Engaging Ongoing Development - Just as you need to be equipped to do the job, so must you also commit to your ongoing growth and development. Development is about taking yourself to the next level and although a long-term process - is something that can easily be incorporated into your everyday life. Development is achieved through a variety of activities and will be as unique as each individual. Examples of development activities could be attending November's conference, reading books on leadership, spiritual topics, etc., attending workshops, trainings, spiritual classes, support groups and/or engaging in a relationship with a mentor or coach.
Having these pieces makes your leadership puzzle complete and the image of you as a strong and competent leader complete. Enjoy the journey of completing the puzzle!
