With the trees around here yet to regain their leaves, today I found myself excited for the coming fall. Today I attended the seminary's student association panel featuring candidates for next year's positions. I was impressed by how the candidates all expressed an eagerness and commitment to serving the community next year, whether or not they are elected. Many of them used this comment as a stepping stone to empower the audience to realize that they, even though not in an official position, still had influence as we walk together into the coming seasons.
What inspired me even more than the candidates speeches today was seeing the number of positions that are going uncontested, where only one person is running. The lack of competition is not because these positions are unimportant, for they are really quite the opposite. There was, in fact, more people considering pursuing those positions, however after hearing the vision of the other candidates, they decided to support that vision and find other ways to serve at a more organic level in the community.
What are the roles of community members as they move forward? Is it to cast the vision? To empower others? To support another's vision? I wonder if we perhaps compartmentalize these areas too much at the cost of losing sight of the relationship between them all, even within how we see ourselves as leaders.
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